I'm a Nature Journal Teacher/ Nature Connection Mentor on a path of relearning how to be a human in reciprocal relationship with the interconnected web of life! Come along and geek out about all our nonhuman kin with me! :) πΈπ π¦π»π¦π¦πππ’π·πΈππππ¦π¦¨π¦π±π³ β(After you subscribe, make sure to go to your email to confirm your subscription! Otherwise you won't actually get my letters. π)
Moana and being a Good Ancestor
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Nature Connection with Rebecca: Letters of Wonder from My Ecosystem to Yours π September 26, 02026 πFull Harvest Moon Dear friends, I've always loved Disney movies. However, I usually find myself feeling irritated about the live-action remakes. I'm a huge fan of animation, and I think it deserves to be taken more seriously as an art form. Why would you try to improve on something that's already a masterpiece? I don't need to be looking at real people and celebrity actors to be able to enjoy the story. So when the new live-action Moana came out recently, I wasn't paying attention. But then I heard the new song Along the Way on the radio. I thought, "Oh. wait. I LOVE this!" The song makes me feel determined, hopeful, and exuberant. One particular lyric stood out to me, and that's the reason I'm writing to you about this today. The lyric reminds me of one of the most important concepts I taught about in my class Nature Journaling for Ecological Re-STORY-ation. Dwayne Johnson and AuliΚ»i Cravalho sing together: "remember the voyagers who came before you they struggled and made it through I've been feeling really excited because this reminds me of a concept from Aoteora (New Zealand) called Whakapapa (pronounced Fa-kapapa). It's a system of keeping track of lineage and oral history. In Restoryation, I shared this quote: "Thereβs a fundamental Maori spiritual concept called βWhakapapaβ -- a long unbroken chain of humans standing arm in arm from the beginning of time to the end of eternity. And the sun shines for just a moment on this, our time. Itβs our obligation and responsibility to add to the legacy. Our first responsibility is to be a good ancestor." -James Kerr I don't know if there's a specific part of Polynesia where Moana is supposed to take place, but I would imagine that the Maori have a similar culture and worldview to what's represented in the movie since they are descended from Polynesian settlers. Whakapapa is a concept that's specific to the Maori, but it gives me a lot of hope. It can be easy to feel isolated and unrooted. I think it gives us a lot of power to think about the people who came before us and everything they overcame: and at the same time, the fact that we are the ancestors of the future generations (even if we don't actually have children). Where I live in upstate New York, the Haudenosaunee people have a similar concept of thinking in terms of Seven Generations. Every time you make a decision, you think about how it will affect people seven generations in the future. At the same time, you get to think about how your ancestors seven generations ago were holding you in mind and loving you, wishing for you to have a good life, all that time ago. No matter what culture you are from, and whether you know anything about the ancestors in your family tree or not, almost everyone wishes for their children and their children's children to have a good life. I think it's safe to say that we all have (at least some) ancestors who had these wishes for us. By being here and existing, we are making their wishes come true. We were already loved centuries ago. What would it feel like to keep that in mind as you go about your day today? And what can you do to be a Good Ancestor? We are part of this chain of humans extending from the ancient past and into the far future. In this way, we are all part of something much bigger than ourselves. Our own time here is short. How can we make the most of it? What can we contribute to the legacy? What paths will future people be able to walk because you explored them first? That's what listening to Along the Way has been making me think about. Listen to the full song here: I also just found this blog post about some of the real-life history and Polynesian heritage represented in Moana. Have you seen the new Moana movie? What do you think, is it worth watching? Happy autumn! -Rebecca π P.S. I made a new page of Free Resources on my website! I've been gathering up my favorite things I've made over the past 6 years and I put them all in one place for you to find. I hope they can help you on your journey of Nature Connection and Nature Journaling! π Upcoming Events
Rebecca Rolnick Writer, Naturalist, Educator βwww.rebeccarolnick.comβ βhttps://www.instagram.com/habitat_restoryation/β Land Acknowledgement: This letter is sent from Syracuse NY, which is in the unceded ancestral lands of the Onondaga Nation of the Haudeonsaunee Confederacy. β¬β¬π²β¬β¬ This is a 100% human-created newsletter. No AI was used in the outlining, writing, or editing of this letter. |
Nature Connection with Rebecca
I'm a Nature Journal Teacher/ Nature Connection Mentor on a path of relearning how to be a human in reciprocal relationship with the interconnected web of life! Come along and geek out about all our nonhuman kin with me! :) πΈπ π¦π»π¦π¦πππ’π·πΈππππ¦π¦¨π¦π±π³ β(After you subscribe, make sure to go to your email to confirm your subscription! Otherwise you won't actually get my letters. π)
Nature Connection with Rebecca: Letters of Wonder from My Ecosystem to Yours π October 18, 02026 π First-quarter Moon Dear friends, Here's one specific way that connecting to nature can also help you connect better to other people. (You can also click here to watch the video version of this letter). One exercise you can do to help you deepen your sensory experience of nature is a Sense Meditation. When you go outside, listen towards your left. Listen towards your right. Listen to the quietest...
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