Picking up this book for the first time is to hold a route map to the future in the palm of your hand. Use what you learn from it and – be warned – your life will change forever. You will become a co-creator of a beautiful new world.
Are you ready to take the step into the world of abundance, beauty and harmony? It may be a rocky journey at the beginning and full of challenges along the way, but I urge you to take the first step. That is the hardest bit. After this you will find life opens its doors to you and all you need do is walk through. Keep a sense of humour and when things don’t quite work out as you thought, take it as a step in the learning curve. Give it a year and see how you feel when your world becomes increasingly more connected.
Permaculture has so much to teach us about life itself; by applying the principles of permaculture to our lives we can begin to transform each problem into a solution. Look to the margins, where the greatest ideas are to be found. It is the same in life too – seek out the edge as this is where the greatest innovation grows. Where two ecosystems meet is the home of the most creative activity – neither lives in isolation – both become a soup of many ingredients that would not otherwise meet. When they do, new life flourishes. So too in our lives, or when we meet with some form of living that runs counter to our own – that is a moment when we can either reject or engage the two different lives – so that something more can come into being. The two can become co-creators of a new world. When that happens the unlikely alliance bears fruit.
We are creating a new world, where people and planet come first. Do this, and the Earth becomes all of our business and we humans all become one big co-operation. Imagine that our Earth is our pot of gold. Each time we co-create with others we are adding to our pot and when we do this the pot fills up with all that we grow, both from our land and within our souls. The remarkable thing is that our pot continues to grow too; the more we put into the pot, the larger it becomes, the more we have to share with others. Permaculture is in the widest sense the biggest job creation scheme in the world. By creating abundance we are giving into the lives of those all around us, as well as gifting a legacy for those who have yet to come. Each seed we plant will grow and give to us for many generations to come. What could be better?
I have applied permaculture principles to my life and to my work – and believe me they work! When I remind myself to look to the problem and see how to make it the solution, inevitably I find the way forward. I am a lawyer, a lawyer who loves the Earth. My journey started when I decided the Earth was in need of a good lawyer and that we can create a legal duty of care. Now I am bringing into being a whole new body of law called Earth Law where people and planet are put first. I am changing the rules of the game – after all, that is all law is – the rules of the game of life. The Earth has a right to life and we can all help nourish the life of the land beneath our feet. When we change our thinking about our lives, we come to the point of understanding that we are all inter-related and when we know that it is then just a small step to the thought that we are all interconnected. I woke up to that thought some years ago and it changed my understanding forever.
As a child I feared being stung by a bee; now I love them! They are the carriers of life itself. We can be like bees, seeding and pollinating literally and metaphorically. When we do that, new life and new ways of thinking can evolve very quickly. Take time to just be with the Earth and you will find there is so much to learn by looking to nature for our wisdom; if anyone knows the rules of the game of life it is the Earth. By just spending time with nature we will become more attuned to her rhythms and her song of love. I marvel when I hear the sounds of nature; not one of them is out of tune. When we attune ourselves to nature so too do we begin to thrum with the very vibration of life itself. It’s a very different tune to the ones we have previously known; this one creates perfect harmony and with harmony comes happiness.
I have a vision of a Garden of Eden where each and every one of us is enjoying our new world. My vision is filled with great love for all living beings. I can see a world full of abundance for all, a world where people and planet are loved and given freedom to be. This is a world where the health and well-being of us all comes first. When this happens, we all become one – a living, breathing organism that is thrumming with love. I can almost hear the sound now.
People and Permaculture is a pathway to this new world. It will indeed change your life if you absorb its wisdom and apply its tools and techniques. It will enhance your personal and professional relationships and help you to design better projects. It is a big step forward in permaculture thinking and a valuable addition to any library. May it bring you balance and fulfilment and enable you to become an even more effective advocate for the Earth.
Polly Higgins
Barrister, author of Eradicating Ecocide and lawyer for the Earth