It just seems to me like there could be a whole lot more WIDE OPEN EXPRESSION – THANK YOU MOTHER EARTH!
It is time to forge a new culture and nurture deep love for Mother Earth
How do we do that?
Especially if we weren’t raised to say hello and thank you to the planet we live on
What does it look like?
Daily deep love for Mother Earth? Can you feel it?
On bended knee in the fields
Holding rocks to my heart
Laughing with the flowers
Singing to the trees
My heart smiling full of joy
Reverent with the kinship of life
Happy in love with the Earth
Full heart spilling over
Rejoicing in the sacred bond with this place that gives everything to me
Gives everything to me
Every meal
Every breath
My car, my phone my desk
The chair I sit on and the floor I walk upon
ALL
Given to me by Mother Earth
ALL THIS
Why do I not sing her praises every day in gratitude for this good life she gives me?
For all I have and enjoy?
Not only the food I eat
The plate I eat from
Not only the water I drink
The cup from which I drink
The bed I sleep in
The house that keeps me warm
ALL
Given to me by Mother Earth
ALL THIS
Where are the sermons to Mother Earth?
What about more statues and art exhibits and ceremonies and dances to honor this planet we call home?
Applauding the gifts we receive from this beautiful blue green planet we call Earth
It just seems to me that there could be a whole lot more WIDE OPEN EXPRESSION – THANK YOU MOTHER EARTH!
I want to start a church called Church of Our Mother Earth
Can you hear the sermon?
Praise the gifts each day of water and sunlight
Song of Glory Be to Our Mother Earth
Thank you dear Mother, for each bite I take and every breath I am given
Seriously, why don’t we thank her more?
Maybe we’ve just gotten used to it and take it all for granted
Maybe we don’t think that saying thank you matters
Or maybe we are too busy
It would just take too much time; we would have to say thank you all day long
When the post man brings the box to your door
Thank you Mother Earth for what’s in the box, for the box itself, for the clothes the mail person is wearing, for the gas it took to drive the mail truck around, for the tires on the truck, thank you for the tape that wraps the box, for the scissors I use to open the box. I mean, saying thank you would be endless
It would be so inconvenient. Every move we make would be associated with a thank you to the Earth
Yep, our thank you would go on and on
Thank you for the cotton in my pillow, the metals in my pots and pans, the wood in my dresser drawer, thank you for the veggies in my lunch…
Could it be that we stopped saying thank you because her generosity is so profound that we might even feel a little embarrassed to be given so much?
Do we feel guilty for the unconditional, abundance that we are the recipients of every single day?
Or maybe we’ve just forgotten
Forgotten that she is our mother and she provides us with everything
Maybe it’s easier to forget than to remember and experience feelings that we should give something in return
Like maybe we would feel like we owe her something
Where along the way did it become a burden to acknowledge the Blessings, the everyday Blessings?
To receive them in a way that we understood them as gifts bestowed by our Mother.
Maybe if we allowed ourselves to receive – deeply receive – maybe, just maybe the question would arise.
The question,
“Dear Mother Earth, what can I give back to you?”
Or
“Dear Mother Earth, what can I do for you?”
But then, that would signify relationship. And as all relatedness does, our relatedness would ask for reciprocity
When we stop to reflect and respect every piece that is given to us
If we go so far as to comprehend that every dollar we make, every cell created in our bodies – She is the source of the raw goods
All of it
Sure, we’ve come up with both creative and destructive ways to consume her resources, but we are not the source, the Earth is what we resource for every endeavor we participate in from creating a pot from clay to shooting a gun
Let it sink into the marrow of our bones – how much we source from her every single minute of every single day of our lives
When we stop to reflect and respect every piece that is given to us
Then we can begin again
That is when we can again enter into a covenance, a sacred relationship with the Earth
What does that relationship look like?
What does it feel like?
We aren’t going to get it perfect over night
I still have plenty of plastic bottles scattered throughout my house
I pump gas into my car every week
And maybe that is part of our forgetting
It all seems like too much – too big of a change needs to be made
So we turn off and numb out. I mean, what can I do?
