SRI Kinship Ray Blog Site

The Kinship admin team has been working with a very compelling document called “The Characteristics of White Supremacy” by Tema Okun. We highly recommend visiting their web page here for much more information and an ongoing and dynamic conversation.

Basheera was inspired one day by the realization that our Sufi wasifah practice offers us ways in which we can work with ourselves and this beloved community to counter those characteristics which are the ocean we swim in, so often ways we are acting and reacting without our even noticing.

This link will take you to the beginning of a work in progress that Basheera is continuing to revise, so you can see how this might be a powerful tool for all of us going forward. These are the first three characteristics (out of eighteen total). Once it is complete (although it will remain a dynamic document), we will send out a link to the entire thing.

Our wonderful group of dedicated Kinship Ray admins are praying and hoping that others might want to join us in our work to promote social and earth justice action in our beloved Ruhaniat Sufi community!

You are welcome to join us short-term – perhaps simply to work on a specific project you are passionate about. Or we would love to have you work with us long-term on the many different projects, events, and actions that we continually find to lift up all of us and our beloved planet and siblings.

If you are interested, please email Wakil at drmatthewsusa@gmail.com.

Your Kinship team recommends this wonderful article on Attuning to World Traditions by Radha Tereska Buko that was in the Foundation Manual.  It addresses cultural attunement and is clarifying at this time as we grapple with appropriation issues.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hvEOkasP4TFifmWxAqi1hJtovqrirdJvrtJaPVcXPpk/edit?usp=sharing

The Kinship Ray admin team was privileged to spend time in conversation with two experts on the history and current situation in Palestine, Guy Benintendi of our Ruhaniat family and his friend and colleague, Sergio Atallah.

For an extensive list of resources to learn more about this important subject, please see our resources page on the Kinship website –
https://sri-kinship-ray.org/pdf/Palestine%20Resources.pdf (note there are many excellent social and earth justice resources available on that site, so please check them out while you are there!

Guy and Sergio recommended some specific actions that you can participate in yourselves. Here is a link to a sample letter that can encourage individuals and organizations in support of a specific call to action. This letter is one that Sergio and a Pastor friend wrote to engage local organizations in support of Palestinian human rights, by calling on our Congress Representative to endorse House Resolution 2590. A fact sheet on that resolution can be found here.

Serge also notes that it seems every week he hears of organizations that are coming forward with statements opposing Israel’s regime in the West Bank. Here’s the latest statement of solidarity from the Quakers. If you or your local organizations were interested in sending similar letters or publishing a similar statement, please consider using these as templates.

Hamida Sandy Susut has written an article on the Ziraat web pages about the deep energy retrofit in her housing co-op (an updated article can be found here).

There are also two short videos showing the concept and an interview with her. https://www.greenenergyfutures.ca/episode/energiesprong-retrofitting-59-homes-to-net-zero-in-canadas-north. After viewing the video scroll down to hear the 309 B interview. It is so amazing to see what can manifest with intention.

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The Connectivity Project film series presents stories of the ripple effects that our actions can generate, shedding light on the interconnected nature of life, society, and spirit. Featuring interviews with indigenous elders, scientists, visionaries, and activists, the films open our eyes to how individual efforts can make a world of difference. These short films were envisioned by Rose Madrone who has been part of NWSC for several years. Here is an interview with her https://kpfa.org/episode/terra-verde-november-15-2019/ and a link to the website and films https://www.connectivityproject.com.

Kalama Reuter has been stewarding native plants in Washington through a program called Rare Care. This spring she helped find a thriving population of Suksdorf desert parsley pictured above, but sadly three other rare species were not found as habitats have changed. In addition, she spearheaded an EV carshare grant application for her small town. A $200,000 grant was just awarded and it will be the first two public Electric Vehicle charging stations in her rural Washington county along with EVs available to share.

Please send us what you are doing! We can inspire each other with our passionate contributions. We’d love to feature Racial Justice, Trauma-Informed Practice, Immigration, and Reproductive Justice efforts.

By Basheera Kathleen Ritchie

Dear reader, I write this as a member of the dominant culture FOR other members of the dominant culture because many of us are simply unaware. I know I was. And those of us who have an inkling, have various reasons for pushing thoughts on this topic aside. When something is too big to handle or for us to fix we have a tendency to focus on the things we CAN do. However, if we don’t know the state of poverty, then we can’t understand why important policies don’t pan out the way we thought they would in this country. This is a long blog–especially if you read the links (and that is exactly what I hope you do) but in the end, if you make it through, you’ll understand what I’m talking about. And even if you knew before, you might learn something more.

