Well, really, every day is earth day isn't it? No earth, no life...at least as we know it now.
One of the practices I do every day that I find incredibly beneficial is to go for a walk in nature, and this can even be to my local park.
But if I have time I like to go to a nature reserve near me and shut off the phone and just be present to all the scents and sights and sounds; to feel the earth beneath me and see the every changing nature of life, as well as its interdependence. We think we are separate and distinct but really we breath in the oxygen from the trees and give them our carbon dioxide, we drink the water from the rain, we eat the plants and nuts and fellow creatures, and then return that all to the earth and to the ecosystem. The Buddhists would call it co-dependent arising....nothing is happening separate from anything else and most of it is uncontrollable and happens on it's own. We are just this conscious being that can appreciate this moment in time if we pay attention.
When I want to go deeper into this paying attention I go for a barefoot hike. Nothing extreme, just a nature reserve that has grassy paths, and that gets me very focused on the here and now...or my feet pay the price ;) I enjoy feeling the temperature of the earth, usually warmed in the sun, but cooler in places where I walk between trees. I feel the moisture differences with my feet as I walk by the marsh area with it's migrating birds and dancing dragonflies. But what is really interesting is how I feel during and after the barefoot hike: at first I can feel my mind slowing down as I let go of the days activities, and then by the end of the walk I often feel this deep sense of connection, of gratitude, of peace. I'm not doing any high level mediation techniques (though I do practice those at other times and I will perhaps share those here some time also), I just walk, with no distractions, stopping to watch a hawk soar, or a cloud swim by in the vast sky.
We are fortunate to have this earth and I suggest we need to experience this connection to deepen into our own humanity. As life has become more of a distraction with us running over or away from nature we have suffered the consequences of this in our own bodies, our relationships and even how we treat the world. We can be wise and compassionate simply by being in nature every day, appreciating this body which comes from earth and is fed by earth, and this amazing planet we are but part of, along with all the other earthlings. Truly, take a moment to honor earth day today and see if you can develop a simple daily practice of connecting to the earth and see the benefits for yourself. Remember the truth of your own nature.
