we continue our exploration of what it means to be human, with inspiration from matthew fox and his “10 Cs”. we next approach cosmology/ecology…our place as humans on Mother Earth.
as elders we often have the luxury of time…fewer responsibilities and more time to go inward. part of the inward journey can include waking up to the love of our Earth home with greater depth. this might lead us to understand the need to adapt our needs to Her needs. is it possible that we, as humans, have misunderstood our place in the cosmic order of things, and, therefore, misunderstood our relationship with this special planet? can we elders re-frame narcissism into community, individualism into co-operation?
robin kimmerer, an elder of the potawatami tribe (an algonquian-speaking people who live in northeastern united states) asserts “We need acts of restoration, not only for polluted waters and degraded lands, but also for our relationship to the world. We need to restore honor to the way we live, so that when we walk through the world we don’t have to avert our eyes with shame, so that we can hold our heads high and receive the respectful acknowledgment of the rest of earth’s beings.”
restoring honour to the way we live is essential to the work of a spiritual elder. to be honoured firstly means we honour ourselves as humans who have deep experience of life on Earth. we have seen many revolutions around the sun and, hopefully, we have learned many lessons about how to restore inner and outer balance.
simple, conscious acts each day may not heal the planet or avert climate catastrophe. instead each small act keeps us in tune with Her rhythms, allows us to live with respect and to minimise the desecration of Her sacred ground.
part of being a human elder is to live with a greek proverb: society grows great when elders plant trees whose shade they will never sit in.
we might actually plant trees or we might live this proverb metaphorically by planting the seeds of love for Mother Earth in those that come after us. then we can sit in the shade of the trees planted by our forebears knowing we have honoured Her and acted as human…heads held high.