"The care of the earth is our most ancient and most worthy and, after all, our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it, and to foster its renewal, is our only legitimate hope."
I love Wendell Barry. Owen is pretty great too.
This quote reminds me of related idea I've been toying with-- freedom. I mentioned in an earlier post Helen and Scott Nearing's struggle to understand hippies and Leftists from the 1960s onwards. They became aware of this community's urge towards freedom, but that sometimes the freedom was from responsibility or accountability. I really value opening that conversation. Freedom, like the idea of health, is often defined in relief to what it is not. These are hard concepts to clearly understand in the affirmative.
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| Pepper growing in the Mekong Delta, one of the most fertile regions I've visited. Sometimes caring for the environment seems to be the act of getting out of her way. And running interference on anyone else who would impose. |
The Wendell Barry quote reminds me that if I want freedom from hunger and environmentally-triggered disease (such as over-exposure to chemicals imposed on my environment) then it's in my best interest to learn about the earth and how to be her ally. If I want the freedom to be fed and healthy then learning about food, how to grow it organically, keep soil fertile, and the environment largely respected contributes to that goal. If I want health, it serves me to be outdoors, active, and invested in protecting the environment.
If I want freedom, I need to act free. If I want freedom, I need to earn it.
A friend of mine said she often notices that something she really loves-- like a trip-- comes right before a challenge. She recently took an unexpected trip where she was able to relax and renew. Right on its heels came a struggle with her son, where it took a lot of her energy and attention to parent him.
Receive.
Give.
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