We belong to many ancestral lineages as human beings. This is especially true for Black people, the primordial keepers of this 3D planetary experience. Socially, we may perceive ourselves as belonging to a certain group or family based on aspects of our DNA. From both spiritual and scientific perspectives DNA has more to offer than problematic notions of pure bloodlines. We have living and ascended ancestors, both inherently present but available for different experiences of spiritual remembrance. Nature is one of our most ancient ancestors. Nature in this context is to be understood as both the natural world of flora, fauna and elements, as well as the waves and particles that make our perceptions of a collective reality possible. Both Geb (Father Earth) and Nut (Mother Sky), the seen and the unseen, are necessary in understanding our purpose as beings on this island planet we’ve made home.

In discourse as human beings, we’ve familiarized ourselves with intellectual frameworks like “nature vs. nurture” and “Mother Nature vs human nature”. This perception of our relationship with the natural world, of which we are members, has created a juxtaposition by which we have separated ourselves from the resources required for our existence. We struggle to colonize the intentional and ethereal landscapes prepared for us by Source. Instead we could work in tandem with the wonders and tools nature has to offer us. This way of being is killing us.

Our relationship with the planet, our living elder, mirrors the United States’ culture around ancestry and legacy. Inherent in so many aspects of our culture is an abuse of our most experienced and often wisest members of society. In precolonial contexts elders were honored with positions of advisement, always engaged in the development of the community and cultivation of the future. This was also true for Earth, who was honored through annual ceremony, celebration and sacrifice in order to express gratitude for the mass abundance available to us as her inhabitants. American culture has cultivated an internalized disregard and discontentment with the aging and wise aspects of our souls. Requiring that we attempt to maintain the often limited perspectives and experiences granted to us by the bodily resources available in young age.

In truth, there is so much to be learned from our elders and Earth about life’s cycles, joys and mysteries. Aging gracefully is an experience that has less to do with our physical vessels and more to do with our willingness to maintain a healthy relationship with ourselves as extensions of one another and our planetary ancestor. Black don’t crack anyway. Our souls are where life shattering realizations form valleys of loving discernment; fountains of everlasting youth overflowing with divine Truth.

Paradigm Shift: Nature as Nurture