Stories have always been at the center of my life. As a child, I read constantly—stories of animal intelligence (Koko the Gorilla), generosity (The Quiltmakers Gift), and creation (Old Turtle). I told my own stories through imaginative play, often outdoors. In my faith community, I heard stories of stewardship as a call to care for the earth. Stories and storytelling are deeply ingrained as part of our human experience, even from the youngest of ages, and these help expand our imaginations and understandings of the other-than-human world.

Something about the deep cycle of foods eaten, songs sung, healings evoked, and spirit-kinship renewed knits the human into the larger spiritual web of the living Earth community. That weave, that knitting, those nourishing connections manifest along the chain of life and are also very old.

January is a month of new beginnings. New year on the Gregorian calendar. New resolutions toward personal aspirations and goals. New hours of daylight in the Northern Hemisphere after passing through the winter solstice. New lengths of nighttime south of the equator. New possibilities to deepen relationships and flourish in a healthy community. New blog on the Living Earth Community website.