Lee-Ann’s Pondering – All My Relations Part 2 

Indigenous wisdom is most significantly a resource for healing. Every time I listen to Indigenous teachings and learn more about Indigenous knowledges, I feel closer to the truth of our existence. It leads me to a sense of joy and appreciation for the gift of life and all that is offered to us through creation. 

So far the Lenten journey, with poetry from Wendell Berry and art from Henri Matisse, has been a rich, healing and inspiring one. Yes, it’s involved some challenging self reflection, noticing some thinking patterns that have been unhelpful . . . naming some fears that prevent me from accessing creativity, imagination and grace. 

Ash Wednesday was the starting place . . . recognizing that paying attention to our inner life is as essential and necessary as eating, sleeping and exercise. Unplugging from our daily routine to really dive into our inner truth is, like turning the soil in the garden, is a natural process for nurturing new life and discerning our way forward. It takes me about an hour to read the material, reflect on it, and do some journaling. Maybe a bit more when I’m inspired to do something artistic with it. 

Some pretty helpful discoveries have come as a result. Matisse’s still life paintings and Berry’s poetry remind me that when I’m so caught up in my thinking about the problems of the world, I can miss the chance to notice the miracles all around me. Everything is miraculous if you really sit and take it in . . . the sweetness of your cat’s face, the way the steam swirls up from your hot cup, the softness of your favorite blanket, the evidence of your presence by the impression you left behind on the chair, or the smile on someone’s face. 

There is a part of me I notice that judges time spent in reflection and contemplation to be self indulgent. It’s the self critical driver of the Protestant work ethic which also demands hard work and perfection. Interestingly enough, the Good Courage resource for Lent offered by the United Church of Canada, pointed me to an interesting article about the characteristics of white supremacy culture, wherein I discovered some insights. 

In the article, Tema Okun cites perfectionism at the top of the list. What an aha moment. Where did I get my perfectionism, the tendency to be so hard on myself?  I think it’s just part of the air we all breathe. It’s the norm and the expectation . . . and it has shaped and formed all our lives. I recall one minister I worked with said, “you’re only as good as your last sermon”. One of the other characteristics Tema Okun identified was the value of quantity over quality. The corollaries of this have been a huge challenge for me and the church, “all resources of the organization are directed toward producing measurable goals”, “little or no value attached to process; if it can’t be measured, it has no value”, discomfort with emotion and feelings”. How do I/we measure our success as a community of faith. We don’t make widgets, we “love God and neighbor”. How do you measure that? 

I’m rediscovering what it is I love about congregational ministry . . . it’s the thoughtful, meaningful conversations, the moments of shared insight and discovery . . . the aha moments and the connection. It’s the quality of the relationships, not the number of people in the pews. It’s listening to others and witnessing their faith, even when they don’t think they have any, watching them grow and become confident in themselves, having been given the opportunity to shine in a supportive community. It continues to be taking on a project, seeing it through and being restored to hope in humanity through the process. Being part of a Christian community for the past 25 years has been challenging and liberating, just as the gospel promises. And now as we face today’s current challenges, I can say with lived confidence that if we continue to journey with Jesus to the cross, however imperfectly, we shall be led to Easter and new life.

Love and Lenten blessings to you all,

Lee-Ann

P.s. Want to learn more about the Lenten program? It’s not too late to get started. Just let me know at lee-ann@northleaunited.ca and I’ll hook you up with the materials.

I offer my three ‘big take-aways’, and steps forward, from Carolynne’s presentation.

1. Notice how the language I use affirms my kinship relationship with all living beings . . . how often do I objectify other living beings instead of referring to them as relations. Can I begin to refer to other living beings as sister, brother, ancestor, teacher, friend? How does it change my relationship with the earth and ‘her’ living plants and creatures when I recognize our shared existence as an interdependent ‘community’? Instead of pests, can I see other creatures as having their place and that we together must find a way to ‘be’ in harmony? (Lately ants have found their way into my house. I have to find out how they are getting in. In the meantime, I’m catching and releasing, because they are just lost and need help getting home.)
2. How can I deepen my relationship with a part of creation, another part of my non-human earthly family, such as the grass, the plants, the squirrels, the ants? How can I build a sense of kinship by paying more attention, observing, encountering, listening, learning? Can I use my prayer time to engage more deeply with God’s love for the other being(s) in my habitat, in a local park, in the pines at Northlea? Can I open my heart to learning from them and letting them help me live more peacefully and in harmony with other beings?
3. How can I be the voice for another non-human being? Can I advocate for no pesticides so that my brother and sister insects can flourish? Maybe I can join Carolynne Crawley’s turtle protectors group to advocate for the protection of the turtles in High Park. Given my particular love of trees, perhaps I can contribute to advocacy for the protection of the old-growth forests in Canada. There are many ways to take action. As I engage more deeply with all my relations in creation (part 2 above) I trust that the impulse to speak for other living beings will arise naturally. 

Carolynne has been a wonderful inspiration and I’m so pleased that she will be joining us once again on June 17th at 11am in our pine gallery. Together we will re-imagine our connection to the land with the guidance of Indigenous wisdom and dedicate the space as a National Healing Forest. Recently the David Suzuki Foundation partnered with the National Healing Forest initiative. Northlea will be ‘on the map’ as a site of support for education and healing. The Northlea community will partner intentionally with the land to heal the wounds of our past and reclaim our essential and life giving relationship with the Indigenous peoples. This will be a new beginning for us all. I hope you will join us. 

Lee-Ann

Here are some resources from Carolynne for your ongoing learning: 

• Carolynne’s website: https://www.msitnokmaq.com/
• Two-Eyed Seeing (Sesatu’k Etuaptmnkl) – Combining Indigenous wisdom and science in education. “Our journey here is not meant for one perspective or one consciousness to get us through. We all need each other.” (Albert Marshall)
• Interview with Braiding Sweetgrass author Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer. “The ways that we interact with the land can in fact be positive.” She highlights reciprocity, a giving and receiving relationship that is more in balance than the one sided relationship that currently exists. 
• Reconciliation Begins with the Land – Isaac Murdoch from Serpent River First Nation speaks about the importance of our relationship with the land and why we must include this when we talk about reconciliation.