The land is our teacher
One of the stories that is often repeated in indigenous cultures is that “the land is our teacher.” The earth itself provides all of the lessons we need to thrive. As a student and teacher of the earth, it is the wild that inspires me – the places where I can feel the vastness and the depth of our magnificent and magical world. This is where the energy flowing in my body connects to the energy of the universe. I am reminded that we are stardust, and all of the experiences and understanding in me are reflected in the sky, land, and water.
If we can remember that we are it, “tat tvam asi,” that we are one with this living earth, we can begin to heal the damage of intellectual separation. To sit in awe of the infinitesimally small community of microscopic life in the soil and the vastness of the oceans and sky allows me to touch the reality of this life. These are the places I go to be grounded and remember that we belong here, that we are part of a symbiotic and thriving whole.
With all the distractions and noise of our modern urban experience, it is an effort to see the patterns that keep us alive and connected. Yet, it is the effort itself that makes us vital to the continually unfolding process of life. The images here serve as reminders and touchstones of the places I have lived, the land that has touched me. From my childhood home of flowing creeks, forests, gardens, and fields to the vastness of the California landscapes, each of these places lives in my body. I become a conduit for that energy wherever I find myself.
So, in the urban experience of Greater Los Angeles, I look for opportunities to manifest the beauty and magic of these thriving places. It's a quest to help heal and restore the potentials in an asphalt parking lot – to uplift the people of a community as we uplift the pavement that stifles our connection to the land that gives us breath.