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“To imagine that other aspects of the pala’s being, in which it enters history as a potent force and a protagonist in songs and stories, it becomes necessary to remember the nutmegs have a hidden side, which always eludes the eye. It is there that songs, poems, and stories reside. If this hemisphere withers, then the other too will eventually lose the meanings that give this tiny planet a place in the webs of life that sustain humanity.” 
~ Amitav Ghosh, ’The Nutmeg’s Curse’

For November’s Misery Medicine, we discussed how legacies and ongoing currents of climate colonialism oppress via disenchantment.

After sharing our relationships to spices, we talked about how Western colonialism rejects the agency of nonhuman beings to turn them into profitable commodities. Put crudely, it’s easier to exploit those you don’t respect.

A key part of this process, as shown by Amitav Ghosh, is the forcible removal of Indigenous peoples from their lands and the dismissal of their cultures — many of which revere various kinds of creatures through songs and myths.

It’s not coincidental that caring for plants and animals is often seen as “whimsical,” and that whimsical is seen as cute, weak, or diminutive but!!!

A whimsical recognition of the aliveness of all things can…
ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ reclaim deep wisdoms
ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ build a strategy for survival
ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ plant a seed of rebellion

The world! It is alive! Living! Plentiful!

Even (especially) plants resist!

Beautiful photos from beloved @tartine___ 📸

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