Aboriginal seasonal harvesting teaches that taking only what's available when it's available builds resilience. Emu eggs and kangaroos are hunted at specific times; Western life expects constant availability instead. Living within each season's limits, rather than against them, changes how you adapt and what you value.
One of the lessons I learnt living on country was to always live within your season. Blackfellas harvest within the season. You know, there's a certain time of year to eat emu eggs. There's a certain time of year to hunt kangaroo and what sort of kangaroo to hunt. I also learnt that you don't take everything you can, you only take what What you need, and you do it within that season. I learned that the seasons change, that there is a season of hot and there is a season of wet, um, and that you have to go and move within those seasons to survive, and that you can't approach every season the same, and you can't expect the same thing. From every season. And I think in our Western insulated life, that's what we do. We expect the same food at the same time, all the time. We expect our life to be the same thing. We, we don't like the thought of lack. We're uncomfortable with it. But you know, there's seasons when you're living off the land and you're living off country where there isn't. Everything that you need available at your fingertips. Sometimes the seasons are sparse. Sometimes there's not so much that you can get from the hunt. Sometimes certain things aren't available. Sometimes you're wet. Sometimes you're dry. You've got to learn to live within those seasons. So I think if we could take that Imbrani, that Aboriginal mindset, and apply it to our life, we'd be a lot better. Because the beautiful thing about a season is that it's not permanent, it changes. So you learn to change with your season, you learn to adapt with your season, you learn to appreciate the season that you're in. I think we would be a whole lot richer if we had the capacity and the determination to live and enjoy the seasons that we are in.
