Water is Life

This is true in North Dakota, New Mexico, as well as within our own bodies. We are now getting a close look at oppression, heartlessness and violence against the Native People of these lands. It’s been happening for 500 years, but we have not been able to see it in live video streams like we can now.

Being someone who deeply loves the land, I have searched high and low for land-based knowledge and wisdom. Native cultures have developed this through centuries of relationship. My home is tucked into a slope that mirrors the ruins of an Ancestral Puebloan home from the 12^th century. Discovering this has enabled me to see how I am in a continuum of people of all ages and times drawing on the same resources. We plan for the same natural events in order to construct our lives. Below and between our home and the ancestral sister site, two arroyos converge. This is a place where water meets water and the land flattens to absorb it into the earth. This is a place that can grow food when moisture comes in the spring. I have grown corn in this place. I dry farmed it, meaning the corn grew only with the water from the earth and sky. No extra irrigation was used. In the mirror image historic home site, we found a mano; a stone shaped and used for grinding corn. We and the ancient people, we all planted ourselves near this growing niche, but above the floodplain. We overlook our place of water.

In the desert, water is obvious in the landscape. That’s where the green is. We see beauty there. We are attracted. Water comes to water in arid climates. We (the collective water within all wildness) share the moisture, the coolness, the green that grows from it and the soil that it builds. This is a refuge that grows and shrinks as the seasons change, as climates change. This is a sacred place of water we must protect.

My heart reaches out to the water protectors at Standing Rock. My spirit cries in outrage and despair at the injustice. And my heart is lifted by the courage and dedication that the people display in standing in this place of protection at all costs. And those of us who can not join in on the front lines of this struggle to protect our earth, our waters, our children’s lives, we can instead choose to participate in the many other places where a commitment to the same relatives is needed. These places are numerous.

We need to not only protect our water and land but we need to divest our lives from the corporate fossil fuel industry, as much as we can. There is much work to do. We can not do it in isolation. And it’s just not wise to wait for our ‘leaders’ to lead the way. It has become more obvious than ever now, we are the leaders. And the paths are numerous.

The solutions are physical and tangible. Physical solutions begin with vision. The vision arises from a place of caring, of dedication, a place of deep connection. Now we must align our lives, our visions, and our physical realities with our place of caring and commitment. Is there any other way?

The three foundational permaculture ethics are: Care for People, Care for the Earth, and Fair Distribution of Surplus. This is not a bad touchstone. It seems so simple and obvious, but when we investigate our lives rooted in a corporate capitalist economic and social structure, we sometimes find our actions are far from the mark. So it takes a discipline and mindfulness to stay true to ourselves and our principles. The attention moves deeper, from North Dakota to our inner attention. We must care for our spirits to be strong. It takes strength to not be distracted in this world.

The Standing Rock Sioux call for support, for winter structures, for bodies, for wood to stay warm and alive as they maintain their role of water protectors through the winter. They also call for prayer. With prayer, with intention and discipline, we speak to Spirit. For me a part of this dialogue with That Which Is Greater Than Me To Which I Belong, is physical practice with the elements of life. The home and lifestyle I create is a place of refuge. Water is life here. I track and cherish each collected rain drop just like I would a field of newly sprouted corn plants. If protected, these relatives will nourish my family for the next year, through the next dry spell. This practice of living off rainwater has guided me into a place of deep reverence. My sanctuary includes the green places where water enlivens the earth and the burrows that keep my family warm through the winter. Most of all my sanctuary is my cultivated place of reverence and gratitude which is where all my work and all my contributions spring from.

Ampersand’s first workshop for 2017 will be Water is Life. It speaks to these intersecting levels of intention, action and embodiment.  We wish to share our place of refuge for the day and offer support for your own path. Recognizing your own sanctuary allows you to be on the front lines in your own life. Honor the Water Protectors by meeting that place of commitment. Let’s come together.  All proceeds will be donated to Standing Rock. Date is yet to be determined. Feel free to contact us if you are interested.

 

Written by Amanda Bramble