But what if
What if we started today to say thank you
A cultural reset
Yes
A cultural reset
Maybe it sounds something like this
Thank you Mother Earth
Thank you for this day
Thank you for the beauty that you surround me with
Thank you for the shower this morning
Thank you for the metals that made my phone
Thank you for my breakfast
Thank you for the sweet smell of the air
Thank you for the rose blossom in my yard
We can’t change it over night
But what if we started today to say thank you
A cultural re-set
One simple shift, the modest act of saying thank you to the Earth
Dear Mother Earth,
Thank you for_____________
First, thank you for this stellar opportunity to celebrate Mother Earth! Dear Mother Earth, The most significant part of this sacred journey called life is my growing love and appreciation for the natural world, for Mother Earth and all her glory. There I find sanctuary. She has been (and is) a source of peace, love and light as I learned to live with loss and sorrow – and more importantly for healing and aligning myself with the sacred and holy in my daily life. From this healing place, I find strength and fortitude to love and give. For that I… Read more »
About 4 years ago I asked myself those questions. Inspired by a workshop leader I started with a small ritual and now it is a everyday practice. I bring a offer from incense 2 times a day to mother earth in showing my gratitude for all the things she gives me. I thank also the 4 directions, the spirits of the flowers in my garden, the spirits of the trees, the animals, the chrytals and everything that comes in mind that moment. The lessons I got and the teachers on my path. Ones every two or 3 weeks I make… Read more »
May every breath of ours be a prayer: breathe in the countless blessings – breathe out gratitude!
So sweet, thanks for this potent reminder and reflection!!
Dear mother earth, thank you for beauty, for abundance…. for everything!
Thank you to Mother Earth for supplying everything that the body, mind and soul needs. You have supplied nutrition, healing and mindfulness to me and I hope that I can continue to supply the same to you.
Mother Earth, thank you for being there for me when I needed you most. Thank you for teaching me, for loving me, for speaking to me. In return, I will do everything in my power to learn more about you and to care for you.
Such a beautiful topic when I found Love Letter to Mother Earth in my IN box today. Thanks for such an uplifting moment!
I try to thank ‘her’ and the Universe at large for any foraging I do, or even just seeing/smelling flowers and a sunny blue sky. Even just seeing a ravine filling with greenery after a grey winter brings out the Earth hippie gratitude in me.
I’m am truly greatful for each day and what my God in heaven brings. The birds remind us to sing the flowers send out their fragrance which I stop and smell. I’m teaching the grandkids to smell all flowers and herbs growing in the garden I feel it’s teaching them of the beauty around us. We watch clouds floating by and birds flying from branches. I also get them to listen so they hear the beauty around us. We need more nature bathing it’s so beautiful.
Do you sit by a river and gaze into mystery. Do you lie back and gaze at wind-sculpted clouds. Do you sit under a tree and gaze at the verdant green of new leaves. Do you sit in a field and gaze at a Spider weaving. Do you sit with a stone in your hand and feel yourself drop down to its slow, ancient pulse. Do you sit by a pond and smile back at golden-eyed frogs. Do you stand on a hill at full M○○n and howl. Do you gaze at Stars and dance a wild tribal dance with… Read more »
Each morning while my tea steeps, I get a little bowl and add pinches of the Herbs, maybe some seeds, spices, dried flowers… I take it outdoors to the Dogwood Tree, greet Her with a good morning and a touch. I thank Mother Earth for nourishing us and all that She gives as I walk around and sprinkle the Herbs. Then I sit and enjoy my morning ritual tea. It warms my heart reading of all your honoring and gratitude. Thank You.
Beautiful, Patty
Happy Birds, Happy Bee’s, Happy Flower’s, Healthy Trees.
Dear Mother Earth. Thank you for the trees so the birds can build their homes and I can listen to their songs in the early morning. Thank you for the squirrels that chase each other round and round the big trunks and entertain me. Thank you for the lovely warm water in my hot tub that I bask in while enjoying watching the clouds in the sky and see the breeze gently blow the branches of the newly budding trees. Thank you for a very large deck that allows me to grow wonderful things in containers. Thank you that I… Read more »
Yes! The more we remember to do it – one moment, one single thank you at a time – the more we’ll build the habit. Then someday, eventually, everything we… or our great great grandchildren do will be a prayer of gratitude.
Thank you, Kami, for this reminder.
As much as I stop to admire and generate a connection with the birds, squirrels, and rabbits each morning after throwing out seeds and peanuts and being grateful for being able to do so, it is not the same as stopping to acknowledge Mother Earth and to thank Mother Earth. I welcome your reminders to further connect and deepen, my relationship with Mother Earth and to actively reciprocate each day to Mother Earth’s well-being (and not just worry about how we harm and ravage our planet).
