A friend gave me tickets to the symphony the other week. It had been during a time when I was under a great deal of stress. It was in the midst of trying to preserve the meadow and woods at the end of Enright Avenue from being “developed”. Only a few times since leaving Covington Community Center, more than 10 years ago, have I felt as much stress on my system. I sat there listening to this incredibly beautiful music, and it brought back one of my favorite quotes from a book by Brian Swimme called The Universe is a Green Dragon. In it he speaks of our role as humans on this Earth.
The human provides the space in which the universe feels its stupendous beauty. The universe shivers with wonder in the depths of the human. Think of what it would be like if there were no humans on the planet: the mountains and the primeval fireball would be magnificent, but the Earth would not feel any of this. Can you see the sadness of such a state? The incompleteness?
I sometimes think the primary deed of a parent is to see the beauty and grace of children. Children are magnificent. Gorgeous beyond telling. They themselves have no idea of what beauty they embody. Can you see the tragedy of a child with no one to feel and cherish its beauty? No one to fall in love with this magnificent creature? No one to celebrate its splendor?
The cosmos is the same: humans can house the tremendous beauty of Earth, of life, of the universe.
We humans are so busy, and what is our end? Somehow, we who live in the United States tie our purpose in life to the day we have enough money, then… What would it be like if we tied our lives to celebrating the Earth, recognizing its incredible wonder and splendor? How would we live differently?
We gathered on Earth Day in many parts of the world to recognize our connectedness with the Earth. We gather for the Festival for the Earth at Sunrock Farm on June 16th, and hopefully a significant part of this day will be an awareness of this beauty and wonder of which we are a part. The Earth cries out for us to see and celebrate her, fall in love with her/ourselves. Maybe together we can spark in each other a little of this awareness that we can take with us. Maybe for a moment, and from this moment a connection with an old memory that tells us we are a part of something that is magnificent, and it is good. And maybe it will slowly creep into our everyday lives till someday we will ask the question, “Is what I am doing really serving the Earth and its people? Is what I am doing coming from an incredible love for this Earth and its people?”
We have been in space, we have seen it, this beautiful blue ball floating in space. Now can we love it, and care for it using this wonderous mind that the Earth has provided for us?
The symphony played on, and I experienced ecstasy, granted to me as a human Earthling. This was a moment of mysticism in my awareness of this gift that I possess because I am human.
I am here to celebrate the Earth.
rjamesschenk.org 