Author: Ally Saunders

My land is strong, wild and free.
My land is not controlled by me,
and I am not controlled by it.
I do not try to change it,
for it is beautiful in itself.

My land does not asked to be changed,
nor does it asked to be harmed.
My land simply wants to know me,
and for me to know it.

It wants me to be more than a passer-by,
To know me like a friend,
For me to be at home in nature,
and speak for the land.

Speak the voice of the setting sun,
Of the wild caribou running,
And of the plants buried far beneath the snow.
For the voice of my land cannot speak for itself.

My time is now:
to breathe the breath of the land,
to move in rhythm with nature’s beat,
to let my spirit soar;
to be immersed in my land.

While there remains a voice to be heard,
A spirit to be shaped,
And a desire to be filled;
My land stands strong, beautiful,
and forever alive.

“The world sends us garbage. We send back music.”
-Favio Chavez

One billion tons of garbage. This is how much garbage is generated every year worldwide. We live in a disposable society; we consume excessively and waste unnecessarily. But as long as we dispose of it properly, there should be no issues right? Out of sight, out of mind.

When my garbage is full, I tie the bag shut, place it in the alley and wait for it to magically disappear. Most days, I don’t even see it go. I just assume that whoever comes every week, will return once more and deal with my unwanted items.

All this waste has to go somewhere, right? But what if that somewhere is your home, like it is for so many people around the world? How would you find inspiration and beauty in your surroundings? How would you connect to the land to which you call home?

I know that I take for granted the natural beauty that can be found in my home. The open green spaces, the abundance of wildlife, pristine rivers, even the sound of the leaves rustling in the wind. If this was all destroyed and covered with the garbage that I personally generate in a year, how would I connect?

This is reality for so many people, including those who call Catuera, Paraguay home. This is their reality, yet they have chosen to find beauty in their surroundings and transform it through music and resourcefulness:

If a community that faces such adversity is able to come together and transform the lives of its youth, we must surely be able to do the same. Find the rhythm of the earth that surrounds you, immerse yourself in it, and share it with the world.

“We cannot, of course, save the world, because we do not have authority over its parts. We can serve the world though. That is everyone’s calling, to lead a life that helps.”
-Barry Lopez

What an overwhelming thought: the idea that the world needs saving. How many people stop dead in their tracks because they cannot wrap their heads around this notion? We face an almost endless list of problems: global economic collapse, terrorism, climate change, overpopulation, water scarcity, poverty, species extinction…etc. How do we prioritize? Where do we even begin?

I will begin by admitting that I do not have a clue. When I begin to consider all of the issues that our generation is already facing, I cannot even fathom the struggles that the next is going to be confronted with. Time and time again I have contemplated these ideas, and I am always left with an overwhelming feeling of helplessness and hopelessness; I am just one person, trying to save the world.

But we cannot save the world. Of course we can’t. How many people have tried and failed? Should we just give up and adopt the mindset that we are all in serious trouble anyways? What is the point in even trying? The endless list of problems exists because we are not capable of solving any of them, right?

But as Barry Lopez describes, conversation is the essential foundation of progress. Action comes later, but in order to address and act upon the issues that we are currently facing, we must re-establish communication that has been lost. Not only human-to-human, but also human-to-Earth and to all things that have a voice but whom we ignore. By restoring open conversation, our understanding of our role on Earth and beyond will grow and we will find clarity on how to “lead a life that helps”.

We cannot save the world, but we can serve it, we can grow to understand and appreciate the gifts that we have been blessed with and safeguard them, the gifts of life, prosperity, love, happiness, health, diversity, nature…etc. By cherishing the good, we can conquer the bad. All of our lives depend on it.

The relentless stream of commitments, assignments and deadlines… Feeling overwhelmed, not recognizing the joys of daily life, just trying to stay afloat. The tireless load that sends you into a tailspin that seems impossible to get out of. Free moments are unheard of; time is of the essence.

I am not living in the moment; I am ceaselessly trying to suck each and every second out of the day, just trying to keep my head above the water and catch a breath every once and a while.

But struggling to stay afloat instead of living in the moment in the fullest possible sense, what joy does that provide? To take a breath and immerse myself in the present, to open my senses to all that is now and ignore for an instant all that awaits.

All can be forgotten when I take a moment to connect to the world of which I am a part of, and breathe. To rediscover the inspiration and joy that can be found when I let my curiosity, wonder and willingness take over.

It is I who can choose to slow down, to remember the joys of daily life and to relearn the calm that can be found by taking a breath and pausing. The uninterrupted stream of commitments, assignments and deadlines will always be, but this moment will not.

Watch this video:

This is what industrial farming looks like. What makes this okay? This is not an uncommon occurrence, yet why has it become an acceptable standard of practice?

The industrialization of farming has revolutionized agricultural practices, producing greater yields and outputs, but it has also created a significant disconnect between land and man. As Wendell Berry states, “Land that is in human use must be lovingly used; it requires intimate knowledge, attention and care.” The kind of knowledge, attention and care that only someone who is truly connected to the land can have, not someone who works a nine-to-five and lives for quitting time. The value of money is more cherished than the value of a healthy spirit and body, of a healthy land and a healthy planet. It is the difference between a job and a lifestyle that separates a family farm from an industrialized one. Berry describes how a family farm “implies longevity in the connection between family and farm” and how the success of a farm is not solely based on financial gain and production, but also considers the health of the spirit and body, and the health of a land.

Consider our actions and the effects that they are having upon all aspects of the natural world. Monocultures, for example, produce nothing for the soil; they kill dirt by destroying root cultures, causing erosion and desertification. Here’s a thought to consider from Dirt! The Movie:

“Erosion means the earth is hurt, it’s bleeding, and it’s in pain. We don’t understand it. Soil is a living system. That’s the problem; we treat it like it’s dead.”

Without the land, we are nothing. Ecological non-sustainability is fostering a greater disconnect from the natural world and a disregard for the immense role that the land plays in our lives. From the smallest molecule of dirt, to the larger organisms that we depend on to nurture our bodies, we are nothing without the natural world. We are made of the same five elements that the Earth is made of; we are a part of it, yet our actions are relentlessly distancing us from it. We must reconsider our role within the natural world and the effects that we have upon it; otherwise, we are going to be forever faced with the consequences of our actions.