Never-ending gratitude for Earth
I sit in a morning tea ceremony with me and the cup across from me. I pour only the best cup of tea for my ancestors. Piping hot steam rises from a bowl and golden tea cup, one fabricated in France long ago and another handmade in China. I bow in gratitude to the ancestors, the people who came before us, and the artisans who dedicated their lives and souls to creating the beauty I can experience in this moment.
From the beautiful music the cloth the tea rests upon. The young birch tree that I keep the handmade, carved teapot on from China. The care that goes into each person’s craft comes out on the other end for my enjoyment. What a gift.
Each sip of this ancient tea-aged oolong, hand-roasted and aged for three years after it was harvested in a rare location in Lishan, Taiwan, is unfurling before my eyes with each step. Tightly wound balls returning to their robust leaves remind me of the metamorphosis of our ancestors and the land.
This conditioning and aging is ready to receive fresh hot water to open up and delight the senses in the future. The passage of time echoed in the preparation of a tea so special.
Recently, I returned to the States from a sojourn in Colombia to connect with the native Arhuaco tribe in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada’s. I traveled to Nabisumake with a small group of 5, creating a penta of power. I explored the lands and plants and met with tribal leaders to hear about what is most alive for them.
They brought up food sovereignty, or lack of it, in their discussion. I was surprised to hear this because, as an herbalist, I looked around, and all I saw was food, medicine, and great potential. There is something profound where modern society has touched the fabric of their lives and proven once again that new solutions with ancient understandings are required.
I felt the missing component of the divine feminine within the solutions while simultaneously the never-ending gratitude for the Earth and continued pagamentos for the Earth, which are payments (offerings) to honor the most significant ancestor of all – Earth. The imbalance there reminds me that what we do everywhere impacts others. I have more on this later but for now…
As Thanksgiving creeps up this week, I prepare for my yearly water fast on the day of Thanksgiving. Not every year have I done this, but for the past 13 years, I have spent the day in reverence, in nature, and deep meditation about the truth of sovereignty, a term that is thrown out there these days as a fad, I’ve thought about my ancestors and their path to bring me to where I am today.
I reflect on my life, the opportunities I’ve been blessed with, and the ability to have a mind steeped in the wisdom of the natural world around me. My relationship with the plants and the natural world is a cultivated, crafted, and dedicated path that has led me to understand that Thanksgiving is beyond gratitude for what you have but honoring the actual abundance in the world.
May your holiday be full of all you desire, and bow to the greatest ancestors surrounding you in the moment. May the benevolent ancestors, including Earth, continue to provide the bounty of life.
Journal Prompts:
What payments have you offered Earth lately?
Are you in a practice of honoring your benevolent Ancestors?