Mother
Earth
“When
we pause, allow a gap, and breathe deeply, we can experience instant
refreshment. Suddenly, we slow down, look out, and there’s the world.”
Pema
Chodron
The
back yard is quiet now. Nesting season is over, and only the cicadas and
crickets are raising a clamor. In the distance, crows yak to one another like
old spinster sisters yelling through their empty house. Even the squirrels are
quiet. I love this time of day—it feels as though the whole world is in meditation.
Waking
up to another day on Mother Earth is a small miracle in itself; one we overlook
and describe as “just another day.” But there is no such thing. Every single
day is a gift to be opened and celebrated. If I were a child, I would spend
this day poking through the woods, turning over rocks in the creek to see who
lives there, and collecting small plants for my terrarium.
I watched a documentary
on Facebook yesterday about climate change. One of the people interviewed was
an elder of the Cherokee nation, who told a story about when he was six years
old. His grandfather took him to a lake on reservation and sat him down beside
it. The grandfather sat facing him, but no words were spoken—only communication
through their eyes. The boy did not know why they were there and felt full of
questions, but somehow knew better than to ask them. They sat for hours, and after
a struggle with himself, the child settled in to simply observe what was around
him. He saw small fish swimming in the shallows, frogs gathering on the surface
to eat insects. He watched dragon flies circling and stopping in mid-air—all colors,
all sizes, iridescent in the sunlight. They seemed curious about him and his grandfather—curious enough to
fly up and check them out eye to eye. He watched the birds swooping and
circling above the water, and butterflies landing on the tall cattails.
Finally, after many silent hours, he came to understand that he was there to do
exactly what he was doing—to sit silently and observe the gifts of the natural
world. To see its beauty and diversity and to experience its quieting effect on
him, even at six years old. When he looked at his grandfather, the old man
simply nodded, and they stood up and went home. It was his first ritual, one of
many in his long life.
The
natural world is diminishing every day, so when you have a chance, sit with it,
listen to it, send it your love and positive energy. This planet has provided
for us in every possible way. We must now recognize this, and approach her with
appreciation, with gratitude and deep love, or we will not have her gifts for much
longer. It’s time to pause, breathe and allow grace to fill us. Then send it
out through a grateful heart to Mother Earth, who has given us all she has to
give.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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