Goooooooood morning SuperForest!
This story begins several years ago in upstate New York on a crisp Fall day. On this fine day, I am with Andrew Zuckerman, his lovely wife, SuperForester Niki, and their son, Ethan. I remember it so well. The leaves falling, the grass still green under our feet. Ethan running around on the wet lawn, laughing at the leaves.
I had something on my mind that day, and I wanted to run it by the Zucks for their wisdom and insight are always of the highest caliber. I cleared my throat…
“Hey guys, what if we declared SuperForest a religion?”
The laughter stops. Leaves falls. A light breeze tickles the tree tops. Niki and Andrew glance first at each other and then at me.
I continued…
“I mean, it’s totally become my way of life. It’s the view through which I now view the world. My bible is the Humanifesto. SuperForest has adherents, it has a core group of contributors. It’s basically a religion. Why don’t we just declare it as such and then we’ll be able to reap all the benefits? We could be tax free.”
I don’t remember exactly how they responded. The response was not enthusiastic. Words like cult and scary were used. I get it. To invoke the twin uh-ohs that are the words “religion” and “church” is to directly invite a lot of negatively associated imagery.
I shelved the idea in the warehouse of my mind. There was much more thinking to do.
It had all begun with a quote. Thomas Paine: “My country is the Earth, and my religion is to do good.” That sums it up for me. My religion was to do good. By embodying in my actions the words of the Humanifesto and by acting as a representative of SuperForest. So, if people can worship invisible giants, snakes, rocks, whatever, why could I not worship the Universe as a SuperForester? Why couldn’t I just do good and call it religion?
As I said, I shelved the idea. I gave up on it because I wasn’t ready and because I was afraid of looking stupid and stepping on toes.
That was in 2008. Two years later and I find myself on Kauai, building Zero One. Here I get to see firsthand how much abundance I can enjoy, provided I am willing to work for it. Each day I put on work clothes, load up a shovel and a long steel bar called an o’o (sounds like oh-oh) and I trudge the wheelbarrow out to a spot on the land and there I dig a deep hole.
Thud! Thud! Thud! The o’o breaks up the clay soil. Diggitty diggitty dig! Out comes the wet, red earth. Into the now wide and deep hole goes compost, grass, yard waste, fill dirt. Into this beautiful mixture goes a baby tree.
This process has happened over and over again, and now there are baby trees dotting the land like chocolate chips on a cookie. It used to be all lawn, and now it is beginning to look like a forest. In ten years, when the trees are reaching maturity, it will BE a forest. A forest filled with food. It will have gone from lawn to food forest all because we got up, put on work clothes, and dug a lot of holes, over and over, and over.
Here at Zero One the result of our efforts is reflected back at me every day as I sit and rest on the porch and watch the land grow. The nine new dwarf citrus trees. The ten new papayas. The new hills of sweet potato and taro. Soon the land will be feeding us and feeding us well. All ours to enjoy and share with our friends and neighbors. Today’s sweat and effort becomes tomorrow’s food.
I will use the food we grow here on the land to feed people dinner. Friends can gather at Zero One, see the gardens, work in the gardens, be fed, listen to their kids run around and play, and together we can continue the conversation about how we can help one another transition to collaborative sustainability. We can teach and learn from each other, and eat well while we trade ideas.
To me, the food is the key.
If food is concentrated in a few spots, we have food scarcity. Scarcity equals control and starvation. Food abundance means peace and tranquility, at least a greater measures of both.
So here’s a question:
Why can’t I garden, make beautiful food, invite friends over to share information and eat together in harmony, and call it church? If my religion is to do good, then any time I am actively doing good for my fellow Kauai-ans I am in church.
If I’m surrounded by food, love, support, and abundance, what do I have to be afraid of?
Heck, I’m going to do it. I’ll start my silly love church. I’m not going to tell anyone else that they should do It. I’m simply going to explore it for myself.
In my mind, since I became a SuperForester then I feel like whenever I am awake and interacting with other beings, I am in church. Life feels holy and sacred to me. The Universe and all its forms have become welcome friends to me.
Perhaps I can add a line to Mr. Paine’s eloquent words?
“My country is the Earth. My family are its intelligent beings. My religion is to do good.”
Such a wonderful adventure, the life SuperForest!
Thank you for letting me share my journey with you.
-Jackson
For a more thorough explanation, check out the SF Forum.
(image via flickr user mattijn)
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