The Constitution of the United Relations of Earth

I wrote the below in an attempt to outline a new narrative for us as humans. Both the Constitution of the United States of America, and The Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address that I first encountered in Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book Braiding Sweetgrass, were inspirations for this writing.

This piece reflects my own ideas of the kind of world I wish to live in, and I humbly offer these ideas to you for your consideration. Please take what resonates, leave what doesn’t, and consider responding in the comments with any objections, or changes you would want made to this document before you would put your own signature to it.

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Today we gather humbly, understanding our need to correct our course as People of the Earth. We see that we are supported in a great web of life and we beseech this web of life to continue to sustain us as we learn how to live in balance. So now, we unite our hearts and minds as we enter a new covenant with one another:

The Constitution of the United Relations of Earth

We, the human children of Earth,
in order to form a more perfect union
with all our kin upon the Earth,
And to establish right relations,
insure harmony and balance among us,
provide prosperity for the entirety of creation,
promote the well being of the Whole,
and secure the blessings of Peace for ourselves,
our ancestors, and all our descendants,
Do ordain and establish this Constitution of the United Relations of Earth.

Article I

Section 1

With hearts and minds united,
we recognize the primacy and ultimate authority of Earth
in all material life.

We resolve to consult Earth in all our collectively made decisions.
We agree to hold what Earth provides as freely given gifts, circulating them equally freely, taking only what we need, and always leaving a portion for others.
We consent to study our patterns of consumption and waste, and vow to learn how to voluntarily simplify our lives.
We examine our practice of ownership and adopt instead a practice of stewardship, understanding that the land over all the earth, and all beings living here with us, are born free and cannot be owned. We concur that this is the natural order, and that we as humans are here to participate in and protect that order.

Section 2

With hearts and minds united,
we recognize the sovereignty, dignity, and kinship of every living
animal, mammal, bird, fish, reptile, insect, bacteria, virus, and fungus,
in the greater web of life.

We give great thanks for these magnificent beings and resolve to love and respect each of these members of our Earth family, to actively partner with them in their best interest and in ours, and to always look toward the balance of the whole.

Section 3

With hearts and minds united,
we give gratitude to the plants, those who miraculously eat sunlight,
agree to be food for us, and provide medicine for the world,
those upon whom our lives utterly depend.

We extend great respect and honor to these beings, our partners in life, and we resolve to learn from them, and to collaborate with them for the greater good of all.

Section 4

With hearts and minds united,
we praise and honor the Trees, our elders, the knowing ones
whose communication knits together the ground beneath our feet,
and whose leaves provide us with the oxygen we need to breathe.

We resolve to join our intelligence with theirs, in order to make our shared world an even more beautiful paradise.

Section 5

With hearts and minds united,
we marvel at our primordial ancestors: Sun, Moon, planets, stars,
and all that lives in galaxies other than ours.

We resolve to know ourselves as one cosmos.

Section 6

With hearts and minds united,
we give glory to Earth for the power and abundance of rocks and minerals
in her body.

We resolve to respect the power of these precious materials and to understand what their intent and greater purpose is, always asking their consent before utilizing them for our own devices.

Section 7

With hearts and minds united,
we appreciate our beautiful Earth and the oil held in her body.

We resolve to be in conversation with our planetary mother, Earth, as to humans’ right relationship to this precious substance her body produces, understanding the time it takes for this substance to form.

Article II

We seek to establish right relations with Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind,
understanding these primordial forces to be our guardians,
and our teachers.
For balance in our world, we humbly apprentice ourselves to them,
asking for their mercy and patience as they show us the way.

Article III

We offer a very special thanks for Water, knowing that without water, we would not be alive. We honor sacred Ocean, the origins of life on Earth, the womb of our Earth Mother. We give thanks and praise for the Life-giving power of Ocean, and wonder over the ocean’s many mysteries we still have not fathomed.

We resolve to care for Earth’s oceans, sacred waters of Life.

As we breathe this Constitution to life with our own breath and ratify it in our own hearts, may our beloved Earth family come into renewed balance.