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permaculture - Re: [permaculture] Lakota wisdom, invisible structures

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  • From: Kelly Simmons <kelly@bouldersustainability.org>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Lakota wisdom, invisible structures
  • Date: Mon, 27 Sep 2010 16:12:44 -0600

Thank you Cory. I appreciate this post very much.

I've been reading the entire, crazy, changing threads with some discomfort as well as interest. I often stress in the PDC's that I am fortunate to be involved in, that learning to garden or catch rainwater or map sectors is the easy part of permaculture. Getting along, for us humans. is the hardest part. And it seems to be getting harder. I'm not in favor of getting along as an end in itself, but many a fine group or community has been done in by wild conflagrations like the one this forum has been undergoing.

What it seems to boil down to, to me, is a fundamental difference in values. There are those that value questioning authority, radical critique, exposing the soft underbelly, critiquing the power elite and power structures (whatever you want to call it), and there are those that value building bridges, finding common ground, bringing as many as possible along with us. I confess I tend to land in the building bridges camp after spending a good deal of time in college in the questioning authority camp. That's not to imply these camps have everything to do with age, just telling you my history.

It's my personal opinion that both camps have value. Just like a diversity of plants and animals have value. It has value to question the status quo, to call for change, to question power structures and rage against the machine. It also has value to build bridges, find common ground and etc. When I read the various posts, it is clear to me that, (to be simplistic), we tend to value actions or criticize actions depending on which camp speaks to us.

I think both or many sides of a debate can enrich our thinking and learning. But it is often too easy to leap to the attack based on one's cherished values and, possibly, perceived slights to those values. That wrecks the rich learning ptential as folks polarize to defend their camp, or their values, or their side.

It's important to allow questioning. It is important to be able to raise issues for discussion. It's also important to listen well, to consider thoughtfully, to eschew black and white thinking (on all sides of an issue), and not to leap (or press send) before some time has been spent in reflection.

So thank you Cory for this wisdom.

Perhaps it would help the discourse, for all of us to take some time after composing a post, to let it sit overnight or a few days before hitting the send button. It's a lot harder to be provoked into saying something regrettable if a few days have gone by in the garden, or the woods, and with friends before hitting the send button. What's a little time spent in reflection and calming down going to hurt?

Protracted and thoughtful observation is so much better than protracted and thoughtless action.

I'm a new comer to this forum. I appreciate the venue and the folks that are here.

Thanks for your time and consideration of my post.

Kelly




On Sep 21, 2010, at 5:32 PM, Cory Brennan wrote:

There are certain things about the Lakota culture and people that I really treasure and love; working with Lakota has given me some really valuable insights into applying permaculture principles.

A couple of nights ago at Pine Ridge on a chilly fall night, we shared tobacco and heart-speech around a fire, Lakota fashion.

Each person was given a chance to speak from his or her heart, for as long as we wanted to, and say whatever we wanted to say, while everyone else gave full attention, respect and honor to that person. What a healing action that was for our project!

When I first arrived at Pine Ridge in 2005, a Lakota explained to me that in their culture, they often pause before responding to someone's comment, and this is often misinterpreted as "being slow or dull." In fact, it is a deep sign of respect for the other person - an indication that you are truly listening - and not just listening, but taking the time to actually consider what the other person said and their viewpoint on things, thoughtfully, before responding.

A form of thoughtful and protracted observation...

I am a fast talker from Los Angeles; at first, this manner of speaking was quite disconcerting to me and even jarring. I was continually interrupting the person I spoke with or finishing their sentence. I still find myself going off half cocked at times, but I've learned something from the Lakota way. When I do use this form of communication, it almost always results in deeper understanding and better relations.

To Lakota, listening to and understanding others is important. That is not something that is much valued in this culture - we put far more emphasis on communicating our own viewpoints and convincing others of them.

One Lakota friend said jokingly, "sometimes it takes us a week or month to respond to someone's comment." But it wasn't really a joke. I've actually seen Lakota do that with each other, and it is totally understood when it happens.

I realized that sometimes it takes all of us that long to truly process certain things that happen to us, or that are said to us. Or even years! What a luxury, in a way, to be able to wait that long to respond, and have the other person understand and appreciate that you are being thoughtful about it :-)

I have incorporated the "talking stick" or "sharing tobacco" into all of my community efforts. It is one of the most powerful invisible structure tools I know of for building compassion and understanding and therefore, a stronger community.

It's harder via email - I've tried it one on one with wonderful results, but never in a group. But perhaps it is something we would want to try here....There really is no reason it wouldn't work, now that I think about it.

I realized after the tobacco sharing that I have a modus operandi on the internet, especially when debate is raging, of going into persuasion essay mode, which doesn't usually entail careful listening and understanding.

I am going to hand over the talking stick to whoever wishes to hold it and speak their heart with respect and honor. I pledge to listen thoughtfully, and to strive to understand your heart.

Love, Cory



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