“The earth is our mother. She should not be disturbed by hoe or plough. We want only to subsist on what she freely gives us. Our fathers gave us many laws, which they had learned from their fathers. These laws were good. I have carried a heavy load on my back ever since I was a boy. I realized then that we could not hold our own with the white men. We were like deer. They were like grizzly bears. We had small country. Their country was large. We were contented to let things remain as the Great Spirit Chief made them. They were not, and would change the rivers and mountains if they did not suit them.”
Chief Joseph
Mark Graf led me to read an interesting and moving letter written to Mother Earth by photographer Youssef Ismail. If anyone is inclined here is a link to the letter. Youssef puts into words what I feel.
There is a voice inside of me that has been attempting to get my attention for the last 20 or 30 years. I’ve done a pretty good job of avoiding that voice by keeping myself busy with the externals of life: making money with the hope it will bring me happiness, or that a party life would take away loneliness and insecurity. In a way I’m like the little puppy chasing it’s tail. With my focus on the externals I’ve avoided looking at our natural world or taking any responsibility for the damages I am doing. And, worse yet, what am doing to help bring an awareness to it? My upbringing did not direct me to look at the consequences of our advancing technologies and consumerism. In fact my culture wanted me to focus more on the consumerism, placing my wants as a more important aspect than caring for this earth. So, I also apologize for my role in harming Mother Earth.