“If we reach common ground, and can understand what everybody’s going through, we can really affect change. And make sure that everyone is treated equally and has the same freedom.”
—Colin Kaepernick
One day, as I walked the land at Prairiewoods, I saw the tree photographed above. Note how it stands in a place of demarcation between the prairie and the woods. The tree appears to have a preference for the woods, seems to be reaching toward them with most of its branches. In contrast, only one or two stunted arms stretch toward the prairie. Yet, while I couldn’t get it all in one photograph on my cell phone, the tree’s visible roots are strong and vital AND they reach out in every direction.
Those roots signify an important truth: the wisdom of creation is the wisdom of communion. It is the wisdom of interconnection, interplay, collaboration and cooperation. It is the wisdom of the common good. Perhaps we are called to be more like that tree: with our individual leanings but also with roots that extend outward, exploring the territory beyond demarcations; extending our consciousness into sacred shared Earth, into common ground.
- What would it look like if we chose not to heed our culture’s current insistence to demarcate and label one side “us” and the other side “them”?
- What, in your life, are you feeling pulled between? What is your “prairie vs. woods” line? Is there any spot of common ground you can see or amplify?
- What would you hear if you really listened to the prairie’s side of the story? The woods’ side? What would you hear if you allowed yourself to truly listen to those roots radiating in every direction?
—Jenifer Hanson, Prairiewoods director