Beside Restful Waters

by Gregory Hermann

The single biggest thing I learned was from

an indigenous elder of Cherokee descent,

Stan Rushworth, who reminded me of the difference

between a Western settler mindset of

“I have rights”

and an indigenous mindset of

“I have obligations.”

Instead of thinking that I am born with rights, I choose to think

that I am born with obligations to serve past,

present, and future generations,

And the planet herself.

Namaste’