The land always holds a piece of my soul. I am the daughter of a farm boy whose garden in the city infuses life into his old blood. Every fall, he says he will not plant again the next year. Every summer I go and discover he has changed his mind, to no great surprise. Once a farm boy, always a farm boy. The boy can move from the land but the land never releases its hold on the boy.
This evening I attended a concert in which the family that grew up beside my father performed. I got shivers when one of the daughters introduced herself through a long line of ancestors. This, this, is connected to the land and a culture of French people. This sense of knowing who you are and where you come from–this is a part of me too. I am much older than my years. I am part of a long tradition and a piece of the earth. These people know it and so do I.
We are a piece of the roots in the land, a breath of the wind, and a beam of the Light that never dims. This is a gift from our ancestors who tilled the land and called it home. This is that restless voice that whispers to us to live fully. This is the ability to extol beauty when others miss it. The prairie will always be a part of me in ways that cannot be explained.
Peace,
Suzanne
Reflection Questions
Does the land hold a piece of your soul?
Do your ancestors whisper to you so you know where you belong?
Prayer
Creator of the land, wide and open,
of the roots, deep and strong
You plant within me a love
of nature and beauty
that cannot be explained
Harvest the joy that comes from this field
Amen.
God in all things 
Suzanne, I connect to this particular post so much. The land I grew up on in NL as a little girl, I feel very connected to. That land feeds my soul. I often wander the old rugged grounds over the land where my grandparents had a house and where I lived until age 4. There’s a big old flat stone, part of the remnants of where my grandparents and father after had an old barn. That flat stone which was also a step was stepped on so many times by my ancestors, it has a history. The vegetable gardens are all overgrown now, but I know where they once were. I built my nature deck out back amongst my fathers trees, that he so loved and nurtured many years ago….it’s like a small forest now. When I die, my wish is too be cremated with some of my ashes placed out there, it’s where I started and I feel particularly rooted to that special area of peace.
The Balinese people seem to be deeply connected to the land. All they have and love very rooted to Mother Earth.
Hope you are having a nice day, Thinking of you, Love, Karenxoxo
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Beautiful, Karen! You are a child of the earth, grounded in its sacredness. Xo.