spider webs

This morning I was reading about spider web's in Lederach's Moral Imagination. Nature can be such a powerful metaphor for conflict resolution. However, I think we fail to realize or rather, REMEMBER, that we are part of nature too. Living in La Grecia on Finca San Martin has gotten me thinking more than ever about the environment. Today, there is a bubbling water source, which had only been a hint of humidity when Vicente and his family arrived there. They cultivated the land and continue to protect the water source with a reforestation project. There are so many examples in the surrounding area of farms that are exploiting and stripping the land of her goodness. However, you cannot make a living by saving the earth. The earth does not pay you for this service because our relationship with the earth is not based on money. We cannot be owners of the earth. Money is not the language of nature. Money is inconsequential.

Enough of that morning musing...

I spent last night in Matagalpa with Rose and Molly. It was nice to get out of the campo for the night. I had not realized how much my body was being effected by the diet of rice, beans, tortillas, and pasta. We went to the lovely Italian restaurant that we had been to in October. La Vita y Bella. I ate a SALAD, pizza, and bruschetta. My stomach was very very confused. Although it is nice hanging out with my compañeras and taking a warm shower, I really miss La Grecia and Vicente, Carmen, Wilmer, Levi, Bismark, and Erika. I cannot describe how much I love this family. In such a short amount of time, I have formed relationships with them as well as the place itself.

One morning I sat for a little over an hour waiting to see a guardabarranco (the national bird). I did not see one until I returned to my house, but I saw other birds and enjoyed the breeze beneath the bamboo trees. Finca San Martin is IDYLLIC. This place could easily be my favorite part of Nicaragua. Before coming here and starting ISP, I felt like I would easily be happy never coming back to Nicaragua (except maybe to teach English on the Caribbean Coast and hang out with the Garifunas). However, now I have come to love this little part of Nicaragua and the work that is being done there. People are actively trying to address violence and give alternatives for people to resolve their conflicts...

But conflict resolution is not sustainable...we need CONFLICT TRANSFORMATION, which is where human rights promotion comes in and projects that address injustice. Social injustices and family life are the roots of conflict (or so I am starting to conclude and reconfirm in my heart and soul).

Spider webs connect themselves to a place with humility and a profound understanding of a soul of a place (Lederach, The Moral Imagination).