Holy Earth: Body of Love

Each day we walk upon holy ground, and our feet touch the sacred Earth. In each step there is meaning. In each step there is a relationship for which we may be grateful. We walk upon pavement, asphalt, stones, sand, gravel and soil, often not sensing the gift that lies beneath our feet, the gift that the Earth bestows upon us as she holds us up and supports our physical bodies, the gift beneath the coverings we have added to Her.

The soil of the Earth is holy. It can feed all of the Earth’s children if it is cherished and treated with respect. It is the nurturing layer of the Mother out of which grows all that is needed to support life. We must thank the sacred soil for the nutrients that grow our food. We must preserve these nutrients by letting the soil rest, and by not tilling it in ways that nature does not.  The sacred Earth must become our teacher, showing us ways to preserve Her soil and waters, showing us ways to live. This Earth is a living Being, and we must tend to Her properly, asking Her what she needs from us. Often, the answer is to allow Her to live as she is meant to live in Her natural state.

We walk upon pavement, asphalt, stones, sand, gravel and soil, often not sensing the gift that lies beneath our feet, the gift that the Earth bestows upon us as she holds us up and supports our physical bodies, the gift beneath the coverings we have added to Her.

The Earth’s waters also, require our diligent care, care for their purity, care for the life within them. Now, this life of the oceans and rivers is contaminated by what we have allowed to flow into them. Yet, we can change this. We can restore the purity of the Earth’s sacred waters by treating them as such, and by also not treating them as property that we possess. It has been said: “The Earth does not belong to us. We belong to the Earth.” This is a statement that can change our lives as individuals and as a people. “We belong to the Earth,” and we must rectify what has become undone due to our thinking that the Earth belonged to us.  We cannot afford to be indifferent any longer, but above all must become reverent. Changing our outer behavior through a program we institute is not enough. Programs can come and go as policy. We must change our hearts at the most basic level and learn to revere the sacred life of the Earth, our Mother.

All that we have done out of indifference, carelessness, or greed must be undone. All must be reclaimed by restoring our reverence for the Earth as a holy Being. How have we lost reverence and how may we find it again?

We must look at the life we are leading, day by day, minute by minute, with new eyes, eyes that seek the sacred. We must stop taking things for granted. Love in any form bestows blessings upon us. This is true of love that comes from other human beings, and it is also true of love that comes from the Earth. If we take what we are being given for granted, it is because we have departed from seeing the Earth as a sacred Being, and Her gifts to us as filled with love. This Being gives to us at all times and over many ages. If we knew this, we would bow in gratitude before Her.

When we learn to take nothing for granted but to be grateful for every drop of love that comes to us as an immense gift of the universe, we will live in harmony with each other and with the holy Earth. For Her love and devotion is the basis for our physical life. It has allowed us to live, to grow, and to thrive. Now, we must do the same for Her. We must bow in honoring Her with the deepest gratitude of our heart, and restore to Her the life that is Her original nature and Being.