Author: Michael Tino

“In order to keep my feet under me, I have to remember where I am. I want to know the names of the trees and the grasses. It is my goal to know always, no matter where I am, whether the moon is new or full, waxing or waning. There is a sliver of a new moon today. It rose just after the sun rose and will set just after the sun sets. It will rise a little later every day until, at full moon, it will rise as the sun sets. I have to know where I am in order to be here for my life. I don’t want to skate along the surface. Getting oriented helps me dig in. So I talk to myself about what I see, about what the earth is doing, about where I am in time, and about where I am on the crust of the planet.” -Meg Barnhouse

How do you remember where you are?

“I was nine or ten when my mother gave me permission to plant and tend my first garden. I was given a rectangular patch of ground out behind the garage, and in it I planted my two favorite vegetables—corn and peas. That gardening project (and subsequent gardens too) provided as much of a miracle as I had ever experienced, or would experience until the birth of my children years later. You plant seeds in the dirt. Through the summer you make sure that they have plenty of water and  that they aren’t choked out by too many weeds. You watch the seeds sprout into little plants that grow and grow. And then you witness the very beginning formation of the fruit. In time, spikes on the corn plant develop into the fullness of ears, and the little pods on the sprawling vines swell as a row of peas takes full shape inside them. And when the time is right…you get to eat them! It’s truly astonishing for a nine-year-old—or for someone of any age.” -Charles Blustein Ortman

What miracles have you witnessed in a garden?

 

I find that everything in nature resonates deeply within each of us, whether we feel it or not.The changing seasons teach us about birth, life, death and then rebirth. Each season gives us an image of each part of our life. Our brothers and sisters in the animal kingdom teach us about home and hearth; how to care for our young; how to give respect, as well as gain respect. Mother nature also tells us when we aren’t treating her correctly or fairly. The changes in our world are because of the things we did to abuse her and she is showing us.We can learn so much about the Earth if only we would open our eyes. But, we could learn so much about ourselves and our communities if we would do the same. -Brandi, a CLF member incarcerated in NC

What lessons do you learn from nature?

Nature is balance. Nature is both creation and destruction.  It is the balance we need to learn, harmonize with and accept. Realizing life has to be accompanied by death or else life cannot begin again; realizing growth comes from learning and being; realizing that we are all a part of a web of natural energy is to me the thing so many on our planet have forgotten, and need to remember. -Jacob, a CLF member incarcerated in AR

How do you experience the balance of nature?

“We gather to praise the Earth,
to honor the soil, the sea, the swimmers and crawlers,
the four-leggeds and the winged ones;
we give thanks for the beauty and glory of the Earth.
We seek new ways to understand our place in the universe
—not at the center,
nor at the end of creative
evolution,
but a humble and balanced place
somewhere between and among all Earth’s children,
where every step we take
becomes a blessing,
where every word we say
becomes a prayer
of  thanksgiving and praise.”

-Armida Alexander

Say a prayer of thanksgiving today.