Art | Autumn Skye “Healing”
by Astara
Earth Day has always had special meaning for me. I chose to come to the planet the year that Earth Day was created. My soul thought, they are ready, let’s do this. Earth Day turns 50 today, and in a few months, so shall I. Since I was a girl, I have always been aware of the connectedness of all things. I thought everyone else was aware as well. As I grew up I realized that unfortunately wasn’t the case.
Because of my love of this planet and all creatures on it, for my first career path I choose to become an architect and focus on sustainability and the built environment. As I reach mid-life, and about 5 years into living my current vocation as a soul guide, spiritual coach, intuitive, sound healer, medium and channel, my viewpoint of Earth Day has evolved. I see that no matter our conservation effort, no matter our incredible solutions, if we don’t see ourselves as connected and a part of nature, we will not evolve, implement, and scale our best strategies.
A few years ago, in honor of Earth Day, I wrote a blog post called From Earth Day to Earth Year. I wrote about how every day is really Earth Day; then each year becomes Earth Year. How meditation can assist you in honoring the Earth, how we can see nature as our wisest elder, and how our relationship to nature can help us shift our perception from an Earth based on competition to an Earth based on cooperation. Great reminders for all of us.
This year and every year, I think about the quality of our relationship to the Earth. Regardless of what you believe in, it is hard to ignore that there is more strife and disconnection to our planet than ever before. We are truly lost. Some things have evolved since Earth Day began fifty years ago, but many sectors and systems of our world have devolved and the environmental destruction has gotten worse in all cases. If you dive down honestly into the roots of the current pandemic, you will find our own responsibility for what is unfolding.
When the body talks to us, it begins with a whisper. If we don’t listen, the messages get louder and louder showing up as physical symptoms. It is the same with our planet. She is no longer whispering. The virus seems to yell “If you have forgotten, I am here to remind you that nature is not separate from you. You are nature.”
The cause of environmental degradation is our relationship to ourselves and the Earth. I celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day today by standing still for a moment and surrendering to my connection to nature. The following poem written by David Wagoner called Lost captures our curriculum in Earth’s classroom for centuries now.
Lost
by David Wagoner
Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you
Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,
And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,
Must ask permission to know it and be known.
The forest breathes. Listen. It answers,
I have made this place around you.
If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here.
No two trees are the same to Raven.
No two branches are the same to Wren.
If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,
You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows
Where you are. You must let it find you.
It is obvious if you look at the weather shifting the last decades, and now with our pandemic, our educational message has accelerated and amplified showing us just how connected we all are. If ever we have an opportunity to change the way we live and act together, it is now. I know COVID-19 is my teacher, and I ask it daily what lessons it has for me individually and for us collectively. I continue to share those lessons in my Inner Space Academy online courses and with my group coaching clients, and I hope you will join us in the conversation. This is a global unity event, helping us learn how to work better together.
Not just today, but every day, I invite you to have your own conversation with the planet, and with all of nature, she is speaking. (She always has been and always will) Go outside. Sit quietly. Walk slowly. Listen. Breathe a little deeper and a little slower. In the space you create, you can hear the messages the Earth brings.
A clear sign of how slowing down can heal our planet, look at the air quality and water quality improvements around the globe since the pandemic started. This demonstrates that whether you are conscious of it or not, you are co-creating, with me and the whole word, the reality we find ourselves in right now. So how can you honor the 50th anniversary of the Earth today? Admit you are lost. Choose to be aware of just how powerful you are. Look at each choice and each thought. Begin to wake up. Your heart is the compass, your body and this Earth is the map.
Stop hitting the snooze button on your perception. Stop ignoring and avoiding the signs. Create consciously. Acknowledge your part in this game of life. Grieve the impacts you have made, that we all have made. You are creating regardless, why not now create consciously for the benefit of all? Stand still. The Earth knows where you are. Listen. Let all of life find you. Let’s find ourselves and each other. Only then can we implement the transformation we hope for on a mass scale.
