Is the concept of wilderness any different than the self-image I create to meet my needs and values? Does my choosing to walk through a forest rather than the plowed field next to it change the landscape? If I were to call myself a backpacker rather than a sports fan, would I appear different in the eyes of others?
If I want to change, perhaps I ought to start by knowing what I am changing. I can do that by fully recognizing who I am rather than who I fancy myself to be. I’m not just an aboriginal lifeway specialist; I’m also a wide-eyed seeker of the mysteries that lie over the next hill, along with being intensely involved in my own physical and emotional healing.
What if I used the same approach with Earth healing? Rather than fixating on remnant parcels of what once was and romantic notions of life in the past, I could embrace today’s reality—poison, environmental rape, and indifference nearly everywhere. Wouldn’t this increase my effectiveness—our effectiveness—in helping heal the wounds we have both inherited and created?