Love your poem here!
Dear Mother Earth, thank you so much for the love and blessings you so graciously give. I vow to honor, respect, love, and serve you. Blessed be.
I sing a song of thanks everyday – What a Wonderful World. When I sing it, I try to use my senses to take in everything around me and feel my heart open. This practice was originally designed to help alleviate the anxiety of COVID, but I think it is one that will stick. It reminds me of what is real and how many blessings are available to any who open to them.
Farming is good for the heart, soul, as well as physique, thank you for a strong body and the healthy foods we grow to sustain us
Thank you for the blue skies and for the clouds that carry rain and drop it on our precious trees, flowers and crops.
Thank you for the love you give us and for the love and recognition I feel.
Thank you for the soft grass my bare feet rejoice in and the peace and bliss I feel!
Thank you Kami for sharing and connecting us to join in gratitude❤️
I love the earth without limitation. It is my greatest source of joy, hope, inspiration, awe and wonder. I can feel the earth energy in all of my cells and I’m always amazed at how the experience, the “feeling”, differs depending on where I am. Just today, while walking through the forest I had the urge (kind of embarrassed to say) to roll around on the ground naked! I think the feeling I had was really one of immense joy and I felt like expressing it the way a dog might when it rolls all over the grass! I greet… Read more »
Your words have reminded me that gratitude is a forgotten concept. Gratitude for all that we have received, for all the beauty that surrounds us, if we but take the time to lift our eyes, pause and reflect for even a moment. I am in awe of the glory of the sunrise and the sunset, of the far away horizon and the deep blues of the waters! I am just as awed by the delicate beauty of the smallest flower, the perfection of the petals and the leaves. I am grateful for the healing properties of so many plants, and… Read more »
So beautiful!!
Beautifully spoken thoughts and words. Reminds me a bit of Celtic prayers. Thank you
Your words started shedding some tears from my eyes, knowing that as grateful as I am to the earth, I nearly do not express it out loud as much as it deserves. You have beautiful words and can spark a light inside of inspiration. When I go for walks, I speak to her sometimes and thank her for being kind. I’m grateful for many things, but today it is clear just how much we should be in love with her as a relationship instead of just always receiving and sometimes visiting with her. (This was like LIGHTBULB!) Starting tomorrow morning,… Read more »
I’m just grateful – for what I consider beautiful, like birthing a child and the songs of the birds – and for what I don’t consider beautiful, like stink bugs or illnesses. They all make me appreciate the almighty Mother and my life. I usually just say thank you and feel the gratitude in my body while saying or I touch the plant and smile.
Thank you Mother Earth for all that is around me every day of my life. Everything. I honor all the blessings I have and will do no harm. I will express my thankfulness to all and speak of your gifts to those around me so they too will realize a gratefulness for what you have provided to all.
That is so beautiful!
Kami, Thank you for composing this love letter to Mother Earth. I feel very much as you do, throughout my day and the first thing in the morning and before I fall asleep at night I thank and honor her. I did a sculpture representing her this past summer, I call it Love for Gaia and here is the link to that page to see it:
http://cherylpriceoriginals.com/loveforgaia.html
oh wow, this scupture is so beautiful!~ We need more praise to the Earth, you are doing it! How lucky for people to be able to see your sculpture!
I am grateful for all the delicious healthy nourishing foods and healing Herbs Mother Earth provides for me.
Watching the geese fly north, just being in that moment, and the wonder of it all.
I have always been a plant person, but in the past few years have been really paying attention to the birds and so true, just one more amazing world of wonder.
I say thanks to my hens every day. The best eggs in the world…
And I’m begining with regenerative agriculture in my little garden. that’s the way I thank Earth for our lives
i know, doesn’t the garden makes it so easy to remember to say thank you?
We have a smallholding where we raise rabbits, ducks and hens for meat and eggs and an 18 mtr polytunnel for most of our veg and herbs. My way of saying Thank You is Animal bedding is scattered at the top end of the hen yard where they can scrat over any bits they want to eat. This also helps to break the straw down. The straw gets blown or otherwise moved to the bottom of the yard where it is raked up and place in the compost heaps. The compost heaps are made up of any bits of vegetable… Read more »
Compost! the best thank you~! I love composting, it makes me so happy.
