On the full moon in June the all-black-man-crew of Earth-Bound Building arrived at Earthseed Land Collective. With them they brought a trailer full of timber framing, equipment and supplies. Enough to create a solid foundation for a 16×32 outdoor learning center just below the fire circle that has held so much for us in the last 4 years of being on this land.
After 3 long days of work, they assembled a solid wood structure, an edifice of courage one could say—for what they have endured as black men in a society that has not necessarily invested in their thriving. Together they defied the forces that have threatened to disconnect them from their inherent divinity. Reconnecting them with their ability to create and to see the beauty of potential to its natural end point.
Not that it was easy, and no one ever said it would be. The amount of physical labor invested was not for the faint of heart. The equations and precision required would leave those preferring simple calculations by the wayside. These men understood viscerally that what they were doing had implications far beyond them, and they brought the rigor to match.
Equally important was that amidst all of the hard work there was laughter, appreciation and celebration. We know that this too is how we honor the legacy of our ancestors. That we come to this work by our own choosing, under our own terms, and with a lightness of heart that would make them proud. Yes, we are the realization of so many compounded dreams.
It is essential to capture this moment. It is imperative to tell our own stories. As we effort to decolonize our spirits and our imaginations. In attempts to remember how very powerful and capable we are. May all our children grow up in a world where they are surrounded by enduring examples of the magnificence of black and brown people.
Everything You Do is Sacred [By: Hafiz]
Now is the time to know
That all that you do is sacred.
Now is the time to understand
That all your ideas of right and wrong
Were just a child’s training wheels
To be laid aside
When you can finally live
With veracity
And love.
…Now is the time for the world to know
That every thought and action is sacred.
This is the time
For you to deeply compute the impossibility
That there is anything
But Grace.
Now is the season to know
That everything you do
Is sacred.
[Photos and Story by Zulayka]
