“We need to make peace with the planet.”
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon gave his last speech at my University in Southern Illinois on December 21st 2016. He seemed quite happy that it was “the last of his last speeches.” He spoke of delivering many “thousands of speeches” during his 10 year tenure with the United Nations. Having traveled to more than 150 countries he witnessed and experienced so much of the tragedy and possibilities of this world. On this day of winter solstice he spoke with clarity and calm to the 1,500 people sitting with rapt attention, hanging onto his words. I too sat attentive in my chair surrounded by international students, students, faculty, university staff and leaders, and community members. He spoke of “us living in a very small world” and called for all present in the room to “become global citizens.” He requested students to “let go of nationalism and look beyond the US.” He advised them to follow their passion but to “develop passion and compassion hand- in- hand, or passion may not go in the right direction.” The direction that leads to the “upholding of human dignity and human rights.”
His words “we need to make peace with the planet” spoke volumes to me for all levels of life on this planet, the human and more than human. May his words reverberate loudly, far and wide beyond this small town, crumbling university, State and country.
Moving to the US to teach in 2008 transformed me as a Canadian into a global citizen. The threads of my artworkings, within cycles of the moon and earth seasons alongside my artist collective, have stitched me into the fabric of the cosmos and earth in surprising and profound personal, historical, political and sacred ways. It is through my arts-based communication with trees most recently that I have received guidance and support for decisions and actions in response to the personal and political tragedies calling for attention and action.
Humans desperately require, what my poet friend Pamela Richardson wrote to me of standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon on winter solstice, an experience of profound “Deep earth wisdom beyond time and words.” Pamela and Ban Ki-moon’s words re-solidify for me how we require a return to the global worldview of Indigenous wisdoms that teach the necessity of making all decisions with the future seven generations in mind. Not decisions based on individual nation states and personal gain, but for future sustainable peace with the planet and all of its inhabitants. This darkest time of the year and the darkest political time in my own life’s history, offers us the opportunity to deeply question our severed relationship with the Earth and its inhabitants. The original wound of all colonizing nation states.