Our First Home is the Earth

Time to experience the Wild, time to connect to our Primal Roots

I am daily seeing more fully the annihilation of the beautiful garden we were given, our precious earth.  Take this in, your experience of what’s happening. And then put yourself in the memory of a loved place in wilderness – see it, smell it, hear it, feel your heart swell.  It makes me happy to return to such places. But they may not be there any longer.

The bumper sticker says, “If you’re not angry, you’re not paying attention.”  Anger rises from our heart being assaulted, and given the abundance of devastation, we could be very angry. Or we could just close our hearts, as our suffering can be overwhelming. Our work is to feel all of the suffering – ours, and others – with compassion, and channel our heartache into constructive responses, forms of love. It’s so easy to fall into despair, but we need to be strong and focused on truth – have faith – as despair is the first step to dark forces taking over our will.

Then what do we do?

There are dark forces at work – everything material is a manifestation of spiritual forces, and we need to confront those spiritual forces.  Yes, that means prayers. Prayer connects us with spiritual realms, which aren’t out there somewhere – they’re interwoven into our earth existence.  Prayers bring light-filled force into spiritual realms, to fight darkness. This is not a metaphor – these are real, hidden forces we’re daily engaged with.

We need to hold a constant vigil of light within our heart, for the wellbeing of the earth, and all her beings.  This is a deeper form of Dwelling.

But, as Rumi says, “prayers are not enough; you must do something!”  It’s so easy to be overwhelmed – climate change is happening faster than all the computer models predicted.  We’re in serious trouble – are enough of us waking up to this reality to change the tide?

Here’s a thought – soon, a generation will be born where there will be no wilderness.  They will never get to experience the wild, be in our source, know it. That will be when humanity completes the change we’re going through.  What are we becoming?

On the material realm, the first thing we need to do is go into wilderness, engage with every precious drop, and powerful waterfall; observe the astonishing interplay of hundreds of life forces, from the soil to the tops of trees; walk mindfully so as not to step on an eft salamander, perhaps the most precious living creature I’ve met; listen to the brook and her voices; dive into a cold pond and feel every part of ourselves awaken.  

These are some ways we can remember: our first home is the earth.

Strolling in a beautiful park won’t do it, won’t awaken us to our deeper humanity.  Gardens are lovely, are a respite from the chaos; they offer solace, and joy, but they don’t connect us with our primal roots.  

But maybe it’s our destiny to be disconnected from the earth.  As scary as that sounds, that is what’s happening.

Our first home is the earth.  Finding home, both spiritually and materially, is our fundamental human search.  It appears we are orbiting away from this truth, but is it possible to leave our sun, our source?  

I say no.  Gravity is love, and is eternal. Our heart is our connection to truth, yet we’re afraid to open our hearts.  It’s frightening out in the world, and in our heart – we’re afraid of being known, and hurt. But passion to protect and cherish the earth, her creatures, and ourselves is our only path to redemption.

I offer that we’ve hit humanities’ nadir, or at least this low point in the sine curve of civilization.  That, ironically, the moment Trump was elected, we began arcing back to our truth. Trump mirrors and reveals the poison in our hearts and minds – we needed to see this. The great irony is that the darkness is creating more light, more inspiration, more imagination, more determination, more love.  There is a lot of hatred and anger out there, but rising through that darkness are thousands of intelligent, thoughtful, earth/heart centered creative people and organizations doing powerful work.

Love trumps hate.

We shall overcome.

But not without our giving our lives to the struggle.  The Civil Rights Movement showed us what’s possible – we’re now in the Earth Rights Movement.  

Our central way to do this – through compassion, love everyone, and all beings and places, always.  That’s it.

And do all those actions that all movements for change have and are teaching us – primarily, get out and engage.  The rhythm of our day – pray, engage, pray, engage, pray, engage.

Our first home is our earth.  The trajectory of justice is ascending, albeit up a rocky, treacherous slope.  Existence is eternal; we will get there.