Did you ever read or hear something that strikes such a chord with your philosophies that you feel like it was meant just for you? And you're so moved when it happens that you feel compelled to share it immediately with whoever is standing near you, stranger or not? That's exactly how I felt about this ancient Indian proverb. About 17 years ago, I had the good fortune of stumbling upon this quote in a shop selling Native American art, and I remember tugging pretty insistently on Matt's shirt to pull him over and share it with him.
It fused itself to my soul and has been an overarching moral compass in my life ever since. To me, it underscores the importance of not only being kind to the earth but also, connotatively, being a good human on all fronts. It’s the idea that one’s actions & words create an impact well-beyond the second they’re expressed – they go on and on and on. Call it a spillover–trickle down–ripple–domino effect if you like…you get the gist, I'm sure. I'll leave it at that b/c I think the credo speaks volumes without my refereeing it for you...
When I googled the proverb today, this is what I found:
"Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children."
D E T A I L S . . .
If it looks like the text is cutout from the paper and the woodgrain of the table is peeking through, you'd be on the right track! I used a picture of my table as the background texture for each letter in the quote. Same with the leaf motif bordering it. Love the effect!
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D O W N L O A D . . .
Download a free 8.5" x 11" pdf printable of this quote in blue, green or pink. These are for personal use only; they are not intended for resale. I'll say it again, these are not for resale. Thank you for your understanding!
