In our fear and desperation to find solutions to saving our planet, we sometimes forget about the healing power of our love for her. I woke up on this Earth Day morning with a hymn from my childhood, turning over and over in my mind.
For the beauty of the earth,
for the glory of the skies,
for the love which from our birth
over and around us lies.
Refrain:
Source of All, to you we raise
this, our hymn of grateful praise.
2 For the wonder of each hour
of the day and of the night,
hill and vale and tree and flower,
sun and moon and stars of light, [Refrain ]
3 For the joy of human love,
brother, sister, parent, child,
friends on earth, and friends above,
for all gentle thoughts and mild, [Refrain]
4 For yourself, best gift divine,
to the world so freely given,
agent of God’s grand design:
peace on earth and joy in heaven. [Refrain]
Even as a child, I could feel the awe and wonder of the earth and sky that surrounded me, the glory of its beauty, the joy and the gift of being human, and this hymn spoke to me directly.
My father was a minister, and I was raised in the Congregational Church. Although I am no longer a churchgoer, my spiritual path has led me to the wisdom of Christ, Buddha, Allah, and indigenous teachings. This hymn is simple in its message and crosses all spiritual and philosophical paths.
We live in such a complex world that we sometimes miss the childlike wonder and simplicity of being graced with its beauty. This is not to say that there are no hardships, pain, and suffering. These are also a part of human life. Yet sometimes, the world’s simple beauty is lost in our dramas, the ones we create, and those imposed upon us.
This hymn begins with the reminder that we come from love and are surrounded by love, although it may not always feel that way. Our reality is built on relationship — atoms, cells, bodies, ecosystems, solar systems, galaxies, universes. We are all connected and connecting, creating, dying, and creating once again. We cannot help but connect. We are a part of everything, and there is no way out of the system. Even when we die, we leave parts of ourselves, the chemicals in our bodies, in service of the ongoing creation of the earth.
Given that we are part of this earth story, how can we “raise our hymn of grateful praise?”
For some, praising the earth means social action and working through the political system; for others, it means watching how we shop, eat, and drive our cars. For writers and teachers, it can mean sharing information about the wonder and beauty of our planet. I like to believe that the living beings on this planet want to be seen and appreciated. Praising the earth could be watching a bird making its nest or taking a breath of appreciation when a bald eagle flies overhead, or a tiny yellow bird comes to the feeder, planting a garden, watching the sunrise, or spotting a single star in the city. There are many ways to praise the earth.
When we fall in love with our home, the Earth, we spontaneously want to protect her. We are each given to this world to offer our gift, the gift that no one else can give. None of us can do it alone. We need each other to learn to love — ourselves, the humans, animals, and plants who share our earth. Loving is not easy, but this is what we have come to learn in this lifetime, and our Mother Earth is calling us to learn.