I’ve been reading Active Hope, How to Face the Mess We’re in without Going Crazy, by Joanna Macey and Chris Johnstone. It encourages us to honour the pain of our world to bring about its transformation. One exercise is to imagine what the Earth might say through us by writing a letter to ourselves. Here’s my attempt at the exercise.
“Dear Isabel
This is your mother Gaia writing. I want you to know how precious you are to me and how dearly I love you. I have called you forth from the beginning of time, led you through many stages of evolutionary growth and given you form at this particular time in history. And so, too, I love all your sisters and brothers whom I have watched over from that moment when humanity started on its evolutionary journey. I have watched you make mistakes, develop new skills and aptitudes, cooperate and live in new ways, engage in deep philosophical debate, invent new and complex systems for living together and making sense of life. I have watched you mature and reach for the stars. But I have also watched you forget your origins and your place in this magnificent blue planet, which is unique in our wonderful solar system.
I have watched you forget that you are interrelated not just with other human beings but with all sentient creatures. Together with them you are made of stardust - you depend on them for the health and wellbeing of our world. You depend on the trees and plants for the very air you breathe. Without them, toxic gas would poison all life. Using other creatures and living things for your own good, you have forgotten your stewardship role. You have forgotten to work with nature rather than against it.
I feel the pain of this so deeply. I hear the cries of extinct creatures and those for whom extinction threatens. I feel the pain of the Great Forests, cut down for profit; the use of fossil fuels that break the ozone layer. My heart cries as I watch weather systems go awry. My heart bleeds for you all. I fear for your future, especially when I look upon the joy and innocence of your children.
Yet I have great trust in you and all humanity. Eyes have been opened to see things in a new light – recognising the interrelatedness of all life, seeing clearly how human actions can have consequences for good or for ill. So many are working together to turn this earth towards its true destiny in both big and small ways. So recognise your beauty and power, your ability to do great things for the world in the way you live your moment by moment. Be encouraged by my love and desire for your future, my belief in you and support for the positive steps you take.
I do not despair. I trust you and know you can treat the earth with the love and respect it deserves. Listen to its cries, wonder at its beauty, tread its paths with gentleness and reverence, live life simply and joyfully. The future is in your hands.
With love
Mother Gaia”
This blog has been adapted from the original which can be found here www.interfaithjourneys.net