What the Earth Mother Said to Me

Be in awe of the world around you.

It is a living, breathing organism 

fit not only for human habitation

but for the sustenance of all life, 

whatever form it takes.

Remember that all life is sacred;

we are all 

interdependent

interconnected

One.

Treat all with respect

and look for divinity in all things.

It is there 

even if it is not obvious

to the naked eye.

Instead

close your eyes

open your heart

and you shall find it.

Feel it. Live it. Be it.

The “multiverse" is truly within you

and all else that exists.

In the all-encompassing light of divinity

all is sacred

all is loved

all is One.

Respect all things.

Nature is your greatest teacher 

second only to yourself.

Do not harm either. 

The spirits of this place

will help and guide those 

who but ask. Let them be

your teachers, not your deities.

In return for wisdom they ask only 

respect.

Your intuition speaks truth.

Listen to it and do not be deceived

by the false truth of words.

The path to enlightenment 

honors peace.

We are caretakers only; we cannot "own"

the land and the sky.

It is not ours for the taking, 

yet it "belongs" to us

as we "belong" to it.

When Mother Earth is injured, 

all her children feel the pain.

She is a temple to life - she is life.

Feel the universal heartbeat that she holds. 

It is up to us to heal her, 

heal ourselves, 

just because we are here.

Live harmoniously together.

Take only that energy which you need 

to survive and return, replenish it in kind.

Cultivate balance and harm none.

All that you do 

shall be returned to you.

All is sacred. 

All is One.

Such is the Law.

Photo: Edward S. Curtis - 1923

Touch me, but don't touch me.

“Touch me, but don't touch me.” This statement might seem like a paradox. But when we examine it attentively and with compassion, what we realize is that what people want most of all is to be touched in the heart.

People wish to be touched emotionally, yes, but for reasons only they can know, they might prefer to keep some physical distance between the other and themselves: as if they have drawn a circle around themselves which protects them from an over-familiar approach by others, and which at the same time assures themselves some protection. When these signals are understood on both sides, and the boundaries are established, most people will respect these unspoken agreements.

But what happens when these signals show some discrepancy? What happens to these ‘unspoken signals’ when someone appears to be sending out conflicting signals? “Come closer - but not too close!” What happens when this yearning of the heart to be stirred or touched requires us to take a forbidding step out of our carefully-defined comfort zone? And once that step has been taken, how must we react when someone else then reaches out to us and invites us to communicate? Then we find that our precious inner space must undergo expansion and grow in the outer world if we are to be able to communicate in a meaningful way.

This step into a larger unknown might be a moment of hesitation, of withdrawal, even of fear. It is then, in that moment, that we somehow must find our way to compassion: compassion for ourselves and our incapacity to make space in our safe circle. After all, is this not what compassion is? To give space to something to just be, to give space to the other to be whoever he or she is or wants to be? It is unconditional and fearless acceptance of the other person. It is giving space without judgement or interfering with or wanting to change them. Why then should we not also apply all this to ourselves?

It can often seem more difficult to give that space to ourselves than to others. Still we should learn to look at ourselves in a compassionate way whenever we reach a point in our life where we have to move outside of our comfort zone if we wish to fulfil our heart's yearning. 

In allowing ourselves to be emotionally affected, in allowing ourselves to be deeply moved, we engage ourselves. Simone de Beauvoir wrote that the feeling of affection stems from a certain ethical attitude - an attitude in which one dares to connect with others and with the world around us. In that sense to be affected is a choice. And there is always a choice, even if we think that there is none. All we have to do is to dare: to dare to take that step into the emotional unknown, to dare to allow ourselves to be touched. For surely if we allow ourselves this greater space then others will feel this from us, and compassion will flourish and we will touch others as surely as we ourselves are touched. 

Painting: Couple by Edward Burne-Jones