Earth Week 2023: Love Your Mother
Home means many different things to every one of us, I think. It could mean the town or country you were born or the place you go back to for comfort. You can even mean a person or people that you love feeling like home to you. Whatever you choose to associate with this word, we all share one home in common; Earth.
It is without doubt that our planet is truly a miraculous place, full of all types of unique forms of life and natural beauty. Humans going back well into antiquity have considered our Earth as a divine entity, a mother figure who provides for and sustains us. On the inverse, we are the guardians and protectors of this sacred divine planet and as such, each of us is tasked with keeping her alive and well.
Gaia, Mother of All Life
As I stated above, many many cultures have associated Earth with the energy of the divine feminine or the cosmic mother. As we have all been “birthed” from and nurtured by this planet, this thought process makes a lot of sense. One mother deity that has long been seen as the very personification of Earth itself is the greek goddess Gaia. In Ancient Greek lore, she not only created the god of the sky, Uranus, but also bore the mountains, oceans, and the first living beings including the Titans, who would eventually become the parents of the Olympian gods and goddesses.
Even though she is one of the most ancient of beings, worship of Gaia is still quite active, with many still making offerings and performing rites and rituals with her guidance and in her honor. I believe the reason for this is because she truly embraces all of those that choose to call out to her or to heed her call as her children. She embodies the nurturing warmth of motherly love, but also the fierce protectiveness. Much like most mothers, she commands respect and will give her honest opinion when it’s needed to be heard.
I’ve personally worked with Gaia many times over the years of my practice. I’m most drawn to working with her during the spring and summer seasons and consider Earth Day a perfect time to honor her as well.
Earth Day: Past, Present, and Future
The origins of this time of celebration and awareness began in 1970, when peace activist John McConnell suggested a day to shed light on the importance of honoring our planet. Soon after, this idea was adopted on a national level and assigned the date of observance of April 22nd each year. Since that time, the celebration of Earth Day has spread globally, with events being organized in over 141 nations annually.
Currently, Earth Day is taken as a time to further highlight various issues, such as climate change, reducing our carbon footprint, air and water pollution, and the conservation and preservation of the life and structures of the planet, to name just a few.
This year, the theme of Earth Day is “Invest In Our Planet”, which for me means that we have an obligation to our Mother Earth to pour back in to her what she gives to us everyday. Without question, we would invest money in maintaining a home or a car we have purchased or time in keeping our personal or professional relationships strong. Our planet needs that same energy from us to stay healthy and frankly, we need her healthy to survive.
Moving forward into the future, each and every one of us as global citizens has to begin shifting our mindset in big ways towards the health and wellness of Earth. We have been blessed with a beautiful, rare gift of a planet that provides so much for us and if we were to lose her, then we would cease to exist.
It sounds cliche, but truly each one of us has the ability to make an impact, no matter how small it may seem, and each one of us can influence others to make change too. In lieu of a “traditional” ritual this time around, here are some ways you can start making positive changes in honor of Gaia on this Earth Day and every day:
Lessen your own household waste, recycling, reusing or upcycling as often as possible. Reducing your carbon footprint and energy usage in your own household is also a great way to implement change on a personal level. Check out this link for ways to do so: Simple Tips to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint.
Get involved with your community to beautify and preserve your local home, such as taking the opportunity to pick up trash in public areas or petition to organize tree planting in your town or city.
Let your voice be heard on a larger scale. Speak with your local and state representatives to address your concerns about the health of our planet. Make suggestions on how you’d like to see change be made and continue to speak up as long as it takes.
*Author’s Note: We happened upon this during our photo session and felt it was an impactful photo to capture for this post; we did however remove this and other pieces of refuse we found along the way.
Together, we have the power to save our planet and ourselves in the process, but we have to take the first steps. I hope that this Earth Day, you get out there and start making the small changes that will lead to bigger ones!
