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The Native American way
Why don't we celebrate the earth the way they did?
When I was young, a friend of our family and one of the wisest women I have ever had the pleasure of knowing in my life, took me on her knee and said she had a gift for me.
She began by telling me of her trip to the Native Indian reservations in America. She described the Indians and the life they had lived long ago, in harmony with the earth and nature, hearing the sounds of nature, growing only the food they could eat and hunting only the amount of buffalo they could consume. She spoke of young people looking to their elders with respect, awe and learned silence while wise words were spoken. She spoke of their beliefs that they would become part of the earth again when they died, that their voices would sing in the breeze and with the rustle of the trees. They didn’t fear death because they felt their ancestors were with them always. Animals were also brothers and sisters and spirits and they too resided in everything.
It’s not far off the mind frame of many ancient tribes all over the world really. Polytheism by its very nature demands great respect for the environment and the land, so as not to anger ancient gods.
My friend’s gift to me was a little leather and beaded dream catcher complete with a tiny feather. She explained it would lift my nightmares/fears and catch them in the beaded web so that they would bother me no more. What magic for an eight year old to possess; a beautiful object which could control fear and danger!
I dread to think how those gods must weep now. I can’t help but question those who care so little about their environment that they are content to surround themselves with litter and filth.
'Contaminate your own bed and you will one night suffocate in your own waste', as the wise saying goes.
An ex teacher of mine used to despair at the state of the school halls for this very reason. They were essentially disgusting. Food would be dropped and left to be walked into the carpet; litter could be seen everywhere (although bins were on every corner) and chewing gum could surprise you from under tables, over tables, between tables and by sticking itself to your shoe, bag and/or friend. I’ll never forget the day he remarked that it would be interesting to not clean up for a week, and see how bad things would get before anyone had the initiative to do anything about it. The idea shocked me, because I knew the answer to that question was: pretty bad! I couldn’t imagine anyone changing their behaviour, until the whole school was suffering from disease, and even then they’d probably demand that somebody else do something.
As we destroy our landscape and our environment, we lose our connection with it. The relationship between man and earth has become diluted. Instead of pulling our food from the soil, we buy it from a shop. Instead of sitting on the ground, we sit on chairs. Meat comes in packages, so we don’t associate it with the majestic animal it once was. Finally, few of us are lucky enough to take notice of the moon or are aware of its cycles. Instead, we spit on the soil which covers the bones of our ancestors; and we rush for prescribed drugs rather than first attempting healing with natural remedies.
Sadly, the closest some of our children will ever get to nature and the earth will be a carefully manicured park, devoid of life and spirit.
By: Rachel Lally
