When a mother carries a baby, her body is food, shelter, and life. Even after the child is born, her body remains a source of nourishment and care. As the child grows, they eventually come to understand the vulnerability of their own mother, and this realization brings a shift in their relationship. We come to see that our mothers cannot care for us endlessly; there comes a time when we must care for her too. In the same way, the Earth is our food and shelter. She supports our physical and mental well-being. She is our life. But she is also vulnerable when we constantly take from her without giving back. We must remember to nurture the one who has always nurtured us.

I recognize that we are in great need of national policies that protect the dignity of our planet, but we cannot wait for those changes to come. We must get creative with our cultural traditions, with our daily choices, and consume less, especially from large corporations. Never underestimate the power of individual actions and habits, how they shape not only the world around us but also who we become as we grow.

Loving the earth, seeing what has been done to it,
I grow sharp, I grow cold.

Where will the trilliums go, and the coltsfoot?
Where will the pond lilies go to continue living
their simple, penniless lives, lifting
their faces of gold?

Impossible to believe we need so much
as the world wants us to buy.
I have more clothes, lamps, dishes, paper clips
than I could possibly use before I die.

Oh, I would like to live in an empty house,
with vines for walls, and a carpet of grass.
No planks, no plastic, no fiberglass.

And I suppose I will.
Old and cold I will lie apart
from all this buying and selling, with only
the beautiful earth in my heart.

Beautiful Earth by Mary Oliver