Earth Day 2011

So today is Earth Day, 2011. 

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.  ~Native American Proverb

Humankind has not woven the web of life.  We are but one thread within it.  Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.  All things are bound together.  All things connect.  ~Chief Seattle, 1855

There is hope if people will begin to awaken that spiritual part of themselves, that heartfelt knowledge that we are caretakers of this planet.  ~Brooke Medicine Eagle

Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realise we cannot eat money.  ~Cree Indian Proverb 

Earth Day. Probably the only day of the year when too many of us who owe our lives to Mother Earth will stop to dwell on the thoughts and proverbs quoted here. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining that we have Earth Day. I'm just saddened that we have to have a special day set aside for people to remember that we depend on the Earth for our lives. The Earth will continue long after humanity slaughters itself out of existence. Quite frankly, she doesn't need us. But we need her. 

We need to sustain her, if not for her sake, for our very own. We need to slow down, re-examine our lives, change our ways, and stop doing what we're doing that is destroying the systems in place on Earth that sustain us. (Somehow, I don't see how getting a free cup of coffee or tea at Starbucks will do that, but that's just me. ) 


The world needs to let go of the notion that we can "fix" whatever we screw up. It took millions of years for the Earth to create systems that make it possible for humans to "be". I don't think it's going to be very easy to fix something that long in the making. It only makes sense to realize that it is a whole lot easier to protect and conserve now, than  try to remake things when it's probably too late. 


The Native Americans have always had a deep and personal relationship with the Earth. They have understood that what we do to help and protect her, we do to save ourselves. Thankfully there is a shift in awareness going on among all the Earth's people, an awakening to the things that the most ancient people knew and that we have forgotten through time. We can only hope that we have not slept too long. 


Make every day your "Earth Day".