Gratitude is most powerful as a response to the Earth because it provides an opening to reciprocity, to the act of giving back, to living in a way that the Earth will be grateful for us.
~Robin Wall Kimmerer
A citizen of the Potawatomi Nation
Living among the Q'eqchi' Maya in Guatemala taught me so much about the sacredness of the land. Land is a place for mutual flourishing of all living things. Every being has a role and a gift to offer. The role and responsibility of human beings, is to care for each other and all living beings in a way that honors life. This web of reciprocity connects us all to each other.
An example of the sacredness of all of life is the basic staple of the Q'eqchi' diet. Corn is not a resource but a source of life. A family of six will eat approximately 150 pounds of corn in ten days. One hasn't eaten unless corn is part of the meal. The same word for corn tortillas (cua) is also the root word for eat (cua'ac). When corn kernels fall to the ground unintentionally, every kernel is picked up because each seed is holy. When a corn stalk shows up at an "inappropriate place", it is not pulled out, but is allowed to flourish until it has offered its gift of corn. Corn is not taken from the corn stalk, but received as a gift. This kind of relationship with corn requires responsibility and stewardship.
The seasons of clearing the land, planting, hoeing and harvest are very sacred in the life of the Q'eqchi'. When clearing the land, the family will pray and ask permission to cut the sacred weeds. Community and family members gather again to pray and bless the seeds prior to planting corn. A friend prayed this prayer: "Father in heaven, this is our food and our drink and it is all yours, and we ask you now, help it grow, and may nothing happen to it. May the animals not take the seeds, not the blackbirds nor the blue jays. We know you give us this food and also food for the animals. In your Word it says this. . .We ask, by your goodness, that our corn grow over the mountains and valleys. We do not have any power, you have the power to make the seeds sprout." At harvest time the family and friends gathers to pray and express gratitude for the gift of the corn. A friend prayed this prayer at harvest: "God, thank you that you gave us this gift, and thank you for your love for us. When it went out to the field, it was a little seed, and when it comes back, it is more, and it gives us happiness in our hearts that cannot be measured, like Your love."
Robin Wall Kimmerer suggests guidelines for the Honorable Harvest in her book, Braiding Sweetgrass (p. 183):
Know the ways of the ones who take care of you, so that you may take care of them.
Introduce yourself. Be accountable as the one who comes asking for life.
Ask permission before taking. Abide by the answer.
Never take the first. Never take the last.
Take only what you need.
Take only that which is given.
Never take more than half. Leave some for others.
Harvest in a way that minimizes harm.
Use it respectfully. Never waste what has been taken.
Share.
Give thanks for what you have been given.
Give a gift, in reciprocity for what you have taken.
Sustain the ones who sustain you and the earth will last forever.
Over the years I spent with the Q'eqchi', I learned from the traditional midwives and elders the names and recipes of medicinal plants and their uses. Some were hesitant to share this information. When receiving knowledge there is also a responsibility to use it wisely. As a nurse, I wanted to honor the wisdom of the Q'eqchi' and combine it with scientific knowledge. Many of the village health workers I taught were young and knew very little about the medicinal plants in their region. At their request, I wrote the traditional wisdom in a book in their language and gave it to them for their use with the hope that they would use it responsibly and share it with others. Kimmerer explains that "using a plant shows respect for its nature, and we use it in a way that allows it to continue bringing its gifts".
One of the gifts to me during this time of Covid, was time to hike several times a week in the Lancaster County Park and explore the Lancaster County Conservancies. Some places I had never been before. I was attentive to the plants, trees, birds, mosses, rock formations, and creeks in all the seasons of the year. It fed my soul and gave me such deep gratitude for all of life. In the past I enjoyed wild flowers and knew some of them by name; however, while walking in the parks, I began receiving (taking) photographs of the new flowers I noticed. I identified them and am now learning their names. Kimmerer notes that learning their names honors the plants and helps us develop a deeper relationship with them. This has certainly been my experience. Each flower is a gift to receive and enjoy and share with others.
Indigenous ways of knowing and reverence for the earth is wisdom, if taken seriously, that will sustain our world. Whether we acknowledge it or not, the land and all its beings are interconnected. To the attentive observer, creation offers its gifts to us. Gratitude for these gifts changes our relationship, not only with creation but also with the Creator. It calls us to reciprocity and restoration of our relationship with the earth that has been broken. When we care for the land and its beings in this way, the web of reciprocity will continue for generations to come.
Song of Gratitude: Look at the World by John Rutter
Earth Teach Me to Remember Earth teach me stillness as the grasses are stilled with light. Earth teach me suffering as old stones suffer with memory. Earth teach me humility as blossoms are humble with beginning. Earth Teach me caring as the mother who secures her young. Earth teach me courage as the tree which stands alone. Earth teach me limitation as the ant which crawls on the ground. Earth teach me freedom as the eagle which soars in the sky. Earth teach me resignation as the leaves which die in the fall. Earth teach me regeneration as the seed which rises in the spring. Earth teach me to forget myself as melted snow forgets its life. Earth teach me to remember kindness as dry fields weep in the rain.
~John Yellow Lark, Ute, North American
Spiritual Practice: Practice Lectio Tierra as described by Andy Wade.
Observing - Go out in God's creation and sit in your environment. What first attracted your attention? Use all your senses. What might God be using to draw you closer? Is there a message for you? How is God present?
Meditating - What is the story of the object of creation. For example: what is the story of the sunrise, tree, flower, animal, fish, leaf, seed, or water you are observing? Is it scarred, wounded, free, colorful, etc.?
Praying: What is God saying to you through this object? How much are you alike or different from the object? What are the lessons or cautions you can learn from the object?
Contemplating: Rest with the insights or lessons you have learned.
View: Disneynature: Wings of Life
Closing Prayer: EARTH DAY PRAYER BY BLACK HAWK
Sources:
Breneman, J. (2004). Guatemalan Mennonite Women at Prayer. (dissertation)
GodSpace: Celebrating Earth Week
Kimmerer. R. (2021) The Earth Calls Us to Reciprocity.
Kimmerer, R. (2013) Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge
and the Teachings of Plants
Kimmerer. R. (2012) Reclaiming the Honorable Harvest: Robin Kimmerer at
Kimmerer, R. (2003). Gathering Moss: A natural and cultural history of mosses
Q'eqchi' indigenous friends in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala
Witmer, L. (2000). Li K'en Li Nac'anhelac re Xbanbal li Yajel. (plants that serve for
healing illnesses)
This is lovely, thank you so much! What a precious heritage we have from the Earth itself, & we usually take it so for granted. Thanks for honoring Earth Day & helping us take a bit more stock in the ways the Earth continually gifts us - if we can see. I’ve learned a few wildflower names this Spring - mostly from you; thank you!
This is so very rich Linda. I am awed by the deep reverence of the Q'eqchi' people.
We have much to learn from people who live close to the Earth, who understand their dependence on the gift of God through creation. We are often so far removed from the source of Life.