Submitted by Linda Hill with thanks to Robert George, Isabel Rimmer and all community leaders who never stop showing up with your spirits of generosity.

Severn Cullis-Suzuki and Greta Thunberg were two leaders in a crowd of over ten-thousand leaders who showed up at the October 25, 2019 Fridays for Future rally in Vancouver, BC, Canada. During her speech, Greta acknowledged Severn for showing up at the age of 12 to address world leaders in Rio de Janeiro, 1992. Greta quoted what Severn had said.

“You teach us not to fight with others, to work things out, to respect others, to clean up our mess, not to hurt other creatures, to share, to not be greedy. Then why do you go out and do the things you tell us not to do?”

After Greta spoke, Severn acknowledged all the generations and cultures of children, youth, adults, and elders who were there in the huge crowd on behalf of intergenerational Earth justice.  “So many of us have been at this for such a long time. I see so many friends who have been showing up again and again during my thirty years of activism and stewardship…The reason we are here today is because of the most powerful force belonging to the human species. And that is the power of love.” 

Today, on October 27, 2019 I was one of about thirty leaders who showed up in solidarity with other activists and stewards of nature in our rural Cowichan community on Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. Robert George (Qwiahwultuhw) had gathered us together to share gratitude and celebrate our love for our community, our land and our beloved Mount Prevost, Swuq’us watershed that stretches all the way from the sky to the sea. As we shared our pot-luck meal, I felt so much love for our inter-generational, inter-cultural gathering of children, youth, adults, and elders who have been showing up again and again during our life-times of activism and stewardship.

When Robert invited us to share, I stood up to tell a story about the power of love. In 2009 an intergenerational, intercultural group of Inclusive Leaders held a fund-raiser for a local family who had lost five family members in tragic house fire. The next day a small delegation of Inclusive Leaders visited the family to offer our condolences and our small donation. The Grandfather was so deeply moved by the powerful force of our love that he went into his house and returned with this mask.

The mask he gave to Inclusive Leaders everywhere holds the loving spirit of generosity. The message that goes with the mask is “Never stop.”

Let’s never stop showing up with our spirits of generosity and the powerful force of our love for our human family and Earth community.