Earth Day

Not only do we honor our biological parents, but also we honor the Earth as our parent, nourishing us with the beauty of blooming lilacs, and reminding us of our ability to transform, like the butterfly. At our first house gathering at the stone cottage, Ann Willms led us in a morning meditation centered around the naturalist and writer, John Muir, the subject of a chapter on “Sacred Earth” in John Philip Newell’s book, Sacred Earth Sacred Soul. Muir believed that life flows into us through all that has preceded humanity in the universe. He writes, “The sun shines not simply on us but in us. The rivers flow not past, but through us. . . and every bird song. . . wind song, and storm song. . .is our song.” With gratitude for our gathering and for a joyful mountain morning, I keep the psalmist’s prayer in my heart, “Awake, O my soul, and know that you are born of the earth.”