“Belonging involves reckoning with what is. We belong to the beauty of nature. We also belong to the injustice and harm that allows us to witness this sunset, on this particular mountain, in this particular spot of land that holds a particular history. We may be related to those who lived here for thousands of years, we may not know from which land our ancestors came, or we may know that our ancestors displaced others through violence and brutality. We may have a deep bond with land that carried our ancestors for one decade or many centuries. We may grieve for our ancestors forcibly removed from their original lands. When we take the time to learn about the peoples who inhabited a place for thousands of years, those who stewarded it with care and responsibility, we connect ourselves to a long legacy of belonging that emphasized harmony and balance with nature. As we lament the changes to the natural world that are currently producing disorder and destruction, we can also give thanks for what is still in balance due to indigenous wisdom and compassion handed down through the generations.”
~From Sebene Selassie and her new book You Belong.