Mother Earth

In centuries past it seems that humans saw themselves as a part of nature.  They lived, worked, and played in nature.  They were willing students of her wisdom.  Now, Deepak Chopra points out, “As the proud children of science and reason we have made ourselves the orphans of wisdom.”  We live, work, and many times, play separated from nature.  The common usage of the term orphan describes a child bereft of, or abandoned by, his or her parents.  What I find fascinating in terms of our being orphans of wisdom is that we, the children, have in many ways abandoned our mother—Earth.   We have made ourselves orphans, just as Deepak says. But all the rest of nature remains espoused to wisdom.   As we pursue our paths of technology, science, and reason, we can also seek balance by taking time to plug back into the wisdom of nature.

I have pondered why a flower is so moving in its delicate beauty and a sparkling gemstone resonates an other-worldly attraction to me.  I can walk in a grove of Giant Redwoods and vibrate with its sacred sermon.  I can stand on a beach of the mighty ocean with the sun warming me, the waves roaring as they break, the cry of gulls, the taste of saltwater mist, the smell of ocean life, and the feel of sand moving under my feet in response to the waves and sense my body adjust and align with some invisible, but very real, metronome.  This experience leaves me feeling energized, more whole and in tune with truth.  It seems like a mystery until I remember that I am made from the very same things.   But more than knowing, I feel my oneness with nature.  Yet I will still choose to make myself an orphan, and the call of the earth to me is to come back home to her and be rejuvenated. To experience that healing motion and movement and lullaby that she lives each day.  To learn about myself as I experience her.  To hear her sagacious voice of wisdom past and present and align myself again and again.

Perhaps taking some time to attune ourselves with nature is more than a luxury.  Perhaps it is a necessity if we are to obtain any balance as we move along the speeding highway of technology on which we find ourselves these days.  I invite us to prioritize some Mother Nature time and allow her to teach us about ourselves and how to connect again—with her, with each other, with life.