XIVPrinciple 14 of 21

Tend one piece of ground

Abstract concern for the planet is unsustainable; specific responsibility for a patch of it is not. A balcony, a verge, a stretch of riverbank, a courtyard tree.

BHUMI SEVA · SERVICE TO THE LAND

Abstract concern for the planet is unsustainable; specific responsibility for a patch of it is not. A balcony, a verge, a stretch of riverbank, a courtyard tree. Tending something real converts a general anxiety into a relationship, and relationships hold when arguments do not. The pairing of term and principle here is the author’s own.

The practice

Adopt something living within walking distance and keep it alive for a year.

A question to carry

Which living thing is measurably better off because I exist?

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