Honor thy mother

What a perfect day for Earth Day in my neighborhood!

The sky is blue. The temperature is comfortable. The forsythia has popped open. Hyacinths are in full bloom. The spaces between the bare tree branches are beginning to shrink as elms and crab-apples and magnolias begin to sprout their colorful buds. Birds are singing. The ground has thawed. It's a time for freshness, renewal and hope.

This is the face of Mother Earth; of Mother Nature.

It feels natural to me that we should think of the earth as our mother. Long before the basics of biology were clearly understood, when this fertile springtime process manifested itself in nature, women's mysterious power to give birth to new life seemed magical. And, when things were good, Mother Nature was sweet, generous and supportive. But she had the terrible ability to take life away too. She could turn cold, dry or harsh. Goddesses (and gods) had to be propitiated. Sacrifices had to be made. Ceremonies had to be celebrated. A balance had to be struck.

That was then; this is now. We've moved from merely surviving, to hunting and gathering, to agriculture and husbandry, to manufacturing, commerce and mercantilism, and along the way perhaps we have forgotten our Mother. We may have forgotten her mystery and her majesty. We may have forgotten our own true nature because we are, indeed and simply, her children. We are not separate from Mother Nature. We are family. We are -- all of us -- Mother Earth.

Yesterday was a great day to go outside and walk barefoot in the dirt or the sand or water. It was a great day to smell the grass or watch two flickers court each other. It was a great day to appreciate the warmth of the sun on your shoulders.

And, every day is a great day to honor your mother (and yourself) with understanding the interconnectedness of it all.