image from Waking Up on Turtle Island,
talented artist not listed
Mother Earth is not a place
for us to inhabit
like a tenant,
wiping our feet on her,
using her unthinkingly,
leaving her without
a backward glance.
She is a living, thinking, feeling,
intelligent entity,
and she is in distress,
because of us.
We are not separate from her,
(it seems obvious to say),
but are a part of her suffering whole,
the root cause of our (not "her")
global imbalance.
"When the big winds begin to blow",
the elders warned,
"it is a sign that we are approaching
the tipping point, beyond which
it will be too late."
The big winds are blowing, my friends,
all across these lands.
We need to take off our shoes,
walk on the earth with reverence,
send our tears and our deepest love
deep into the soil,
and all of our prayers to heaven.
Make each choice knowing
that we are all connected,
that what happens to one
happens to us all.
Ultimately, Mother Earth will heal.
With or without us.
"The first peace comes with your Mother Earth.
Dahnayto (Now I am finished)"
Chief Oren Lyons
Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan
of the Onondaga Nation
