We are a part of the Earth and it is a part of us.
The perfumed flowers are our sisters;
The deer, the horse, the great eagle,
These are our brothers.
The rocky crests, the juices of the meadows,
The body heat of the pony, and man -
all belongs to the same family.
So when the Great Chief in Washington sends words
That he wishes to buy our land, he asks much of us.
If we decide to accept, I will make one condition:
The white man must treat the beast of this land as his brother.
I am savage and I do not understand any other way.
I have seen a thousand rotting buffalos on the prairie,
left by the white man who sot them from a passing train.
I am savage and I do not understand how the smoking
iron horse can be more important than the buffalo
that we kill only to stay alive.
Where is man without the beasts?
If the beasts were gone, men would die
from a loneliness of spirit.
For whatever happens to the beasts
Soon happens to man.
All things are connected. This we know.
The Earth does not belong to man;
Man belongs to the Earth. This we know.
All things are connected.
Whatever befalls the Earth befalls the sons of the Earth.
Man did not weave the web of life,
He is merely a strand in it.
Whatever he does to the web,
He does to himself.
Thank you to retired TLC board member Dale Galloway for sending this lovely statement to me.
Think about this: Man did not weave the web of life - he is merely a strand in it. If we all think of this simple idea when we are making decisions in our daily lives, just imagine the profound effect it could have on the planet? "Will this action strengthen the web or make it weaker?" Keeping in mind that while some actions may strengthen one's personal strand, they will weaken others...
Wow. That whole notion kind of blows me away!
Have a happy, sustainable, nourishing, and web-strengthening holiday!!
