“Living With the Land”

Looking for founational truths of ecologically responsible living, I came upon habits of inidigenous populations that work “with” the environment to achieve acceptable results as well as longterm viability. Native Americans embraced this advantage by planting three different veggies— corn, beans and pumpkins on the same plot of land. This humble agricultural approach accents, practically, the potential for mutually beneficial interdependence— the pumpkin leaves keep the weeds down while the corn stalks provide the trellis for bean stalks to reach the light. Metaphorically, this painting suggests that today we will be wise to recognize our interdependence with the land and man’s creatureliness shared with all other things. This is the local wisdom that still remembers where food and sustainable flourishing come from.

“Indigenous Wisdom”