COMMON GROUND, UNCOMMON GIFTS

Balboa Press

Contents

DEDICATION..................................................................................................vPROLOGUE....................................................................................................viiACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................ixPREFACE.....................................................................................................xixCHAPTER 1: CONVERGING PATHS.................................................................................1CHAPTER 2: THE MEDICINE WHEEL...............................................................................15CHAPTER 3: NEW BEGINNINGS—THE EAST SHIELD OF BIRTH AND REBIRTH........................................43CHAPTER 4: INNOCENCE AND TRUST—THE SOUTH SHIELD OF CHILDHOOD..........................................73CHAPTER 5: INTO THE DARKNESS—THE WEST SHIELD OF ADOLESCENCE...........................................113CHAPTER 6: BEARING GIFTS AND BUILDING COMMUNITY—THE NORTH SHIELD OF ADULTHOOD.........................161CHAPTER 7: COMING FULL CIRCLE—TRAVELING THE BLUE ROAD OF DEATH AND TRANSFORMATION.....................199CHAPTER 8: SOME THOUGHTS ON BUILDING COMMUNITY..............................................................215SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY.......................................................................................231ABOUT THE AUTHOR............................................................................................237

Chapter One

All the life rhythms of the insects—birds—flowers—animals and human beings Concur to celebrate one great symphony.... A symphony man cannot direct ... and should not try. Born with great powers.... Equalized by powerlessness Man cannot beat his separate drums.... Nor go his way unheeding. For he is an inseparable part of the Universe—Its grasses and trees—The wind and the wings. Gwen Frostic in The Enduring Cosmos

Furthermore, we have not even to risk the adventure alone, for the heroes of all time have gone before us. The labyrinth is entirely known. We have only to follow the thread of the hero path, and where we had thought to find an abomination, we shall find a god. And where we had thought to slay another, we shall ourselves. Where we had thought to travel outward, we will come to the center of our own existence. And where we had thought to be alone, we will be with all the world. Joseph Campbell in The Power of Myth

A small blue moth struggles to free itself from a spider's web. Taking pity, I retrieve a small twig and free the moth. The web is ruined and, though free of the web, the moth remains trapped by the strong, silken fibers of the web. It will die a slow death unless some creature comes along to end its life. I turn and walk away. Are there things here for me to learn about myself, about community, about the hunter and the hunted, and about the circle of life?

In Common Ground, Uncommon Gifts: Growing Peace and Harmony through Stories, Reflections, and Practices in the Natural World, readers are led on inward journeys of discovery through outward journeys into the natural world. As such, it is a guide for individuals, families, and communities wishing to be effective stewards of their own lives and the life of the planet.

The title reflects the weaving of two concepts.

First, Common Ground acknowledges and celebrates that this is our planet. What is here is all there is. Every single being, whether animal, vegetable, mineral, or other substance, has a soul and shares this planet. Though many have known this through the infinity of time and space, more recently, we have lost sight of that deep knowing. With technology, industrialization, and a sense of superiority, we created dualities—man versus nature, mind versus body, sacred versus profane, us versus them, haves versus have nots, and civilized versus primitive among them. Relying on rationality and thought, we separated ourselves from the rest of life on the planet and claimed our superiority over all. Nature became a force to battle against and subdue. We demonized nature. We also demonized those who knew how to live in and with the natural world. The cost has been profound. Now we are faced with peak oil, burgeoning populations, climate change, and dwindling resources, all of which raise questions of sustainability. The cost has also been our isolation from our knowing of connection and interdependence that lives deep within our DNA.

Our deep knowing was reawakened back in 1968 when Apollo gave us the first view of planet Earth from space. The long-range view of "Earth-rise," this blue-green gem surrounded by the blackness of space, reminded us that we are all here as one. To survive and to sustain life here, we must honor the interdependence of all the beings that exist here.

That view from space helped us to re-member the words of Chief Seattle:

This we know. The earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth. This we know. All things are connected like the blood that unites one family. All things are connected. Whatever befalls the earth, befalls the sons of the earth. Man does not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.

Though we know this, when it comes to living what we know, we are woefully lacking. We live in a world of profiteering and consumerism. More is better—more money, more toys, more car, more house. Until I stopped watching television, I had no idea of the battering I was receiving with constant advertisements for some item I should have. Our choices are based not on need but on want. And our consumerism is the principle lever for building and sustaining our economy as well as our part of the world economy. With empty lives, how easily we fall prey to the hawking of wares. And most of this manufacturing—production, transportation, and delivery—has occurred without regard for natural resources, raw materials or the pollution of our Earth—oceans, air, and land. Now we are confronted with global warming, peak oil, water resources polluted by run-off, toxic landfills, and nuclear waste.

We have been willing participants and willing bystanders in this process. We have bought into unfettered consumerism believing it will fill our psychic emptiness. Instead we have found our emptiness unmet, while thinking that surely there is some other item that will fill us once and for all. Collectively, we have missed the mark. I want does not fill us. I want disconnects us from families, communities, states, nations, and the world. We have lost our connectedness to one another. Other beings, both human and non-human, have become mere commodities.

There was a time when the deep knowing of interconnectedness was honored. This was a time when human beings we often think of as primitive lived in concert with the natural world; a time when the natural world was teacher; and a time when human beings did not put themselves in the center of the circle. Not only that, but these indigenous people also knew that the Earth is not the center of the universe but that the sun is!

Of course, we cannot return to this way of life. We live in an ever...