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Feb 23, 2021

"I love to think of nature as unlimited broadcasting stations, through which God speaks to us every day, every hour." --George Washington Carver

The Gift of Ecological Humility

"In my early 20s, I apprenticed myself to the The Queen Mothers of Kroboland in Ghana with the hope of understanding more about my cultural heritage. Early one morning, I arrived at the compound of Paramount Queen Mother Manye Nartike, who was particularly animated by a rumor she had heard about our diasporic practices in relation to land. In disbelief she admonished me, 'Is it true that in the United States, a farmer will put the seed into the ground and not pour any libations, offer any prayers, sing, or dance, and expect that seed to grow?' Met with my ashamed silence, she continued, 'That is why you are all sick! Because you see the Earth as a thing and not a being.'"