What White Supremacy Culture calls “poverty of poor decisions”

If you have the fortitude to really look at it, the poverty in the US right now is astounding. I belong to various Black female or femme-led online groups where Direct Giving opportunities are posted. Through these windows, I have been made aware of just how close to or even off of the edge many Black women are living. One local group I belong to offers “Wish Wednesday” in which group members (again female or femme) of color can write two wishes–one big wish and one small wish. If those of us with a bit (or a lot) more means can help someone we can “direct message” them on the side. So many women and mothers are about to miss their rent, electricity bill, or even water bill in any given month (often due to job loss). They are trying to choose between heating their homes or feeding their children. Birthday or Christmas presents are out of the question. Cars are not working or there’s no gas money.

As a member of the dominant culture, I repeatedly hear us opining that “those people” are poor because of their own “bad decisions”. And, indeed, it is hard for us to understand how a poor, single woman might have made the decision to have three, four, or more children. But in many of the posts in the online groups referenced above, children have been taken in by a relative of a single parent who has died or was killed. That relative was already living on the edge with her own children. In fact, many Black, Indigenous, and other folks come from backgrounds so poor that there really is no viable way out. Living with no hope of ever having enough money to be secure causes one to prioritize money differently than the dominant culture does. If you’d like to understand better how this works, read this article from The Atlantic, Your Brain on Poverty: Why Poor People Seem to Make Bad Decisions. It will open your eyes. Poverty is a culture in and of itself. Children raised in that culture find it very difficult to break out of it, as they have already internalized or been traumatized by so many of its norms. 

A Real-Life Example

Yesterday, I met Maven (not her real name) when I dropped something off for her at her home. In this one person’s story, I heard reference to almost every example I’d ever heard about how people on the bottom are kept there or pushed further into poverty: Domestic violence, lack of healthcare resources, inability to receive stimulus, and/or child care credit checks, barriers to supplemental security Income (due to disability) and more.

Maven had lived in St. Louis where she’d had a job in the school system. She described having been promoted twice. (She does not have a degree, so these were not teaching positions, per se. Nonetheless, she enjoyed and excelled at her work with the children.) Then, a few years ago, she developed a relationship with a man who had a steady job, making a good wage. He owned a large home and eventually she and her children moved in with him. Eventually he suggested that she didn’t need to work anymore; he could support her. Much as she liked her job, it was tiring and his offer was too tempting to resist. Shortly thereafter, the domestic violence began. 

Please read about domestic violence among black women in this Time article: Why Black Women Struggle More with Domestic Violence.

Maven grabbed the two younger of her three children (her oldest was out of the house by then) and returned to Portland, where she had lived only 4 years earlier. 

One of the first things she explained to me was her health situation. Two severe problems, neither of which could be corrected–one that prevented her from walking any distance without a walker, another which prevented her from being able to see very well. She was now unable to drive, severely limiting her options. While she is middle-aged, she is not by any means elderly and was not expecting to be physically and visually handicapped at her age. 

This excerpt from a 2017 CDC report on the CDC website, entitled African American Health, indicates that her condition is not unusual: 

African Americans are living longer. The death rate for African Americans has declined about 25% over 17 years, primarily for those aged 65 years and older. Even with these improvements, new analysis shows that younger African Americans are living with or dying of many conditions typically found in white Americans at older ages. The difference shows up in African Americans in their 20s, 30s, and 40s for diseases and causes of death. When diseases start early, they can lead to death earlier. Chronic diseases and some of their risk factors may be silent or not diagnosed during these early years. Health differences are often due to economic and social conditions that are more common among African Americans than whites. For example, African American adults are more likely to report they cannot see a doctor because of cost. All Americans should have equal opportunities to pursue a healthy lifestyle. 

She explained that because she had stopped working the year she moved in with her boyfriend, she did not earn enough credits to get disability. 

Here’s a 2020 article from The Hill, that explains this and more: Social Security Administration is preparing to bar 500,000 Americans from getting benefits. 

This begs the question: Now that she is disabled, how is she supposed to earn enough money to get disability? In fact, what are disability checks for if you can’t get them because you are too disabled to work anymore? 

Furthermore, she told me that she had been homeless for the first year after arriving back in Portland. Because she was homeless, Social Security deducted the amount of her social security check that related to housing. When I got home, I looked it up. Sure enough, if you are being cared for, as in a shelter, they do deduct ⅓ of your Social Security money. 

