Walking the Land
About a month ago I felt a nudge to start a daily practice of walking around the property that we live on. I didn’t have a big intellectual rationale as to “why” - the nudge from inside was the reason, which I now consider to be reason enough for doing most things.
I did a similar practice several years ago when for a brief time I lived by myself on an island in New York (the Rebellious Ms. Raspberry - if you missed that story you might also like to read about some of the lessons she taught me, like What if Life is an Invitation, Not a Test? Part 1 and Part 2, and this one from Poison Ivy).
Here’s what I’ve found in my recent land walking experience:
It’s a way to connect with the land I live on and have responsibility for. I notice things on my daily walk and it’s often resulted in practical actions such as calling the tree company to check on the health of the three big evergreens that stand at the front corners of our house. I’ve been afraid during every storm that they might fall on us! Turns out they are strong and healthy, but need some nourishment and a trim, which is now scheduled.
It’s also a way to listen and learn. My spirituality, while not rooted in only one tradition anymore, is increasingly earth-based. Listening to Nature Beings and the Earth are practices that nourish my soul and connect me to the Divine. Those trees I mentioned, I now experience them as Guardians. And while I rarely hear clear messages, one of my teachers, Rochelle Schieck who is a student of the Q’ero Elders of Peru, likes to say “If you think you heard something, assume you did!” and I’ve found that to be a pretty fabulous way of learning to hear from beings who don’t necessarily speak in words. It’s not much different from the prayer practices I did as a more traditional Christian - looking for God’s communication through the Creation.
It’s a practice of slowing down and being present in the now moment. I often find myself walking quickly, passing by the Guardian trees without so much as a hello. Lost in thoughts about the day. Like other forms of meditation, I get the chance to practice returning - again and again, to the now moment.
It literally grounds my body - like today when I woke up mind revving with tasks and excitement. I could feel that the energy, though not “bad” was swirling upward, mostly in my head. So out I went. Sure enough, when I came back inside about five minutes later I felt a deeper calm and entered into my tasks still energized, but lacking the “buzzy” feeling that threatened to take me out of my body into the ethers somewhere. Science now backs up the woo-woo idea that putting our feet on the earth literally grounds us.
It also connects me to the suffering and resilience of those who walked before me on this land. People I know of, but know little about, the Piscataway and Susquehannock peoples, African slaves and European slave owners who lived in this region, the people who built this property in the early 20th century, the people who have lived in it throughout the years - the animals who share the land with me now.
As one who experienced the ache of my body for familiar landscapes during the six years that I lived in Los Angeles - by choice - I often think of the depth of that loss and longing that was forced on Indigenous peoples and African slaves - on top of the genocide and rape and more overt violence.
Our connection with land matters to our bodies and hearts.
I recently read an article about another kind of Land Walk - by Indigenous Activists. I hope you will take time to read this article, Activism on Foot - which not only shares stories of several Land Walks in both Canada and the U.S., but in doing so highlights important moments in the history of North America that most of us who live here heard little about in school. There’s also a YouTube video of a new story about the Canadian walk. What action does learning these stories urge you to take to help us move toward restorative justice and collective healing?
And if you’re not in North America, I wonder what you might find if you searched “Indigenous Activism” for the land where you live? There are so many stories that haven’t been told.
As I bring this reflection to a close, I wonder, how do you connect with the land where you live - even if it’s four stories below your tiny apartment?
What changes in you when you open to the stories and wisdom it holds? I’d love to hear about it.
Here’s to Thriving and Equity, and healing with the land we live on,
Deb
P.S. As one who has experienced some sacred and guided journeys with plant medicines (I don’t recommend doing so outside of a sacred container in which you are held and guided), I was deeply moved by this article about an Indigenous Leader who is using psychedelic medicine to support people in healing from traumas related to colonization, with a particular focus on the devastating effects of residential schools.