The Line Break

I’ve been listening to the book Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge And The Teachings Of Plants, by Robin Wall Kimmerer, and the post’s title is a question she asks her reader while talking about ideas of place and belonging, of loving mother earth and nature.

Where do you feel most like you belong? Where do you feel at home?

I grew up on a farm, in rural Virginia. I grew up in a family where it was not safe to be a child–not from siblings, not from a parent. But the woods were safe, and quiet, and full of peace.

So your prompt over this long holiday week, should you decide to give yourself the gift of writing time, is to answer the question “Does the earth love you back?” And see if you can reach back to a place of safety & peace in your life as you write your answer. What was the sky like there? What were the sounds? (You might want to answer the question: who was not there?) What was the weather like? What were you wearing? What was your mind like in that space? And any other specific details you can think of–remember that there are many senses your writing can access (scent, touch, hearing, taste, sight).

Happy writing to you, happy rest to you.