The Earth is everywhere. You may be used to thinking of the Earth as only the ground beneath your feet. But the water, the sea, the sky, and everything around us comes from the Earth. Everything outside us and everything inside us comes from the Earth.
Thich Nhat Hanh
Colorado does have some beautiful blue skies. We haven’t seen much of it for the past couple days. Today is one of them. May Thich Nhat Hanh’s words cause us to pause, reflect on the world around us and then let them set deep roots within us to live by. Have a wonderful weekend.
A lot of our fear, hatred, anger, and feelings of separation and alienation come from the idea that we are separate from the planet. We see ourselves as the center of the universe and are concerned primarily with our own personal survival. If we care about the health and well-being of the planet, we do so for our own sake. We want the air to be clean enough for us to breathe. We want the water to be clear enough so that we have something to drink. But we need to do more than use recycled products or donate money to environmental groups. We have to change our whole relationship with the Earth.
Thich Nhat Hanh
I guess if I were to have a resolution or goal for the coming year it would be to continue the change in my relationship with Mother Earth, not just in my thinking but in my actions.
We are Earth People on a Spiritual Journey through the Stars..
Our Quest, our Earth Walk.. is to look within, to know who we are, to see that we are connected to all things, that there is no separation, only in the mind!
Lakota Seer
As a young man I spent a lot of time in nature which included walking and riding a bicycle almost everywhere. I spent almost no time in front of a television. I am grateful for that childhood. At some point I attained the coveted drivers license and life took on a new direction. I did less walking and driving and less time in nature. I then began chasing a career that put me in front of a computer, within a cubicle and less time in nature. I began to spend less and less time in nature to the point where I lost a connection to nature. I viewed it as separate from me. More than 20 years ago there was a shift in seeing that we are connected to all things. Getting back into photography and practicing a spiritual life were key elements in that shift. There is a desire within me to have more of that connection and thus the reason this poem strikes a chord with me.
Predawn along Peralta Trail just east of Gold Canyon, Arizona, April 2014
To pray you open your whole self To sky, to earth, to sun, to moon To one whole voice that is you And know there is more That you can’t see, can’t hear Can’t know except in moments Steadily growing, and in languages That aren’t always sound but other Circles of motion. Like eagle that Sunday morning Over Salt River. Circled in blue sky In wind, swept our hearts clean With sacred wings. We see you, see ourselves and know That we must take the utmost care And kindness in all things. Breathe in, knowing we are made of All this, and breathe, knowing We are truly blessed because we Were born, and die soon within a True circle of motion, Like eagle rounding out the morning Inside us. We pray that it will be done In beauty. In beauty.
Joy Harjo
If you’re interested you can listen to Joy Harjo recite the Eagle Poem here.
“We must also take active steps to live in harmony with the rest of creation. This means that we cannot adopt attitudes or beliefs that place us above the natural world. We cannot see ourselves as having dominion over the land, the water, or the animals. We can’t even see ourselves as being stewards of the Earth. We are only keepers of a way of life that is in harmony with the Earth. Every day, we must act in ways that acknowledge that we are part of one living system, a unified whole.”
Sherri Mitchell
In case you do not know Sherri Mitchell is an Indigenous Rights attorney and the executive director of the Land Peace Foundation, an organization dedicated to the protection of Indigenous land and water rights and the Indigenous way of life. Mitchell has been actively involved with Indigenous rights in the U.S., Canada and abroad for more than 25 years. I had not heard of her before until I read this quote.
This image is an envisioned scene I’ve had for a couple of weeks. This morning nature pulled together the elements so I could have this scene. I tried something similar back on April 19th but clouds did not allow it to happen. Happy Friday!
Another quiet morning sunrise at Pineridge Natural Area
“There is a communion with God and a communion with earth, and a communion with God through earth.”
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
It was a quiet morning at Pineridge Natural Area. A touch of pink in the clouds in the predawn light changing to an orange glow with the rising sun. A bit of communion with all of creation was a good start to this day. Hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday!
“The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after all our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal is our only hope.” Wendell Berry
