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“Remember the earth whose skin you are:
red earth, black earth, yellow earth, white earth
brown earth, we are earth.”
~ Joy Harjo
Just as much as it can serve us to “grow wings” by looking up at expansive vistas, so too are we served by cultivating a sense of groundedness. We may not be rooted like trees, but we can reconnect our living body with the living body of the Earth and experience a deeply embodied form of belonging. “Remember the earth whose skin you are,” invites Joy Harjo in the poem “Remember.”
Invitation for Practice
If weather and circumstances permit, try walking or simply standing still outside, barefoot on different terrains. How does grass feel under the soles of your feet? Stone? Sand? Wet or dry soil? You could also touch the earth with your hands, stroke a tree trunk, smell a fragrant plant. If you’re unable to get outside, you might simply imagine the feeling of natural ground — what can you sense from the Earth’s crust beneath you? Feel yourself “rooted” wherever you are. Cultivate intimacy with the land you live on as you would with any of your loved ones: touch, nestle, express your kinship and devotion in any way you can.
We invite you to share your reflections in the space below the author bio.
Enjoy the full seven-day Nourishing Our Nature practice.
Fabiana Fondevila is a writer and teacher from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her latest book, “Where Wonder Lives: Practices for Cultivating the Sacred in Your Daily Life” was published in February 2021. Fabiana teaches online workshops and seminars on living a life of awe and radical aliveness. You can learn more about her offerings at FabianaFondevila.com. She is also a founding member of Vivir Agradecidos, our organizational partner in Argentina.
Image by Pinkasem Muisri/Unsplash
We have two petunias that have put down their roots in very unlikely places. I wanted to put a picture of them here for you but I don’t see how to do it or maybe the site doesn’t allow it. One is through stones at the foot of our mailbox and the other is at the edge of a sewer grate between the grate and the road where .there seems to be no soil at all. . Beauty can be in
unlikely places
Connection to Nature is a daily practice for me at dawn at Beaver Lake 😊.
This gives me the freedom to explore alone and enjoy the deer, turtles, cardinals who join me each morning.
It’s a time for meditation and prayers that keeps me moving forward each new day.
Today I hugged a tree for the first time in my life, and this was truly a moment of wonder. I’ve always been fond of an ancient gem of Jewish rabbinical wisdom which suggests at, at the end of our Earthly lives, God will ask each of us only one question: ‘Did you enjoy my creation?’ Whether I take these words metaphorically or literally, they encourage me to believe that no moment of wonder is a waste of time.
Thank you for the lovely and wise thought.
I so loved Joy Harjo’s poem! Like the trees and shrubs and flowers of the earth, people also come in many beautiful colors – from many beautiful cultures. We need to remember that we were created in the Image of God – and God is all colors – all cultures. We are of the earth – all of us – Children of God. If only all of planet earth could understand this Sacred Connection we have with One Another in God!
Love ❤️
Joy Harjo’s poem “Remember.” ❣️
Thank you. 🙏