The Honorable Harvest is a covenant of reciprocity between humans and the living world.
The protocols offer inspiration for how we might walk gently on the Earth while at the same time satisfying human needs. It is a practice with great relevance for our time; it is both ancient and urgent. The guidelines for the Honorable Harvest were taught to me by generous teachers, while respectfully picking medicines or berries but it applies to every exchange between people and the earth, to everything we consume. · In taking from the Earth we are taught to never take the first… Never taking the first, means you’ll never take the last. · And then, we ask permission. If you’re going to take a life, you have to be personally accountable. I know, in some places if you talked to a plant they’d call you crazy. But in a worldview that regards them as people, we just call it respect. 7 · If you’re going to ask permission, you have to listen for the answer. · If you are granted permission, then take only what you need and no more. · The Honorable Harvest counsels also that we take in such a way that does the least harm as possible. · Use everything that you take…it is disrespectful of the life that is given to waste it. We have forgotten this-the easiest way to have what you need is to not waste what you have. · Be grateful. Gratitude is powerful, much more than a simple thank you. Gratitude reminds us that our very existence relies on the gifts of others. And gratitude is humbling. It reminds us that we are just one member of the democracy of species. It reminds us that the earth does not belong to us. · The next tenet of the Honorable Harvest is to share with others-human and non. The Earth has shared generously with us, so we model that behavior in return. · Reciprocate the gift …. In return for the gifts of the Earth, we are called to give our own in return. · And finally, to take only that which is given to us.
We are all Interconnected even with the Universe 