{"id":310,"date":"2021-11-11T21:13:29","date_gmt":"2021-11-12T05:13:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/kchomlak\/?p=310"},"modified":"2021-11-14T10:07:41","modified_gmt":"2021-11-14T18:07:41","slug":"a-relationship-we-cant-live-without","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/kchomlak\/a-relationship-we-cant-live-without\/","title":{"rendered":"A Relationship We Can’t Live Without"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In \u201cSpeaking of Nature: Finding language that affirms our kinship with the natural world,\u201d Kimmerer (2017) encourages us to foster a deeper connection with nature through language that recognizes personhood <\/em>for all beings. The Potawatomi \u201cgrammar of animacy\u201d uses personifying pronouns that instinctively create a relationship between humans and all living things. This is contrasted with western, colonial culture and language that is based on human exceptionality, which reserves personhood for a single species (Kimmerer, 2014). English speakers objectify nature by using the pronoun, \u201cit\u201d to refer to non-human living beings, resulting in an unconscious distance between humans and the environment. To bridge the language gap, Kimmerer crafts a new pronoun, \u201cki<\/em>,\u201d and it\u2019s plural form, \u201ckin\u201d for use in the English language to represent \u201ca being of the living earth\u201d (Kimmerer, 2018, para. 20). The use of these pronouns can create a relationship between humans and non-humans, create a deeper understanding of climate change and ultimately lead to more heartfelt climate solutions.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine if ki <\/em>and kin <\/em>pronouns were used in describing climate impacts. When looking at a songbird that may have died due to a heatwave, instead of saying, \u201cit died,\u201d we could contemplate how the intense heat would have affected ki. When discussing declining fish habitat, the comprehension would be around how kin are now homeless. A warming ocean could be conceptualized by feeling how ki is heating up, invoking an implicit feeling of heat in ourselves.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can think of the climate crisis as a damaged relationship. We are in the stage of unravelling, where one or both partners have checked out. We must understand however, that this is a relationship that we simply cannot live without. We have to dig deep and take responsibility for our role in this relationship. We have to acknowledge where we went wrong, apologize and commit to do better, so we can heal. We need to revisit the past and remember what brought us together in the first place, rekindle the passion and move forward on trust and hope.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ideally, our relationship-building process will mature to a steady state of harmony: an ongoing, committed exchange of energy, mutual respect and continuous learning. The climate change story would then move away from one of damage and control, to one of reciprocity and ceremony, fostering even deeper connections with relatives. Our solutions would be grounded in love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a future I have been contemplating at my sit spot. I am learning that when I can connect with nature, I feel hope and gain understanding. When I am challenged by something that feels big, or I have questions about how to proceed, I take to the outdoors.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, a downy woodpecker surprised me as I stepped outside, flying in front of me and landing closeby. Ki held me in awe. I stared, frozen. I watched and listened and felt. We connected.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What would an ongoing, harmonious, mature relationship between humans and nature feel like? How can we move to a time of ongoing exchange, deep respect and commitment to all of our relatives, both human and non-human? Would we have to look backwards in time, or into the future?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A downy woodpecker. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo credit: Cornell Lab of Ornithology<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cornell Lab of Ornithology (n.d.). All About Birds. Downy Woodpecker Identification. Retrieved from: https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/guide\/Downy_Woodpecker\/id<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kimmerer, R. W. (2014). Returning the Gift. Minding Nature, 7<\/em>(2),18-24. https:\/\/www.humansandnature.org\/filebin\/pdf\/minding_nature\/May2014_Returning_the_Gift.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kimmerer, R. W. (2017). Speaking of nature: Finding language that affirms our kinship with the natural world. Orion Magazine<\/em>. https:\/\/orionmagazine.org\/article\/speaking-of-nature\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In \u201cSpeaking of Nature: Finding language that affirms our kinship with the natural world,\u201d Kimmerer (2017) encourages us to foster a deeper connection with nature through language that recognizes personhood for all beings. The Potawatomi \u201cgrammar of animacy\u201d uses personifying pronouns that instinctively create a relationship between humans and all living things. This is contrasted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":945,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cals502","has-post-thumbnail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/kchomlak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/kchomlak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/kchomlak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/kchomlak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/945"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/kchomlak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=310"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/kchomlak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":346,"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/kchomlak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310\/revisions\/346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/kchomlak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/kchomlak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/kchomlak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}