From the Social Security Web page entitled Spotlight on Living Arrangements — 2021 Edition: The arrangement is that for the first six months out of nine, you get your SSI. For the last three months out of nine, you don’t (link)

One wonders how she is supposed to find a place to live if her income is reduced? Landlords do tend to check that kind of thing, e.g. “How much of a risk is this tenant going to be?” That being the only source of money in her life, this arrangement might present a bit of a problem, don’t you think? 

But Maven’s challenges with government checks did not stop there. Not by far! She did not receive any of the stimulus checks that were issued. She hadn’t paid taxes after quitting her job and moving in with her boyfriend, therefore the IRS did not have the correct address on file. 

This 20210 article from Business Insider bears out the likelihood of Maven’s story.

Worse, Maven didn’t just lose out on three big checks that were designed to help people like her through the pandemic. She also missed out on all the child tax credits she should have received for her 3 children. Through some sleight of hand that she did not attempt to explain to me, her younger sister managed to claim all of her three children. I had read about estranged parents claiming the tax credit payments before the parent who was actually raising the children could stop them so I knew this kind of thing did happen.  I am unable at this time to find that article or any others specifically about that, but I see several references about fraud due to a scam that a lot of folks fell for. 

Commentary:

It’s easy to see how those who live at the bottom of the “hierarchy of importance” in this culture, those for whom government assistance repeatedly does not apply, could easily get discouraged from making any attempt to reach out to these agencies for an explanation. They probably suspected that they were ineligible anyway. Too poor to be helped. In any case, reaching anyone at Social Security can take hours in the best of circumstances. The same is true of the IRS. But during the Covid shutdown, both agencies were short-handed. Yet Maven had done her research. In almost every case I was able to verify that the circumstances she described were based on real, documented policies.

Usually, the jobs people like Maven are able to get are the least desirable–the poorest paying, with the most exposure to the public and the least protection–like, for example, Maven’s job with the school district. Furthermore, now that we have a better understanding of her living conditions and many others like her, what should we expect people living at this level of poverty to do when they develop Covid symptoms? Did they receive the free test kits? If not, do they have insurance for an in-person test? If they don’t, and they don’t get tested, will they stay home and follow Covid protocols just in case. If they do have insurance, can they afford to pay $130 upfront at a testing center, then wait 6-9 months for reimbursement? If they were tested and had Covid, can they afford to follow the protocols? (On a side note, if you believe that many choose not to get tested, for reasons ranging from poverty to simple selfish disregard for fellow humans, how accurate do you think the case numbers actually are?)

So what do we take away from all this? There are several layers of cultural reality implicit in this information.

1. That we live in what is essentially a caste system. There are those among us who our culture has thrown away. We allow them to take the scraps (the worst jobs). There is no pathway out: we have allowed their schools to be worthless, we have allowed the minimum wage to be so low that going to work is not really worth the reward. We have allowed an economy in which the poorest people working 2-3 jobs cannot support themselves, let alone their families. They cannot afford housing. They cannot afford electricity for heating. They cannot afford food. They cannot afford gas for their cars. Every avenue is closed to them. Is it really a surprise, then, that some percentage refuse to accept their lot and look for a back door out of poverty–drug dealing, joining gangs, etc. While there may be a profit in the short term, the majority of those eventually wind up in the criminal justice system. 

 2. That we live in an ivory tower based on a foundation of belief that we are “deserving.” We deserve the education we received. We deserve the salaries we make. We deserve the houses we bought, the neighborhoods we live in, the vacations, and the food deliveries. We are proud that we bought the finest heating and cooling systems and electric cars because they were the most energy-efficient and thereby we did our best for the environment. But if we deserve our foothold in the cultural pyramid, no matter how humble it might be, does it follow that those below us are there because they deserve it? Can we sidestep that question by responding that the real reason there are those below us is that the system is corrupt? Only, I think, if we’re willing to share some, at least, of what we’ve gained by our privilege in this system. 

3. That our money must never be given to anyone who might not deserve it. We insist that the money we share must go to an organization that has been vetted and which will, in turn, vet the eventual recipients of the money. This is a convention that runs very deep in us, even though many of us will hand out little bits to homeless people at the side of the road. This is problematic because a) It requires a middle “man” (or many middle people; b) These middle people, who vet the recipients, must get paid, so only a part of our contribution is given to the people it was intended for; c) The people in the middle are receiving a financial benefit as a result of the misfortune of others; d) The people who need the money do not get it immediately, which is when they need it. In fact, they may not get it at all–perhaps they don’t meet the criteria to be accepted into the program.; and e) Even so, they still need the money. 

