This morning, this teachings story appeared in my FB feed and my first thought went to homesteading and the work involved in maintaining a happy, healthy home.

(Shared with permission from Standing Bear Network)

“When Nanabozho, the Anishinaabe Original Man, our teacher, part man, part manido, walked through the world, he took note of who was flourishing and who was not, of who was mindful of the Original Instructions and who was not. 

He was dismayed when he came upon villages where the gardens were not being tended, where the fishnets were not repaired and the children were not being taught the way to live. 

Instead of seeing piles of firewood and caches of corn, he found the people lying beneath maple trees with their mouths wide open, catching the thick, sweet syrup of the generous trees. They had become lazy and took for granted the gifts of the Creator.

They did not do their ceremonies or care for one another. He knew his responsibility, so he went to the river and dipped up many buckets of water.

He poured the water straight into the maple trees to dilute the syrup.  Today, maple sap flows like a stream of water with only a trace of sweetness to remind the people both of possibility and of responsibility. 

And so it is that it takes forty gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup.”

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For me, one of the benefits of building my homestead is the feeling I get of “I did this”.
With homesteading, there is work to be done. It is not just a job that you go to and clock out of, at the end of the day. It is the contribution, the stewardship, the honouring and the passing on of knowledge, beliefs, and the value of working together, not just with the human community, in isolation, but with the natural community as well.

- and the benefits of the work are sweet, just like maple syrup!   

My home is my homestead and is my responsibility,
- Debbie