Guardian Of The Environment
For several thousands of yearsyou upheld the sacredness of Nature
avoiding wanton destruction
of plant and animal life
taking only what you needed
since their sacredness was
just as important to you
as the sacredness of humanity
When harvesting wild rice for food
you let some fall into the water
to produce crops for the future
Surrounding a pack of sheep
while hunting in the mountains
you let a male and female escape
so by their reproductive process
they would ensure the continuation
of their species
You saw your self as part of Nature
living in harmony with it
and not plundering it with greed
Your religion was to respect Nature
viewing all plants and animals
as parts of its magnificent fabric
Abuse of a part of it was
an abuse of the whole
Your way of life
provides valuable lessons
that can teach mankind how
to deal with today's ecological crisis
that threatens the survival
of all life on the planet
You were the genuine
Guardian of the environment
I have always admired the way of life of the Native American Indians living in harmony with Nature before the advent of the Europeans. By extension, this applies to all indigenous peoples including the Amerindians and Polynesians. This piece is dedicated to them.
Comments (15)
Thanks for reposting Socrates
I am proud to say that I am 25% Native American.
Through the years, most people changed from being connected with the Earth and nature, shifting to fixated on themselves. Like you mentioned in your post, greed.
With the large population that now resides on this planet, it will be very difficult to have a lifestyle like the natives had. Sure, we do put in place laws; but, not everyone will follow them and it is virtually impossible to uphold them. In modern days, laws can be bypassed by hiring savvy lawyers and/or paying the right law enforcement personnel with bribes or campaign contributions. Again, this boils down to greed.
With that said, I believe more and more people are seeing the importance to preserving what little we have left. Even though global warming is a controversial subject, there seems to be an agreement between the majority of scientists that our temperatures are increasing. Even if this temperature increase is not from humans, what would it hurt to respect the planet? At the very least, we will have a cleaner planet to live on and we can become closer to it like the natives.
On the flip-side of the coin, if it is caused from humans, we should hope that it is not too late.
From my understanding, the Native Americans were very spiritual. Also, I know there are some prominent societies that you can join only if you believe in a higher being. Maybe it is time for us on this planet to look a little beyond ourselves?
I am posting this to complement your blog "Back To The Indian". I wanted to post it as a comment on your blog. However, when I attempted to do so, I saw that you had closed of all comments so I am posting this separately as I think your blog has an important message.
I agree with your position re the 1st comment which I read. It is unfortunate.
(Please note that I am not trying to steal your thunder).
Please feel free to respond to any comments on the topic by others.
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who doesn't want to live such way. whether one knows or does not know, s/he always lives in harmony with nature.
thanks for posting otherwise i would not find this poem.
AMEN to your comment!
Thanks for telling it as it is.
Thanks for your realistic assessment of the situation from a modern day perspective.
For the overall benefit of mankind, let us hope that more persons will become "guardians of the environment".
I think the Native Americans incorporated caring for the environment in their spirituality.
Welcome to my blog!
"who doesn't want to live such way. whether one knows or does not know, s/he always lives in harmony with nature."
What is your perception of living in harmony with nature especially with regard to human actions in relation to the environment?
Hope you are keeping well and enjoying your home by the sea!
Thanks for your comment. I agree with you that the planet is kicking up fuss already.
I am glad to see that more people are becoming aware of the situation, as you said, and are taking action to deal with it.
"What is your perception......."
right-now, i might have different ideas and could say differently. but while i was commenting. i was thinking about food and health. "taking only what you needed" that describes a lot.
example: when one is tired, one might go to park or garden or near a tree. without knowing or one might know that, s/he exchanges the energy. Harmony means balance. plants need balance, human needs balance. they create balance in the level of energy. for other level there are other examples.
I entirely agree with Bhadra.
Everything is energy and, in order to keep balance, there must always be a fair exchange...
e.g. When taking a plant, one must ask permission and leave something there in return.
There is a word used by the Earthkeepters of the Andes, in the Q'chuan language:
Ayni which means "reciprocity", a mutual exchange and respect - not only for nature, but also for people-
I agree with the example you gave about living in harmony with nature.
However, my focus is on the word "always" in your comment which states:
whether one knows or does not know, s/he always lives in harmony with nature.[/i
Do you mean that a person always lives in harmony with nature regardless of the nature of his/her actions?
What about those who engage in widescale destruction of the environment for economic greed? What about poachers who kill elephants only for their ivory tusks?
Are they living in harmony with nature?
I agree with bhadra and yourself re the stated action that is in harmony with nature.
My focus is on the word "always" in his statement.
We may have different ideas and look same things very differently.
Killing or destroying some aspects of nature does not mean that they do not live in harmony with nature. May be not with those aspects they are destroying for personal gain. but there are many other aspects of nature to which they live harmoniously and always live harmoniously. There is no denial of their destruction as negative. Despite of that, I cannot reject their harmony with other various aspects of nature. Health is always link to harmony with nature and elements.
Don’t entangle with ALWAYS. Otherwise one a-l-w-a-y-s entangles.
I do not think that human actions responsible for the current environmental problems in Nepal, which I have mentioned, can be said to be in harmony with nature, and that overall, human actions are always in harmony with nature,