Today, much to my chagrin, I took down an old tulip poplar in my backyard. In order for my family to raise food in our suburban Carbondale, Illinois location, we had to get sunlight into the yard. I have yet, in all my years as a gardener and farmer, to be able to raise crops abundantly in shade. I just stepped outside in the night and saw the old tree laying there as if a great and old soul of a body had breathed its final breath. This hurts, but I know the sacrifice will bear fruit. As we move along this popular path of relocalization we must not ever forget that every member of this vast community of beings is important beyond our understanding. My only hope is that this grand old man/woman, this magnificent being, will help us in our endeavors to bring the message home: we will not stand for dogma and the vagaries of the “powers that think they be”. May this “tree”, or as the Nez Perce would say, “this Stick Person”, reveal to us what is truly important in this world. May all people’s basic necessities be met on this earth. May we help each other put food in the belly and love in the heart, or should I say, may we help each other put food in the belly, and may the veils of the heart be lifted so that we may find within and without: CARE OF PEOPLE, CARE OF EARTH, BENEVOLENT DISTRIBUTION OF YIELD.
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