Oneness: Part IVa
"The traditional ecological knowledge of Indigenous harvesters is rich in prescriptions for sustainability." - Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer
Yesterday’s post relating to the oneness that we share with Creation felt like it was getting a bit long, especially with the link to the Indigenous story of Creation (as noted, I believe it is a gentler, more unifying story than our Christian story). Braiding Sweetgrass is so rich that I wanted to return to it again today with a bit more to reflect upon in relation to our oneness with Creation.
Dr. Kimmerer notes, “the Indigenous canon of principles and practices that govern the exchange of life for life is known as the Honorable Harvest. They are rules of sorts that govern our taking, shape our relationships with the natural world, and reign in our tendency to consume - that the world might be as rich for the seventh generation as it is for our own.”
This quote strikes me because we live in such a consumer-driven culture. Surely, we are all concerned with leaving a viable earth home for our generations who will follow us. How? The Indigenous principles of the Honorable Harvest strike me as a Christian statement of stewardship of Creation and responsibility to the “seventh generation”:
Introduce yourself. Be accountable as the one who comes asking for life.
Ask permission before taking. Abide by the answer.
Never take the first. Never take the last.
Take only what you need. Take only that which is given.
Never take more than half. Leave some for others.
Harvest in a way that minimizes harm.
Use it respectfully. Never waste what you have taken.
Share.
Give thanks for what you have been given.
Give a gift, in reciprocity for what you have taken.
Sustain the ones who sustain you and the earth will last forever.
In terms of oneness, I interpret the Honorable Harvest as saying that we don’t interact with Creation as “other,” but as an extension of “self.” This Indigenous spirituality of Creation has strong teaching principles and invites us into practices of sustainability, not only for Creation but for our “seventh generation.” I am moved by the sense of this being like a “conversation” with Creation. Surely, this elicits a sense of oneness!
Dr. Kimmerer offers a practical, contemporary example of practicing the principles of the Honorable Harvest. I recognize that we may not all agree and I understand that this application may be controversial. As noted from the start, the intent of this blog is to invite conversation and seek understanding. I welcome your (kind, gentle, peaceful) reactions; perhaps an example of all of us practicing oneness, even amid disagreement!
“Taking coal buried deep in the earth, for which we must inflict irreparable damage, violates every precept of the code. By no stretch of the imagination is coal ‘given’ to us. We have to wound the land and water to gouge it from Mother Earth. What if a coal company planning mountaintop removal in the ancient folds of the Appalachians were compelled by to to take only that which is given? Don’t you long to hand them the laminated card and announce that the rules have changed?
It doesn’t mean that we can’t consume the energy we need, but it does mean that we honorably take only what is given. The wind blows every day, every day the sun shines, every day the waves roll against the shore, and the earth is warm below us. We can understand these renewable sources of energy as given to us, since they are the sources that have powered life on the planet for as long as there has been a planet. We need not destroy the earth to make use of them. Solar, wind, geothermal, and tidal energy - the so-called ‘clean energy’ harvests - when they are wisely used seem to be consistent with the ancient rules of the Honorable Harvest.”
As we approach our Thanksgiving celebrations and recite the well-known, romanticized, history of Pilgrims and Indians to our children and grandchildren, isn’t it timely to consider what might we learn from our Indigenous siblings as we live in oneness here on Turtle Island (or outside of Eden, if you prefer that story!)?…