We Are the Earth: 15 Ways To Honor Our Lives

It is a grave cultural mistake to believe that we, human beings, are separate from and even above nature. Take natural disasters – they have increased by 50% in the past 20 years, probably in part caused by rapid climate change. When one strikes, thousands of humans die. Our leaders seem to believe this is negligible, so long as it does not endanger their personal lives. Culturally, even in the face of such devastating natural disasters, we still believe we hold more power.

Where does this belief come from? My suspicion is that in our early days, we had little technology to protect us from nature, and so to survive we needed constant vigilance and hard labor. Life was tough, and we were always fearful of nature’s wrath.

Perhaps fear is what lead us to believe we don’t need nature, like the resentful child who believes she is invincible beyond the need for any set of rules.

But we live in a world of rules – the laws of physics at the most fundamental level. We are not free of these confines, but that does not mean we cannot thrive. The laws of physics, of biology and ecology, are the laws that gift us the ability to breathe, eat, and love.

Is this not enough?

Must we be in absolute control of every protein in our bodies, every cell in the external world? Just so that we can have the comfort of knowing we will not be harmed?

Is comfort the ultimate purpose of life?

For me, comfort is not life. It is not enlightenment nor empowerment. Comfort is unconscious ignorance, a life lived in the shadow of fear.

If I want to live my life fully, I cannot live it in mindless comfort. I must know the real truth. I must know my ecological role in this planetary ecosystem.

We only exist because of nature. Every day, we breathe oxygen and nitrogen from the air. We eat other animals also nourished by the Earth, food grown from the soil, nurtured with water, pollinated by insects and birds, and harvested by other human beings. Every cell in our body lives off the nutrients of dying plants and animals. We wear cotton clothing grown from the soil. We drink water from the ground. We love other human beings, who are nurtured by the Earth in exactly the same way. We live in homes built from wood, petroleum based plastics, and metals and minerals excavated from mines. Every single synthetic chemical was originally excavated from the Earth. There is nothing truly synthetic. We humans have no magic save for that of chemistry and physics, those fundamental laws of nature, as real and true as the gravity that binds us to our home.

Whether or not we choose to admit to it, we are a part of the natural world. We cannot ignore nature and hope that we will be safe. To do so puts us at great risk – we poison ourselves in trying to grow more food with less labor, we ruin our sole home in trying to make more money.

We do this because we believe money will provide all comfort and security. But real life does not begin when we have absolute security. Life is omnipresent – it is spiritual growth, enlightenment, empowerment, euphoric highs and desperate lows, humility and love. When there is so much life to explore and experience, the need for comfort seems silly.

The Earth is what gives us life and love, perhaps we should treat her like ourselves. She deserves rights that we enjoy, and the reverence we have for our children.

In honor of Earth Day, remember that your very existence is a gift from the Earth. Engage your awareness – give thanks, and do something:

1. pick up litter
2. don’t eat meat
3. eat organic
4. buy nothing
5. if you must, buy secondhand
6. plant a tree
7. garden organically
8. recycle
9. make an upcycled craft
10. switch to non-toxic products
11. compost your food scraps
12. sow a seed
13. say a prayer for the Earth
14. save that jar
15. go play outside, under the sun, and really feel the Earth

Photo by chucklepix

By the way, today is my birthday! Happy Birthday to me! I expect a bouquet of organic flowers and a Pollan-worthy organic buffet at my doorstep tomorrow. Just kidding. The best you can give me? Celebrate Earth Day and don’t buy anything. If you really need to spend money though, feel free to Donate via the Resources page.