4. That these are increasingly desperate times, and desperate times call for new ways of doing things. Here I will make the argument that we need to turn our generous impulses away from “charities” and towards direct giving and mutual aid. (Mutual aid groups are organized by those who need the money, not by those who took the job of managing the money meant for those who need it).

Read The Giving Apps: How Venmo and Cash App Upended a Century-Old Charity Model (link)

Think of all the money that has been given to popular charities, non-profits, and fundraisers and ask yourself what they have really changed? How much money over how many years has been given to Susan G Komen “For the Cure” breast cancer non-profit?

Visit https://www.komen.org/

Where is the cure? And every time a woman dies of breast cancer, they receive more money in memoriam–given by friends and family of that woman.

From www. komen.org: donation form: https://secure.info-komen.org/site/Donation2?df_id=23821&mfc_pref=T&23821.donation=form1&creative=fy22_evergreen_moments&chosen=100&23566.donation=form1

At some point, we have to ask ourselves whether what we are doing is actually working? Is it changing anything? Rather than giving money to organizations so far removed from us that we have no idea how that money ever gets used, how about directly giving to make sure the needs of people in our own towns, our own communities are being tended to? No matter how close to the margin we think we are living, we have more money than many. A small amount, maybe $20, is incredibly meaningful in the hands of a black mother who needs to put gas in her tank so she can get to work that week. 

5. That we can’t escape our interconnectedness. Even with everything going on in the world today, it’s still very easy for many with privilege to live insulated, unexamined lives that either consciously or unconsciously never give a moment’s consideration to those who don’t share such privilege. But even if we do our best not to think about their suffering, our lives, overall, will still be impacted. Our favorite coffee house shuts down because too few customers were willing to step over the bodies of sleeping homeless people in order to purchase their morning coffee. Our medical insurance premium is ridiculously high because of the sheer number of people who, due to lack of affordable insurance, can’t afford preventative treatments so instead receive their medical services only through the emergency room. As this is the most expensive way to be treated, they often cannot pay for the services afterward. This gap needs to be made up somewhere,  hence our big bills! Your friend tells you a story about how honking at an obnoxious driver causes that driver to pull out a gun and shoot your friend’s car 5 times. Imagine the scope of failed institutions and cultural norms that had to converge on that person in order for him to choose that course of action. Yet in spite of all the ways we can be and are impacted, none of these problems are even close to being resolved. Experience indicates they will continue to worsen, until FINALLY we, as a culture, can no longer pretend that they don’t concern us. By that time, however, civilization, as we know it, will likely already have fallen. 

Practice: 

This is a lot to take in and too much to hold, yet hold it we must. The development and activity of our compassion must be coupled with our generosity of heart. Our time to act is now. 

[Text from Physicians of the Heart by Wali Ali Meyer, Bilal Hyde, Faisal Muqaddam, and Shabda Khan. Calligraphy from Ahlan Art and Islamic Art & Quotes:]

Ya Rahman–(divine compassion)

Ar-Rahman might be imagined as the inner self of God, an infinite container that is incredibly compassionate, kind, and tender. It is the sun of loving compassion that is endlessly shining. 

Ya Rahim–(divine mercy) 

Ar-Rahim is the embodiment of loving mercy, and it brings the gentle touch of divine mercy. Nothing other than ar-Rahim possesses the mercy that pours forth freely and fully reaches all beings and all things, without exception. It is an all-pervading infinite presence that is manifesting into a boundless number of finite things.

Ya Karim–(divine generosity) 

A shadowy form that the root of al-Karim takes also gives us a clue for its homeopathic application to the human condition. Karramna means “to stay aloof from.” It has all the bad connotations of nobility, of disdaining others and separating oneself from them. It manifests as elitism. The ‘an means from, separate from, thinking of yourself as superior.

