findings from the tingle of a foot
WHAT IF THE EARTH WAS AS EMOTIONALLY SENSITIVE AS WE ARE?
"It is not considered wise to point a finger at any island, especially this one. The Ojibwe use mouth or head to indicate direction, and are often humorously mocked for "pointing with the lips". But it is impolite to point a finger at people, and the islands as well. Pointing at the islands is like challenging them. And you don't want to challenge anything this powerful."
I recently read this passage in Louise Erdrich's Books and Islands in Ojibwe Country, and it got me thinking, what if our current culture really and truly believed that the land we live on has an opinion about how we interact with it? What would change if we could pretend that was true, even for a moment? For me, as I write this outside, with my left leg draped over my right, my bare right foot pressing into the earth, I become aware. And not just about how I'm in contact with the earth, but how she just might be aware of me.
Suddenly I feel very small, and the cottonwood tree 20 ft. away feels much closer, and the golden leaves on the tree seem to tremble with recognition. My foot tingles. It passes quickly, and I am again standing on top of the earth, rather than woven into it. My brain can't seem to hold on to the idea for too long, but how different would life look like if it could? I wonder, and long for the days and people who were born into such consciousness, not having to work at all to recognize their place among all things. But then, there is a gratefulness too, being given the task to unwind the mind enough to listen to the heart, and remember living in the body, both individual and collective.
nettle. pine pitch. poplar bud. aralia root. willow. cattail. rosehip. horsetail. chanterelle. oak bark.
May the earth's aliveness weave you in--
frieda kipar bay