More Than Earth Day

It is that time of year when the forest floor is decorated in petal snow and the trilliums have aged to a darker magenta and the green is a presence so all consuming that I taste it on my tongue and know it in my cells. It feels like a serious matter to be in the company of something this alive.

Earth as a day to be celebrated has come to feel strange to me. It seems to represent all of the subtle ways we still believe we are separate. This dominators training shows up even in seemingly helpful definitions and descriptions of us being “earthkeepers” implementing “sustainable practices.” But presuming that we are keepers of the earth automatically places us above all of other living things. In our confused god state we are still believing we are in charge of something. “Sustaining” seems to be keeping our current way of life going exactly as it is.

We are rediscovering what it means to be human. Listening to our limits.  Dissolving our norms. Squirming around in our discomfort with uncertainty and insecurity. It is no longer enough to just keep ourselves going as we have. What words might we use to describe this change in action and perspective? Living systems grow their tendrils into everything, regenerative systems keep rebirthing themselves, whole systems are endlessly diverse and layered as the forest floor.