Mother Earth

 

By: Misty Murph'Ariens

 

“To you the earth yields her fruit, and you shall not want if you but know how to fill your hands. It is in the exchanging the gifts of the earth that you shall find abundance and be satisfied. Yet unless the exchange be in love and kindly justice, it will lead some to greed and others to hunger.” -The Prophet, Kahlil Gibran. This passage really speaks to me. In fact, everything Kahlil has written speaks to my soul, but this passage of The Prophet really resonates with what has been on my mind lately. I have recently watched a number of great films explaining the shift from energy-intensive agribusiness, to some more sustainable ways of producing food and achieving health. One of the films was called Dirt:The Movie and the whole thing, in my mind, can be summed up with one quote, “Of course you have terrible soil problems in your country. What do you expect when you call it dirt?” Humans of the modern era have lost our spiritual connection with the earth—not just the planet—but with good, healthy, living dirt. In this film, an amazing woman from India (who appears in many wonderful environmental films), talks about how the soil is like our mother, Mother Earth. She supports us and nourishes us with the food made from her living body, and so we should respect her and care for her in loving gratitude. This makes so much sense to me. In permaculture, we say that you should cultivate a healthy soil and the rest will grow itself. This means providing food and habitat for the organisms (like bacteria, worms, insects and fungi) that cycle nutrients and therefore build topsoil. Just look at a forest—it cannot help but grow and thrive. It is not static. It doesn't grow the same things year after year. Instead, a forest naturally progresses into a more and more intricate and balanced whole. It is like an organism unto itself, with the different plants, animals and microorganisms all acting as the various organs of the body. It fluctuates to respond to the environment and it is a very adaptable system because it is richly biodiverse. All of the different species act as an immune system to the forest, keeping all things in balance, providing the maximum amount of food and shelter in a minimum of space. Having lived in a forest, I know how much abundance can be found there—apples, nuts, wild leeks, strawberries, raspberries, watercress, mushrooms, and of course, lots of wild game. A veritable fresh organic grocery store is right there, and yet no one has to plant it, tend it, feed it or weed it. In fact, all we have to do is not mess it up! But, in my soul, I am a farmer and gardener. I love tending my plants and animals. I don't believe that we have to give up our interaction and stewardship of natural systems. On the contrary, I feel that as sentient beings, it is our moral responsibility to care for all of nature. The only difference between agriculture and permaculture is the focus. Agriculture focuses on food for humans, often neglecting food and habitat for everyone else. This is very often to our detriment through environmental damage that affects our air and water, and ultimately human health. Permaculture focuses on abundance and health for all. I think that we can take what we have learned in agriculture, and use it to enhance natural systems. Ultimately, the fear of lack in the world is proving to be a prophesy quickly being fulfilled. What a world it will be when we focus on finding abundance and satisfaction in love and kindly justice. For more fun with dirt, you can look forward to my next article on building with Earth. To attend our upcoming Cob workshops, call me @ 519-313-0403. For more information about Permaculture, watch; Dirt:The Movie, A Farm for the Future, Creating a Food Forest the Permaculture Way, A Temperate Food Forest, or Queen of the Sun. Read; Gaia's Garden. Or Visit www.mistyariens.wix.com/ultimathule