Our Mothers, Ourselves (Honoring Earth Day We Honor Ourselves)
Back in 1969 when Senator Gaylord Nelson founded Earth Day, he was very concerned about the impact human beings were having on the earth. If he were still alive to witness Earth Day’s upcoming 40th anniversary this April 22, there is no doubt he would be pleased with much of the environmental progress that has been made around the world. He would, however, have to concede that we still have a long way to go to restore a balance between our actions and the impact they are having on our planet.
It is fair to say that the environmental imbalance we are experiencing in nature comes from the fact that most human beings see themselves as separate and distinct from our Mother Earth. As Yogis, however, we are aware of the interconnectedness and interdependence of our lives—not only with each other, but with the entire world. As the “Peaceful Planet” website so aptly puts it, “As one humanity sharing one earth, we are profoundly connected to…this planet. We are a diverse, global community united in a common purpose to restore a [balanced] relationship with ourselves, with Mother Earth and with the Source of All That Is.” Our yoga studio’s theme of the month—“Our Mother, Ourselves (Honoring Earth Day, We Honor Ourselves)”—reflects our desire to restore that critical relationship.
How can we, as yogis, help restore the balance? Please read on:
There are endless ways we can all contribute to re-balancing our planet. This month at Being Yoga, we have made a list of 24 suggestions and posted them on the studio’s side-wall for you to read. We encourage you to commit to as many of those (or any others that you can think of) as you can, write those commitments down on a “Pledge Leaf,” and then place your leaf onto the “Pledge Tree” for all the yogis to see. By living up to those commitments, we will all be contributing to the health of not only our planet, Mother Earth, but also ourselves. And as each leaf is placed upon the Pledge Tree, the symbol of the Eternal Om will be unveiled, thus reflecting that which is true in life: By being aware of our interconnectedness with Mother Earth and taking care her, we begin to align with the Divine.
On this upcoming 40th anniversary of Earth Day, we all need to recommit ourselves to aligning with nature. Each act moving us forward to our goal of environmental balance and health is meaningful. As Blaise Pascal said, “The least movement is of importance to all nature. The entire ocean is affected by a pebble.” Our interconnectedness, our divine connection to Mother Earth means that by giving to Her, we are only giving to ourselves.