Human-generated chaos vibrates through our world every day now. It seems inescapable and crosses global stages and our neighborhoods. I even feel it in increasing grocery prices. Now it has become an escalating issue of humanity.

How can we achieve some calm amidst these storms?
Getting grounded may provide some helpful medicine. 

Underneath and Unseen

Look outside right now and visualize underneath any impervious surface, an active soil community. Ancient rock materials and relatively recent contributions of decomposition make up the physical soil type that has certain structural characteristics. That physical foundation impacts the hydrological and nutrient cycles that determine the limitations upon the probably thriving biological community there. It is a sustainable and intricate culture of single-celled bacteria, algae, fungi, protozoa, microorganisms, and visible insects, worms, small vertebrates, and plants. Maybe it is the most important ecosystem of all. The soil and water infrastructure is maintained by individual organisms working together to function as a community.

Regenerative Practices

For thousands of years, humans have relied upon soil communities to support their food and material sources whether it was the bison in our tall grass prairies, fruits and nuts from forests, or the wetlands bounty. Those people incorporated land management practices like prescribed burns, limiting harvests, preventing erosion and rotating crops to rejuvenate soil vitality. Being part of the community allowed the transfer of important knowledge and consequently the culture. Today, we term it regenerative agriculture. In recent years, our relationship with the land has taken a greedy turn, but by giving back while taking, as a community, success in regenerative agriculture is demonstrating that it can be economically competitive with what has become “traditional” agricultural production-orientated practices while ecologically being part of the soils community.

Plants and Animals as Equals

Many indigenous cultures recognized other animal and plant members of their community as “people”. The plant and animal individuals were considered important components of their community, deserving of respect and caretaking. Unlike our contemporary view of all things as commodities. The community concept resulted in a sustainable life for all. There was taking by humans, but with limits and giving in return. We all recognize in small communities, like families, that working together ensures success.  If I have food, you will have food. This is also seen in coop systems on an expanded level. The key is the community concept that we are together.

Community Disrupting Chaos

Now let’s examine today’s chaos. There seems to be a fracturing of the community concept. Our national leadership could not be more divided. The system that was designed to encourage diversity in decision-making for the common good has been (as I write this) halted, seemingly frozen by labels associated by two-party affiliation: partisan, not community focused. The casualties are growing. Restoration on the national level will be a long project. However, humans are social creatures and seek community. On local levels, people are maintaining their communities and creating new ones in response to social stressors. We are wired to be caretakers.

Community Spirit

The recent national street-protests that gathered over 7 million were an act of community connection; a common outrage. In 1970, the Earth Day movement gathered 20 million globally in their streets, and it had legislative action impacts that we are still enjoying today like the Clean Water Act. There is strength in community on several levels.

Together, we keep on fixin’ the Fox

Here in our watershed, we do have community spirit. Just last week, a local small business was searching for community service opportunities. This was totally altruistic. Friends of the Fox River (FOTFR) was not their first choice, but we were the only organization that could accommodate a group of more than eight volunteers. The result was that this group finished a large cleanup effort by hauling out over a 1000 lbs of trash. It was literally an example of how coming together in a common cause can create change. The Facebook post depicting that clean-up received over 700 positive reactions, and over 70 grateful comments. Regardless of their personal interests, we agree on that.

Community Collaboration

FOTFR thrives in our mission’s achievements when we can collaborate with individuals, businesses, organizations, agencies, municipalities, and others. We are a friends group! Nearly all of our work is possible from collaborative efforts – working as a watershed community. We recently have even been realizing some increased financial support from individual friends, as they search for ways to work with the community. Our tagline, We are Building a Watershed Community of Caretakers describes our strategy to achieve our mission. We are grateful for our fellow community members contributing however they can.

Stay Grounded

We cannot easily quiet the noise around us,
but we can ground ourselves in our community work.

Witness as the Sandhill cranes play together overhead on their migration, and as the trees offer gifts to the soil community.  Enjoy the beauty the watershed offers. Feel it underfoot and breathe it in. Take joy in trying to catch a falling leaf. If you are successful, smile and give thanks to your relative, the tree. 

Side note

As I was sitting in my outside office finishing the final edits, I added that last sentence. Just then, a leaf dancing down from high above floated onto my keyboard. Now that’s some river magic.