Belonging to the Land: Lessons from Kakadu and Indigenous Wisdom

Note to self.

In Kakadu in 2018 with my EG colleagues.

I ask our guide: “So does this national park belong to the indigenous population here?”

The guide replies: “The Aborigines do not believe the land belongs to them. They believe that we belong to the land.”

Eureka. The earth has been around for 5 billion years, we but for a twinkle of time.

We own nothing. We merely have a lease on a few things for a maximum of 50-years, and even that is terminable at any time without notice.

Living and experiencing is far more important than owning.