Ecology of a Cracker Childhood Ecology of a Cracker Childhood

Growing up in rural Georgia, author Janisse Ray relays the story of her childhood upbringing. On a junkyard in a small house with her parents and her three siblings, Ray always enjoyed the hidden treasures of the junkyard. But, she especially loved the natural world she was surrounded by. Rolling hills once filled with Georgia Pines now lay low and sparkle with the pale yellow promises of next year’s peach harvest.

Ray, like many others, never knew of the amazing natural history of the land she called home. It was only after learning about the nature around her that she began to find her true calling, and face the complicated life that awaited her inside the small house on the junkyard.

“I search for a vital knowledge of the land that my father could not teach me, as he was not taught, and guidance to know and honor it, as he was not guided, as if this will shield me from the errancies of the mind, or bring me back from that dark territory should I happen to wander there. I search as if there were peace to be found.” explains Ray.

Being in touch with the environment is one of the number one ways to reduce stress, feel grounded and learn to slow down the speed of our otherwise fast paced lives. As Ray has taught us, connecting with nature can be as easy as looking in your own backyard. Even sitting in the grass between tasks, eating your breakfast outside and taking walks with no plans or intentions helps recharge and reconnect with nature without having to stray from my everyday tasks.

It is time spent in nature that we understand the slow and intentional energy that keeps nature balanced. The same energy that you can channel into your work, your relationships and most importantly yourself.

Books will forever hold magical universes between its covers. However, it is how we apply these outlandish worlds to our own that show true lessons waiting to be learned, dreams to be explored and potentials yet to be tapped.