Everything on this earth is in a sacred relationship founded in a symbiotic reciprocity.
The relationships we have with nature, with our food, with our friends and family are all based on the basic concept of giving and receiving. This reciprocity is evident in every breath we take. We inhale (receive) oxygen and exhale (give) carbon dioxide (CO2). The plants, ocean algae, and trees receive CO2 and give us the oxygen we need in a beautiful harmonious relationship.
How long has this breath been shared and recycled through this human-plant relationship? The story actually goes that “in 44 BC in Rome, Julius Caesar was assassinated by a group of his own senators, crumpling to the floor with a final gasp. His last breath contained around 25 sextillion (that’s 25 followed by 21 zeros) air molecules, which would have spread around the globe within a couple of years. A breath seems like such a small thing compared to the Earth’s atmosphere, but remarkably, if you do the math, you’ll find that roughly one molecule of Caesar’s air will appear in your next breath.” Source: https://www.sciencefocus.com/planet-earth/are-we-really-breathing-caesars-last-breath
As humans we have the sacred responsibility and choice of what we give and receive.
With every dollar we spend reaches around the entire globe with our influence and casts our vote on what we give to the earth and what we take. When you bought your last meal what did you pay all the people in the supply chain to do for that meal to be delivered to you?
We receive seeds from the earth. In these seeds are gifts of countless wonders of creation. Apple seeds contain bounties of sweetness for emotional joy. Blueberries bless us with more brain power with their vital nutrients. Rose delivers ancient fragrances used by humans to communicate love. The gift of protective shade in the summer for our children is concealed in the tiny seed of an oak. Traditional medicines to aid in your body’s fight with a cold are contained within the seed of Echinacea.
What we give back is entirely up to us. How many of us pause in gratitude for the first breath we take each morning? Give thanks and gratitude for all the creatures and earthly systems working hard to create a garden that can support agriculture to feed our families?
Do we pay farmers and governments to give the earth restorative composts for the worms and mushrooms? Do we give money for regenerative agriculture systems engineered to create a healthy harmony with our garden? Do we share healthy flowers untouched by poisons with the pollinators who spread the love language of DNA? Do we provide places to live for the creepy crawlers who manage the bugs that cause crop damage? Do we give clean water for the fish to fertilize the water for the plants?
With every dollar you spend, you vote on what you give the earth. Will we choose to use toxic pesticides to poison all the creepy-crawlies – the ones who pollinate our food, and those below the earth who are responsible for creating a healthy connected soil?
Do we pay for the dumping of harsh chemicals down the drains which soak the waterways and oceans? Do we pay for chemical fertilizers which soak the soil, killing the microorganisms that create sustainable soils?
Our ancestors respected the sacred symbiotic relationship with nature
In ancient times our ancestors knew how the earth worked and how to farm in a giving and receiving way. They gave to the land their stewardship, minding to give more than they took.
Even before Cortes, the pre-Aztec indigenous people created “chinampas”, a farming technique relying on floating gardens created by dredging organic-rich canal muck and placing it onto the raised fields, a technology producing an incredible yield. Have we forgotten our ancestors’ teachings in favor of modern-day chemically dependent farming methods that are now being studied in relation to serious human health issues?
If we give poisons to our crops in the form of pesticides and herbicides to kill bugs and plants, we in turn receive poison ingesting it and feeding it to our families, our water ways, and our oceans.
If we give care in our agricultural systems and work with her in the way nature has taught us for countless generations; our families and communities receive health, wellness, and increased vitality.
Give Care and Responsibility - Receive Vitality and Joy.