I can't help wondering how many more species of flora and fauna will be taken to the brink before we realise our
current farming practices are completely and utterly unsustainable?
We live in a dangerously blinkered, confusing and sometimes fearsome world. Many of us are blissfully unaware that there are any problems, whilst others are frightened into believing the crazy
propaganda put out by the multinational corporations; the likes of Monsanto, Syngenta and Bayer, who
tell us that intensive farming - with its (often genetically modified) mono crops, its emphasis on 'crop
yield' and its dangerous reliance on
insecticides, fungicides and herbicides - is the only way to 'Feed the World'.
Intensive agriculture may
well be producing unprecedented crop yields at this point in time, but the
soil these crops are grown in is becoming increasingly devoid of essential
nutrients and micro-organisms; the diversity and variety of food crops is being
reduced on a daily basis; the people who grow the crops are, in many cases
themselves, starving; unprecedented amounts of water are being used for
irrigation; and entire ecosystems are being wiped out in their wake. Anyone who
dares to open their eyes and look at the facts can see that this way of farming
cannot possibly be sustained and that the cost of producing food this way is too high.
The problem, I believe,
stems from our way of thinking…..from our 'separateness' and from our tendency
to reduce everything to its individual components and/or its monetary value.
But in truth mankind cannot survive separately, on his own, in a bubble or as an island. No man is an island.
We need to recognise that
we are 'a part' of the whole. Our 'apartness' and all that comes with the disconnection, is surely but steadily driving us to a point beyond which we will, ourselves, eventually be added to the list of
endangered species.
As the Native American saying goes "When the last tree has been cut down, the last fish eaten, and the last stream poisoned, only then will we realise that we cannot eat money'
But it doesn't
have to be this way! I'm not going to suggest that the journey we have ahead of
us is without its challenges. Of course it's not and these challenges are enormous. However the first steps could not be more simple and it's up to US (you and me) to take these steps. All
we need to do is find a way to reconnect with our inner selves, with our communities
and with the plants and animals we share this amazing planet with. This
reconnection is fundamental if we want to bring about the changes that are
needed in the world. Without being 'reconnected' we cannot deal with or fix the
farming situation... or any other situation/issue for that matter. Once we recognise this fact and begin to reconnect and fall back in love with all that was once sacred to mankind, the
rest will surely follow because you cannot possibly hurt that which you love or that which is a part of you.....i.e. the whole.
But where to start?
Easy! Go outside and spend some quality time getting to know the plants living on your drive, in your garden, on the road verges, in the meadows, riversides, woodlands, moorlands, coastlines…anywhere and everywhere in fact. Don't just walk past them. Sit down and look closely at them, draw them, photograph them, look at them under a magnifying glass, write about them, talk to them, ask them if they have any medicine for you, look at the insect life on and around them, touch them, smell them, sense them, make friends with them.
Easy! Go outside and spend some quality time getting to know the plants living on your drive, in your garden, on the road verges, in the meadows, riversides, woodlands, moorlands, coastlines…anywhere and everywhere in fact. Don't just walk past them. Sit down and look closely at them, draw them, photograph them, look at them under a magnifying glass, write about them, talk to them, ask them if they have any medicine for you, look at the insect life on and around them, touch them, smell them, sense them, make friends with them.
Too scary? Then do it
when no one is looking! Start with a pot of herbs on your kitchen table……or
make a cup of delicious nettle or dandelion tea from freshly picked young leaves of
these common and easy-to-recognise plants. Then, whilst you are drinking it, take
a moment to say thank you to the plant who provided the leaves and just see how that makes you feel...
The Medicine Garden
I would like to finish by saying that a few years ago I attended a weekend course run by Rachel Corby.
Rachel uses plants to heal all manner of ailments; physical and otherwise. She
is a plant shaman, a writer and a gardener, and anyone who has ever had the pleasure of attending one of
her courses, or accompanying her on one of her plant walks, will know what I
mean when I say that through her you come to see plants in a whole different
light and to form wonderful, fulfilling new relationships with them and with
the world around you. From this new view point wonderful things begin to happen.
If what I have written about connecting with the world of plants has not quite made sense to you, I suggest you beg, borrow or buy a copy of Rachel's beautiful book The Medicine Garden . She explains it far more eloquently than I can.
Anyway, I’ve rambled enough now. I’d love to write more
but the sun is shining and I am being beckoned outside to practice what I
preach!
Seriously though, do please have a think about what I’ve written and
next time you walk past a plant…..maybe stop to say 'hello' and see what happens. At
the very least I’m sure it will make you smile :-)
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