"Go Into the Forest--all Those Trees are Holding Hands" Chief Charles Labrador--Beauty Whisperers

"...only when knowledge is conditioned by respect can it be truly shared” (in Mi’kmaq: “Ta’n tujiw kjijitaqn tela’tasik kepne’ktn ketloqo kisiktpi’tasitew”) (Mi’kmawey 1997).

 www.integrativescience.ca

When I am in the woods I know I am in my true home. I know it by my breathing, by the feeling in my bones and by the quickening of my pulse as I lay my hand on the rough and weather beaten bark of a silent, old friend. In the forest I forget myself and become one with the beauty which surrounds me.I linger by the moss that watches o'er the base of old stumps. I cannot help but reach out to touch the lichens whose wisdom traverses the ages. And I always pause by the noble fungi whose quiet ways uphold so much. When I myself am quiet, these old friends speak to me as they did during the great many hours we spent together when I was a child.  It is in honour of those moments that I must speak:

As a civilization we have lost the art of quiet appreciative listening-- our modes of operation endanger rendering us as nothing more than automatons of consumption. And beauty—that sweet whisper of the soul— there is a war being raged upon her very being. In her defense let us become beauty whisperers. With heart focused attentiveness and a willingness to step beyond our own limited  and confining sense of self we can be the change we seek in this world.

Through the act of helping the next generation become reacquainted with their own curiosity and the wonders of the natural world we might help them see past the mindless consumption of digital technologies so they can once again hear the songs of their own wild and beautiful spirits echoed in the world around them.

Another starting point lies in the revival of a language of the land. First Nation peoples had so many wonderful words to describe weather and landscape. The Celtic peoples and many others did as well. People intimately knew a small area and cared for it with loving attention. They knew not to pollute the life systems upon which all life depends.

“Go into the forest, you see the birch, maple, pine. Look underground and all those trees are holding hands. We as people have to do the same.”

Mi’kmaw Spiritual Leader, Healer, and Chief Charles Labrador of Acadia First Nation, Nova Scotia.

http://www.integrativescience.ca/Principles/TreesHoldingHands/ 

Restructuring our lives so that we can playfully re-integrate with each other—with peoples of all ages and abilities, with nature, with art and music- is another wonderful place to begin. Reducing attitudes of competition and increasing a sense of caring, collaboration and community mindedness are joy filled, life enhancing choices towards positive change.

Imagine doing as First Nations peoples have done and take the long view towards the impact of planned actions on the well being of future generations. How might this action I am about to take affect the land, air and water of those living in seven generations from now? How will it affect the well being of all creatures in this present moment? How will it support my own re-acquaintance with beauty, love and joy and the wildness of my own heart?

Beauty--it is all around you--You only need listen and it will speak to your heart.Take a chance and reach out your very human hand to those near you--it is a beautifully vulnerable and courageous act of LOVE. In doing so you might just see that beneath the surface of our lives we, like the trees, are all holding hands in a myriad of ways we can scarcely begin to fathom.

In beauty,

Jill

Image: Macphail Woods courtesy of Lucas MacCormack