The Earth is Alive!
The value system of our current administration sees the value of the Earth only in its relationship to real estate value and extraction of mineral worth. Otherwise, it is a dead rock spinning in space.
We know otherwise.
Earth is a living breathing organism that is our only home. We are not separate from this planet, but we are part of the diversity of species on this living breathing organism.
Growing up in the Rust belt of Northern Appalachia, the air here was thick with smoke from the Mills, the rivers ran orange and smelled of sulfur. the ecosystem was sick and only a few shrubs, weeds and grasses were capable of thriving in the degraded air and soil. Fish didn’t live in the orange waters, and water birds were unknown to me growing up on the shores of this desolate watershed.
Now, in the post industrial landscape, the healing capacity of the Earth is alive and apparent. Plant life is diversified, various bugs and birds can be seen over the clear water where fish have returned. Enough fish are here to attract blue herons, and bald eagles. Near a city park close to my home, bald eagles nest behind a hospital and trauma center. Early mornings, and just before dusk the eagle parents can be seen flying with their juveniles over the water often emerging with a fish.
The Earth, this living, breathing planet, contains the capacity to heal and repair ecosystems that have been harmed.
A world view and mindset that does not see the Earth in this framework sees little to no conflict with dropping bombs, destroying civilizations and sending people not in their immediate families off to war.
April: War, Artemis & Survivors of Sexual Assault
this month, this year, this season, continues to bring a roller coaster of emotions from horror, rage, grief to inspiration and passion and motivation for justice.
in this month alone, 47 issued an extremely inappropriate message on the holy day of Easter Sunday, which I will not repeat here. This was followed by a threat to wipe out an entire civilization.
this is not normal, but sadly, it makes sense in a belief system that sees the Earth as a dead rock, civilizations as expendable, and transactions more important than relationships.
This is also a month to recognize sexual assault survivors. The irony of having a president that is a convicted sexual assault offender with at least 23 other accusations from grown women and accusations from children in the Epstein files does not go unnoticed.
as much as I don’t want to see space, the moon or any other planets colonized, I didn’t realize how much my nervous system needed to see, witness, and take in the inspiration of the Artemis team and the photography of the Earth and the moon.
from the group hug, to the inspirational Easter message from Victor Glover, the first Black man to orbit the moon (that message was the complete opposite of the president) to the first woman traveling this far in space that acknowledged the civil rights heroes that made it possible for her and others to be on this mission, (and also fixed the toilet!) I am here for all of this goodness.
what had me sobbing tears of gratitude this morning was the knowledge that one of the astronauts late wife Carroll, who died of cancer and had a crater named after her on the moon was a NICU nurse.
the main celebration in our house during April is the birthday of our daughter Riley. Riley was born in 2000 and her story is complicated but I will just share with you that she spent almost 2 months in the NICU after her complicated birth. We have a special love for all nurses in our family, but especially NICU nurses.
all of this served to remind me that we also have the healing capacity that the Earth has as we are a reflection of creation. We have the capacity to heal the ecosystems that we exist in so we can all thrive.
This is the story of surviving sexual assault.
This is the story of being a 3 pound baby in a NICU
This the story of our planet, our home and the larger cosmos, we coexist in together.
