PEGI EYERS
Datlamen B.C. Watershed Clearcut, Photo © Garth Lenz
The wilderness is supposed to be a place of unfathomable mystery, rich with the sacred enigmas of life that are precious and unique to this particular planet. Places of refuge, places of inspiration, places of pristine air, swirling moisture, soil and "natura naturans" - places where our hearts open to the love that dwells in the center of all creation. Places that a million other creatures and species call home, and beings that exist on the periphery of our human senses like earth spirits and mythological figures as old as time. Offering endless shades of green and the ancient grounding of earth tones, the wilderness is home to a million forms of cohesive and flourishing lifeforms. Grandmother trees impart their wisdom; the animal rustlings in the understory - large and small - model the values of eternal loyalties to kin; the golden spiral is found in timeless patterns such as the tender shoots of a fern; and the birds fly in mummerations so beautiful we are on fire in the presence of so much joy. Nourishment for body and soul, the wilderness holds us all in a green embrace, and is the only place where we are truly human.
And yet instead of cracking open in the presence of so much love, what does the patriarchal-colonial-capitalist apparatus do? Annihilate the wilderness in an act of ecocide so evil, it's a wonder our species can look each other in the eye. And yet here we are - removed from the land and wondering why we are so unhappy and uneasy - as our wilderness soul-home is obliterated for lumber, paper, and livestock forage. To monetize and destroy, one must hate, and the hatred of nature in the colonized psyche is the most lethal wound the world has ever known. RIGHT NOW as we face climate disaster and massive change, we must stand again in the love and worship of the wilderness. Or Earth Community, (including us) will not survive the ecocide the [so-called] "civilized" mind has created.
And yet instead of cracking open in the presence of so much love, what does the patriarchal-colonial-capitalist apparatus do? Annihilate the wilderness in an act of ecocide so evil, it's a wonder our species can look each other in the eye. And yet here we are - removed from the land and wondering why we are so unhappy and uneasy - as our wilderness soul-home is obliterated for lumber, paper, and livestock forage. To monetize and destroy, one must hate, and the hatred of nature in the colonized psyche is the most lethal wound the world has ever known. RIGHT NOW as we face climate disaster and massive change, we must stand again in the love and worship of the wilderness. Or Earth Community, (including us) will not survive the ecocide the [so-called] "civilized" mind has created.
 | Pegi Eyers is the author of "Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community," an award-winning book that explores strategies for intercultural competency, healing our relationships with Turtle Island First Nations, decolonization, recovering an ecocentric worldview, rewilding, creating a sustainable future and reclaiming peaceful co-existence in Earth Community. Available from Stone Circle Press or Amazon |