By thinking of yourself as superior, you lose sight of the fact that all the gifts you have received come from al-Karim. This shadow state can be a stumbling block for spiritual teachers and a trap for those who are materially wealthy. Since such people are richer in a certain sense, they may think they are wise and better. Prayerful repetition of Ya Karim addresses the assumed superiority of this ego condition…

Actions:

1. Direct Giving: 
   1. Create an account at your bank or credit union for Direct Giving. Decide how much you will contribute to it each month. It should be no more but no less than you can manage to part with. This is over and above what you give to charities or other non-profit organizations you may support. 
   2. If you are new to Direct Giving, the hardest part will be to find an organization (or organizations) that promotes Direct Giving in your city, town, or area. Look for BIPOC-led groups only, via Facebook, Instagram, or other social media sites. Search words like “giving bloc,” “abundance giving,” “abundance sharing,” “community giving,” “sharing community,” “gift economy,” etc. 
   3. Give until your money is gone for the month. Then stop! You can give it all away in one big chunk or in little bits throughout the month. It is entirely up to you. Start over again the next month. You will be surprised what joy it gives you.
   4. Rise above insecurities about the possibility of giving to someone who is “undeserving” or “lazy.” BIPOC have MANY reasons why their lives don’t pan out like the lives of those with privilege. It’s not necessary to know the backstory and pass judgment on it. Give freely and unconditionally. (Use wazifas above)
2. Mutual Aid
   1. When a catastrophe in your own country prompts you to give, instead of giving to national or international non-profits, look for BIPOC-led Mutual Aid groups in the city or area affected. These will be the folks in the trenches, trying to help their neighbors and communities. Give directly to them instead. No middle people!
3. Material donations:
   1. If (when) you have furniture, kitchen items, bedding, clothes, or other material items to donate, make sure they go to BIPOC individuals or families. 
   2. Look for organizations like Buy Nothing,” “gift economy,” etc. 
   3. It’s a little more work because in order to give to BIPOC you will have to refrain from giving to the first person who responds (most often a white person, who can response quite quickly, as they have flexible schedules or are not working, have vehicles, and may live nearby). You will need to wait for a BIPOC person to be able to clear their schedule and sometimes arrange transportation in order to drive across town to your neighborhood. I will often go ahead and deliver the items to them.

In Conclusion:

While there are many valid ways to approach pervasive social problems like poverty and injustice, don’t overlook the obvious and most satisfying–just help people, one by one!

by Wakil David Matthews

I keep hearing folx despairing over the 2022 election cycle. It seems that the predominant story is that since it is common for the party that won the Presidential election to lose ground in the mid-terms, we should all just expect the worst. We should expect that any progress we’ve managed to make (though it never feels like enough) will be frustrated and stifled after the election by the newly dominant opposition party.

In this blog post, I will argue that we have a choice. We can give in to despair and give up or we can rise up and do everything we can to ensure that this outcome is not going to happen! I will offer several opportunities for all of you to get involved, and I would love to hear from you in the comments, or directly via email to drmatthewsusa@gmail.com about the work you are doing or plan to do.

First, I encourage everyone to avoid the temptation to “doom-scroll” looking for (and easily finding) articles and stories (Instagram, FB, TikTok, etc.) that spell out why the Democrats are in trouble. Even with relatively sane news sources, this kind of clickbait is all too common. It gets attention, but it often ignores the bigger picture.

As one of my favorite political bloggers (Robert Hubbell) suggests, “Contextualize bad news to test whether it is truly bad—or merely part of the tidal pull of media-driven politics. If you do that, I guarantee you that you will feel much better about Democratic chances in 2022.” His excellent newsletter is a great way to do so.

Once you make the decision to rise up instead of succumbing to these narratives, here are a few ways my household have been and will be making a difference:

Vote Forward (https://votefwd.org/)
In the last several elections we have written hundreds of letters to progressive-leaning voters in important swing states. This organization makes it relatively easy by creating lists that you can download of letters and names/addresses. You add your personal message to the letters, provide the envelopes and stamps, and then on a pre-arranged/strategic day, all of the letters are mailed. I truly believe this and other efforts helped turn the tide last time around.

Movement Voter Project (https://movement.vote/)
This project is a way to donate funds to progressive local grassroots organizations that know their communities better than we ever can and that have proven track records for getting out the vote in the most important states.

Third Act (https://thirdact.org/ )
For those of you over 60 years old (and anyone who wants to support them!), this is a new organization that is working very strategically to “save the planet and save democracy.” I highly recommend checking out their excellent website and their many resources. And specifically participating in their “Fighting Voter Suppression” efforts.

 Local Action Networks
In my area, there are several local groups that I work with. Faith Action Network Washington and 350.org WA to name a couple that I’ve written about before. These track and help me advocate for the most important local legislation issues. I encourage you to look for and work with similar groups in your part of the world.

