Letter 4513
Our village is named for a figure from many years ago, who owned the land on which we sit. Long since have they passed into memory, and the estate has been divided into parcels kept by us all.
This small garden, this modest dwelling, which is mine, stands on land that used to be part of something larger.
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Before me, even before the one whose estate named this place, people walked the grounds. It was a way station for exchange between many nations. It had its own name.
This land I walk, this home I keep, let me do so in honor of the ancient ones who walked here.
Consider:
Can I respect the many generations that came here before?
Reading:
❖ “The Bible says the earth is the Lord’s, and the deed has never been transferred to any of us.” — Wendell Berry, “Wendell Berry on Sustainability, Citizenship and Becoming a Native”
❖ “Land is the residence of our more-than-human relatives, the dust of our ancestors, the holder of seeds, the makers of rain; our teacher.” — Robin Wall Kimmerer, “Greed Does Not Have to Define Our Relationship to Land: On Choosing to Belong to a Place”
❖ “One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.” — Ecclesiastes 1:4 (KJV)
Thank you for reading. If this helped you today, please consider sharing it.
~B.R.
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