Earth Day - April 22nd

Reflections on Earth Day

This Earth Day may you take some time to close your eyes, breathe, feel the sun on your face, a light breeze caress your hair, the vibration of the living earth beneath your feet, and your life force flowing and beating strong within your body. Whether you dig in the dirt, lie on the grass, swim in a lake, walk through a forest, take the time today to connect with Mother Earth. Feel and recognize how she supports all of us Earth children with the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink. This planet we all come home is a miraculous creation, as are we all.

This planet and the beauty of her nature have left me with feelings of awe again and again. Nature has also been a place for me to turn when life has been difficult and painful. Sometimes rooting myself in nature has been the best kind of encouragement. Even in the middle of turmoil I find that my problems will fade for a spell when I work in the garden, dirt embedding itself underneath my fingernails. Working the soil and planting seeds or bulbs always holds the promise of new growth, new life and beauty yet to come.

In my neighborhood there is this one bush that is ablaze with yellow blooms for a short time frame every spring. Every year I admire it's beauty and this year I was struck by a deeper meaning to it all, which was recognizing the eternal optimism of nature. Every year the flowers bloom again. No matter what has come to pass throughout the year we can always count on there to be new sprouts and new blooms. It reminds me that even though there are ups and downs to life that we just have to remember that spring will always show up and the flowers will always bloom. We can count on it.