As that wonderful protest song says, “like a tree standing by the water, we shall not be moved.” I hope and pray that our spiritual community and our many dear friends, will rise up and do the work that needs to be done, knowing that it can only succeed if we rise up together in love, compassion, righteous passion, and power.

Toward the One – together!

Izaac van Oosten, The Garden of Eden

(Written BY Basheera Ritchie, a member of the dominant culture, FOR other members of the dominant culture.)

Our founders arrived in this land four hundred years ago with a mission which many in the Eastern Hemisphere hailed as historically and culturally groundbreaking. Imagine! All men created EQUAL (though their imagination did not stretch far enough to include women or other male members who were not of their culture).

They left their homelands because they did not feel welcome there. Their ideas had advanced beyond the rigid confines of the era, causing ripples in the church and state and threats of punitive action. As a result, they were willing to take incredible risks to leave their home country and go to an unknown world on the other side of the globe. They knew, from tales of explorers and conquerors, that the land they dreamed about was inhabited. But these men, who we celebrate as exceptional because of the inventiveness of their minds, were unable to conceive of a culture which could be more deserving than the one in their imagination. So the vast majority of them had no qualms about vanquishing the regionally indigenousculture wherever it got in their way, which as it turned out, was everywhere.

http://ecologyofappalachia.blogspot.com/2017/04/virgin-forests-in-smokies.html

The culture they destroyed or scattered had been in place for millennia. It included not only the humans but all forms of life. The land they lived upon was abundant and the people were robust  (tall)and healthy. This balance with human and other forms of life had been kept since time immemorial. Two-leggeds made sure not to take more than they needed and to leave enough behind so that regeneration could occur. They did not consider themselves to have dominion over the land. Instead, in living cooperatively with the land, they brought about a world that worked for all living things. The natural world spoke to them and they learned the languages. For instance, when someone became ill, they knew the plant language and were able to heal them. Because the Europeans were not able to see past the Christian standards into which they had been indoctrinated, they saw no value in this way of life. They cut down the forests to build houses, towns and cities, extracting anything and everything from the land and water which could be sold, without regard for regeneration. Making as much money as possible was for them, as it still is for us today, paramount, though they implausibly claimed their actions were based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. 

https://www.yukon-news.com/life/black-spruce-losing-boreal-ground-due-to-climate-change/

So gradually, over the centuries, an imbalance with the natural world began to grow and worsen until we have reached the point where we are  today. The forests are dying and burning. The planet is so warm that wildlife habitats are no longer capable of sustaining life. It is becoming increasingly difficult for people to survive the extreme weather events which challenge the planet on a regular basis. The air is polluted with chemicals created by the manufacture of consumer products. Many of these products are not essential to health and happiness but the people have been brain-washed into believing them necessary for demonstrating their success,  assuaging something missing inside, or for no better reason than their convenience.  

The London Economic

The people are growing sick but in their race to riches, the Healthcare industry demands money in quantities that many people cannot pay and so they are allowed to sicken and die. Over time the poor have become poorer still. The rich have become even richer and like to think of the poverty around them as something created by the poor themselves by their “bad decisions.” It doesn’t occur to most of them that the conditions of poverty have largely been designed by those of similar privilege. As circumstances grow worse, trust and social contracts are breaking down and a huge divide is opening between those who would make compassionate changes in order for all lives to fare better and those who are afraid of what they would lose if that should happen.

People are beginning to dream again of a “better” world, just like they did 400 years ago, most of them not realizing that their ancestors had already arrived in that better land and, in their hubris, participated in its ruination. Today their idea of a better land is a place with gadgets they can afford, cars that are more fun, clothes with designer’s names, and vacations on exotic beaches where those indigenous to the land are no longer welcome. Killing the forests and polluting the air and water are small prices to pay for these luxuries. 

Only the wise know that the real treasure is the people’s relationship to the land. Giving up our luxuries, our creature comforts, and our conveniences for healthy forests and clean, pure air and water would be a small price to pay and is the only way to sustain our existence on this planet. We owe our predecessors on this land a contrite apology for the way we have treated it. And we should follow their leadership in saving what we can. What they successfully stewarded for millennia we arrogantly destroyed in 400 years.  

A PRACTICE

1. Write a letter of apology to an imaginary or real indigenous person that you know. Be fulsome in your apology. Use your imagination and your heart.
2. Without troubling an indigenous person with questions, research what you can do–physically or financially–toward reparations
3. Make those reparations faithfully.