Sunday, April 21, 2013

How Do We Love the Earth?


How do we acknowledge our gratitude?
How do we care for what nurtures us?
How do we appreciate what nourishes us?
How do we demonstrate our respect for our physical home?

I love the sky and the sea. 
I enjoy the sounds of the wind in the trees.
I like the smell of the rain on the earth.
I delight with the change of the seasons. 

I appreciate the magic and mystery.
I value the way everything cycles over time.
I am curious about how things work together for good. 
I learn from the birds and the bees.

We choose not to kill or destroy.
We compost and recycle all waste.
We bless what we eat.
We buy what we need and share what we have.

We breathe with gratitude for the clean air.
We savor the pure water we drink.
We plant vegetables and flower and trees in our gardens.
We delight in their growth and their beauty.

As I sit here in Hawaii, looking out my window at the sun on the water, I am inspired.
As I walk in the gardens and practice T’ai Chi Chih, I give thanks for the beauty and blessings.
When I write these reminders, I am sending my love to you and around the world to our family.
When I drive down the highway to meet with you in my office, I appreciate all the Goodness.

Spiritual and Metaphysical truths.
What I think and say and do is reaching and teaching everyone everywhere.
What I appreciate and bless is increase and grows stronger with my love and my gratitude.
Everything I do in honor of the bounty and blessings I receive, I share freely with all.
Every step I take with gratitude and grace is a blessing of Goodness to the Earth.

I am inviting you today and every day to give thanks.
I am encouraging you to take nothing and no one for granted.
I am reminding you to treat everyone and everything with respect.
I am teaching us all that everything we value must be appreciated and blessed to continue to bless us.

I give thanks for our temporary Earth Home.
I give thanks for the food and shelter and clothing that comes from the Earth.
I give thanks for the sun and the rain, the sky and the sea, the hills and the valleys and the beauty I see.
This life is a great blessing when I remember to bless this life!

Loving us all as we respect, care for and appreciate our Home Planet Earth.

For The Beauty of The Earth
by Folliott S. Pierpoint, 1864
For the beauty of the earth,
For the glory of the skies;
For the love which from our birth,
Over and around us lies;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For the wonder of each hour,
Of the day and of the night;
Hill and vale and tree and flow'r,
Sun and moon, and stars of light;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For the joy of ear and eye,
For the heart and mind's delight;
For the mystic harmony,
Linking sense to sound and sight;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child;
Friends on Earth and friends above,
For all gentle thoughts and mild;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.