The earth most definitely communicates. Speaks and hears. I talk to her all the time. All one must do is ask for an open channel and it will appear. One must be ready to hear her
Love it. So appreciated and appropriate for this season in my journey. Thank you for sharing the responsibility of love, thankfulness, and gratefulness. Again, Thank you Mother Earth for allowing me to be here.
I don’t think we have forgotten – I think we just need to be reminded… I practise meditation and it is a powerful way to be mindful of the truly important things in life, like family, our Earth, the air we breathe… We each need to find a way to reconnect with the Earth, and give back to it: Plant your own veggies; take a bag with you and clean up garbage when you go for walks; plant pollinators, buy less plastic… Pick a topic and run with it, embrace it and wrap your whole being (and family) in it…… Read more »
Cultural reset. Praise to our Mother Earth. She feels our synergy, our radiant presence. We listen to her speak as the leaves move when wind blows, as snow and rain fall gently pressing onto the soil. The sun shines on bleak days. The air is filled with moving currents as are the waters. Love to Mother Earth, our protector.
oh I love your Earth poetry!
Well done, very Inspired
Just a beautiful topic! Thank you for this. No longer celebrating “traditional” holidays I think we should have Earth Love Day instead of Valentines day!
Thank you for your continued loving care. Thank you for spring breezes bring the promise of warmth and spring.. Thank you for summers that make having grocery stores possible. Thank your fall, its beauty and bounty, and the reminder we all need to rest periodically. Thank you for the beauty of snow fall that buries- however briefly- the mud from unseasonal rains. Thank you for ozone after thunderstorms, dew glinting of morning grass, the constantly changing moons, lightning bugs, butterflies, bees, and birds. Thank you too for the insects that keep our cycles balanced, reptiles that feed on rodents and… Read more »
Every morning at dawn, I go outside and give a prayer to Father Sky and Mother Earth thanking them for the plants, the animals, the pure sweet air I breathe, for the blessings in my life, my health, my wealth, my family and friends. Then I breathe in gratitude and I breathe out gratitude. Thus I bless myself, the earth and all around me.
For Her constant love, for all that She endures and for all that She continues to give us.
Thank you for this, Kami. I’m thanking Mother Earth for the hearts of souls of people who champion the good, the sustainable, the arising of goodness. I’m thanking the Mother for you, for your words, for your commitment to being a truth guide in this crazy world.
I am thankful that I have always felt connected to the earth, as a child climbing trees to escape my “crazy family” walking in the woods playing in the creeks, being amazed at the plants and wildlife,. as I look back I realize I have always sought out Mother Earth in times of stress and unrest, fatigue and even happy times.,she has always calmed and energized my spirit, I am thankful that I have always had beautiful & different types of Mother Earth around me to enjoy; farmland, woods, desert, ocean and mountains at different times in my live. I’ve… Read more »
Peace serenity love food medicine water everything we need to survive. Beauty kindness wonder
I love Mother Earth! She gives me peace and beauty to enjoy
You’ve sure inspired me
oh good, mission accomplished. I love to educate and inspire!
Often I need reminding to be grateful and not take the earth for granted. I very much enjoyed the music. Thanks for sharing all you beautiful thoughts. I like the idea of a Church to Mother Earth. The Native Americans always when going out or receiving something always make an offering to Mother Earth. I look forward to more Mother Earth sharing.
Thanks Kami!
you’d also like
https://solarismusic.org/mama-earth
I love the song to Mama Earth, thank you for sharing that!
That’s very beautiful Kami! You have a way with words…
I talk to nature all the time and send blessings to her family as well as to the universe. We are gifted everyday to live in a beautiful reality and to show care with the best of our abilities in every moment. Your letter and poem are a beautiful reflection of what you see and feel and live. Thanks for sharing your heart felt words. Many Blessings <3
Thank you Jane
I am thankful for the beautiful water and how the wind blows against the trees and how mother nature has the birds chirping and flying against the energy of the winds and how the sun shines with the beautiful feeling of autumn with a hint Christmas morning feeling. That is one thing I am thankful for from mother nature
Take me to church!
I am so thankful for all dear Mother Earth provides for us. We do take it for granted. Finding that half hour, at least, daily to get outside despite the weather is my tribute to her.
I agree, sometimes it is just about getting outside and looking around at how beautiful the grass and trees are!