Sustainability is Harmony

My dad can play most musical instruments, but to my knowledge he never studied music theory.  His favourite instrument is the guitar, electric or acoustic.  But he also plays accordion, drums, piano and even spoons. He has an ear for music and can speak the language without having it written down to read. 

My mom is a classically trained piano/keyboard player and is also a pitch-perfect vocalist. She can play a music piece the first time by reading western music notation and translating it to her hands and feet on the fly.  She knows all the scales and letters of the western music alphabet. 

Many times I’ve listened to them harmonize. Mom would say the Key and play the note, then start off playing music she’s reading and my dad joins in, picks up the rhythm and the key and they co-create in harmony.  Two ways of knowing combined creates magic.

For me it’s a simple and powerful example of using two ways of knowing (two-eyed seeing) to co-create a shared pathway forward. 

Prosperity and sustainability together is a harmony.

In September 2023 I was honoured to be a guest on the Whitecap Dakota First Nation (WDFN) lands serving on the Indigenous Centre for Cumulative Effects Technical Advisory Committee. In June 2023, working together, Canada and WDFN achieved formal recognition of WDFN's inherent rights under Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution. I believe an important element of reconciliation and a shared pathway forward is to increase our ability to co-create a harmony.

How cumulative effects combine to create either positive or negative outcomes for the environment, people and our economies depends on our ability to play many instruments using more than one way of knowing.  In the RavenWater Learning Circle™ we explore how to create harmony using western contemporary science, Indigenous Wisdom, scenario planning, and on the land experience to help guide land use decision-making and governance.  In every Cumulative Effects for Earthkeepers, Guardians and Practitioners Level 1 course we’ve completed, we’ve rediscovered well-loved harmonies of the past and created new chords for the future. 

Join us for the next RavenWater Learning Circle 4-day Cumulative Effects for Earthkeepers, Guardians and Practitioners Level 1 course. We will learn and create beautiful harmonies together. 

Don’t wait because the class size is limited to enable lots of one-to-one and small group learning.  Click here to register and reserve your seat. https://www.ceanalytic.com/ravenwater-1-registration 

I'm looking forward to co-creating with you.

Barry

#cumulativeeffects #cfx #sustainability #holistic #indigenousled #icce #prosperity #harmony