Wildland-to-Vegetable-Garden Workshop Held, Island-wide Story Sharing Awaits You

The field warmed by the sun was so soft, and when I finally came to the countryside, every toe urged me to hurry and free them from the confinement of shoes and socks.

The soil warmed my bare soles, leading me to feel the coarseness of the soil particles, the breathing of the tree roots. I looked at these mud-covered soles and wondered whether my feet, and most people's feet, still have the ability to draw close to the land. More and more questions hung in my heart, growing heavy, so I simply let myself fall backward, my spine against the field, imagining myself as a dewdrop dripping from a leaf tip, slowly seeping into the embrace of Mother Earth. Doing this is right, I thought, I must do this.

At that moment, the voice sunk deep in my heart rose again: "What are you seeking?"

The air was so still that only my breathing remained, as if those eyes that had once questioned me were circling around again, waiting to see how many words I could squeeze out: "Caring for the land? Inner peace?" The voice pressed on: "Where will you look for it?" I lowered my head, my eyes wandering uncertainly: "I don't know. School? The city? Society? I have passed through these places, but I could not find the answer." The voice suddenly turned gentle: "You will find your direction in the earth." Yet I longed to hear a clear answer: "Can it be found there?"

"Not in it, but through it." With that, the voice disappeared again.

Make a promise to the land that has suffered so many setbacks, and tell it that diverse life will return here once more. Human knowledge does not have to be used only to consume the land; this knowledge can also let us become guardians of the land, designers who imitate the workings of nature.