"...the Seventh Generation of children to come..."

In our way of life, with every decision we make, we always keep in mind the Seventh Generation of children to come. When we walk upon Mother Earth, we always plant our feet carefully, because we know that the faces of future generations are looking up at us from beneath the ground. We never forget them.
~Oren Lyons, Faithkeeper of the Onondaga Nation
Quoted in the book  Walking on the Wind: Cherokee Teachings for Harmony and Balance by Michael Garrett.

I've never thought of it like that.
"It" being the generations to come looking up from the ground, as I feel that ground beneath my feet.

Step after step.

Most often, I think of ancestors as I walk the soil.
Until I'm tired on a walk, I am quite conscious of the blood spilt from past generations. 

The peoples who once dwelt here.
The animals. 

The plants.
So much life and death, and life and death, and life and death, and life...
I have called it "blood soil."

But I've never thought of future generations looking up at me from the soil.
It conjures up kind of a spooky image.
But I get it, from a figurative sense, whether Lyons meant it figuratively or not.

Of course, I am most always cognizant of the impact I make upon the earth.
Upon her resources.
Upon future generations.
I'm just one person, and I do the best I can.
Though it never seems enough.

Recently, I again see photographs of the destruction caused by Daesh. (ISIL)
The extremists not only rape the people, they rape the earth.
Of course, the USA is not innocent in the matter.
Sadly, I help fund the machine with my tax dollars.

I hiked 4.85 miles yesterday.
Quite a feat for me.
Hiking is much harder on me than biking.
On my hike I saw 3 turtles, 4 deer, 1 chipmunk, a bunch of water bugs, and a few birds.
I saw 0 humans. No cars. No people. No voices.

It was quiet in the woods, a bit too quiet.
So I kept my eyes and ears keen for any bears.
Fortunately, I saw no sign of bears either.

After my walk, on my drive home, I passed the movie theater.
The Peanuts Movie was playing in 3D.
So I went.
I was the only person in the theater.

Zero people at the state park where I hiked.
Zero people at the theater.
I kind of felt like Charlie Brown as I looked around the empty-except-for-me theater and as I thought of my lone hike earlier in the day.

Seven generations.
Currently, a generation is considered to be around 25 years.
In the past it was considered to be around 20 years.
Seven generations from now will be around the year 2190.
Seven generations ago was around the year 1875.

In 1875, on December 30th, the "Andrassy Note call(ed) for Christian-Muslim religious freedoms." 
I'd never heard of the Andrassy Note until this morning when I did a web search on what happened in the year of 1875.

War. War. War.

It never ends.

My hike yesterday was along the Horne Creek and Bean Shoals Canal Trails.

Some bald eagles have a nesting site not far from where I took the photo below.

I hope to catch a glimpse of the eagles in February when they return to ready their nest. 

I wonder where the eagles will be seven generations from now?