Green Tribe of Belonging

 I guess I would call myself an Earth Activist. Many of my activities are chosen because I want to learn from the natural world or support the healing of the earth. These days in the 21st century, when our planet's future is gravely called into question, it is easy to get angry at the folks who think climate change is a myth, or that it is crazy to let environmental factors slow down our manic rush for money. When I am frustrated by the divisions in this country along this subject, I make myself pause so that I can better understand why so many people are against caring for the earth. I think back to the culture that we baby-boomers were born into. Our philosophy in this country centered around individualism, competition, and succeeding in business (making lots of money). You knew you were successful of you topped the charts in whatever you did. Most of us increasingly lived in cities with paved streets and sidewalks, houses to be inside when we weren't at work, surrounded by m

 When I listen to the news and hear about the distressing things happening all over the world, sometimes I like to zero down into present time right where I am. Worrying about whether we will have a future doesn't seem to help. I worry about how long we can survive if we cut out all our environmental protection and focus on our cultural tendency to make money, buy more things, and ignore the needs of others. It is depressing! Of course it's important for us all to use what influence we have, pitch in at whatever level we can to help the future of our world, join with others in good work. But sometimes I need to just shut out the chaos and focus on Nature. A couple of us from Prairie Hill have enrolled in a 3 1/2 month course: Iowa Master Naturalists. And each Saturday we go to learn about the world around us firsthand. Each week we also bring to class a "Nature Share", something we've noticed and researched during the previous week. And my focus this week was the

 We had snow in Iowa last week, and have had most night temperatures below freezing for quite awhile. So even though it is technically spring, it has not quite felt like it! But today the sun came out and the temperatures rose enough to encourage rambling around and looking for evidence of growth on trees and shrubs and perennials. That is always exciting! I've been thinking a lot lately about the permaculture principles that informed us as we planned our cohousing community. Permaculture is a philosophy that looks at whole systems: ecological systems, human systems, systems in the natural world. And one of the first things we're asked to do when beginning to practice permaculture is to observe. Starting small, observe the patterns in nature around you, as well as patterns in your immediate culture. And then expand your observations to wider views. One thing I love to do is sit in a natural setting, put away my phone, close my eyes, and take in where I am. And then imagine what