So many (maybe all?) indigenous cultures put so much emphasis on a very personal connection to the place one lives, including whatever natural elements (rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, oceans, gorges, glaciers, deserts, forests, mountains, valleys, plains, etc…) that make up the landscape as well as the living creatures that co-reside with us.
In my view, this is something that we badly need to try to knit back into our cultures, societies, states, and mindsets as we move forward into the future.
This is my attempt to do so.
At the moment, this page on this particular website is a placeholder for a whole separate website (http://emergentground.org) that i hope to build out eventually. Perhaps that will happen quickly. But it may not, and instead i may add a series of sub-pages here in the meantime. Although it’s also possible that i’ll simply extend this page itself until it gets unbearably (for (at least some?) other people, not for me) long.
The thing is, i’ve not yet created even the framework on which to build a clear plan of what i specifically do want to accomplish, much less how to do so. Though, at least initially, my goal will involve some aspect of pushing forward (hopefully with others?) on the Rights of Nature front.
Last year i was involved in an attempt that was very specific, though we’ve not yet succeeded (the vote for our resolution did not pass in nearby Sheffield Massachussetts). The website we collaborated on in order to try to accomplish that very specific goal is still up here if you wish to check it out…
My hope is that the Housatonic River can be one of the victories at some point in the not too distant future.
Though my vision is far more ambitious than simply granting legal status to our local river that flows through the Berkshire Mountains nearby to my home.
i want to find a way to have us all connect with and honor the rivers, mountains and all other natural elements of Mother Gaia which literally provide us with the opportunity to not just live, but to thrive as well. Specifically, with each of us developing deep connections to, and working to protect those features of our nearby landscapes around the places we live, travel to frequently, and/or have lived in the past.
As i mentioned above, my thoughts on how exactly to go about this are quite amorphous at this point. But i have a tremendous amount of ambition around this, and my hope is that i can find collaborators from both near and far, all over our Planet. Who likewise, as i do, believe that providing a healthy future for our descendants will be far more likely to happen if we change course quite drastically from the path of overconsumption we are on. As that path has led to so much destruction, of not just those precious natural entities that have the potential to nourish our souls, minds and bodies, but of our relations with each other, which i also believe strongly can be healed by more of us connecting with Nature as deeply as we each are able to.
Both the living and non-living are worthy of our respect, care and devotion. Do join me if you feel called to do so. The opportunity to get in on the ground floor and truly help me shape this effort exists if you act quickly by emailing me (rights_of_nature@emergentground.org) sooner rather than later.
namaste