* Mother Earth * Gaia * Source * Home *

We live on an incredible planet that nourishes us with beauty, food, medicine, and endless wonder. It is a spiritual salve for the ails of our busy and disconnected lives. The Earth is self-healing as we witnessed during covid when the waters of Venice cleared and the Himalayan mountains reappeared after decades under air pollution - Mother Earth can heal herself and us if we would just allow it to happen.

Working outdoors and the practices of gardening and earthing bring immeasurable health benefits as I discovered in the spring of 2021. I was distressed in my search for summer work during the break from University classes. My mind needed a break and I wanted so badly to spend my time outside, not cooped up in an office. Fortunately, I was connected through a friend to a gardening business and discovered the healing effects of a laborious day of work with fresh air, sunshine, dirt, and flowing conversation.

There are many life lessons to be learned from caring for plants:

• Trim away what doesn't bring you joy
• If a plant doesn’t grow, you don’t blame the plant, you change the environment
• Good things take time and consistency
• Sunshine and water are medicine 
• We grow better when we are nurtured and tended to
• Nature is resilient, as are we

Indigenous knowledge is key to sustainable living that respects all beings of the Earth. Author Robin Wall Kimmerer writes about the power of nature in her book “Braiding Sweetgrass”. She talks of ‘Ecosystem Services’, the role that the plants and trees play in cleaning our water and air, creating shade and protecting us from the elements of wind and sun.

The Village concept I envision should incorporate Nature Based Solutions (NBS), Permaculture, and Indigenous wisdom as foundational knowledge in building communities that work with the land.

We are not here for consumption. Life is about connection - to ourselves, one another and the planet. We need to balance our desire for progress with what is good for all of Creator's creatures. Embodiment is everything. We need to act and take our place in the harmonious, self-sustaining ecosystem we were born into.