Issue 16: Earth Day 2020

D.I.Y. Therapy: Connect with Mother Earth Self-care is about loving ourselves unconditionally and putting ourselves first when we need to. It also means making sure our environment is safe, healthy, and supportive. Unfortunately our environment is none of these. Our water is polluted, our air is dangerous, and our land is overflowing with trash. As I was learning self-care, I realized the importance of my while health in relationship with mother earth (or guardian earth if you prefer a gender neutral term). I saw that when my self-care was focused on consuming comfort, I was hurting myself Nature is healing. I learned that at a young age playing in the fields with cousins and amigas, working in my abuelos' country garden, swimming in creeks and el mar. But then I forgot. I allowed myself to be brainwashed into a mindless consumer. I used retail therapy to feel better. I was careless with resources and it made me sick. It compounded my depression and put me into debt. But now I remember that earth is what gives me life and I want my actions to be supportive and sustainable to her.

As many of us are in isolation now, we feel the weight of being closed off from our sources of happiness, our addictions and social lives. This restless unnerving period is a good time to learn how to ground into nature and live with less stuff. We must accept that we are all made from the same material and that the same sun, air, water and soil nourishes us. Express gratitude to the earth through your actions – consume less and reuse more.

Here are some journal questions to spark a connection with mother earth.

• How can I be kinder to mother earth?

• Which of my comforts or guilty pleasures are causing stress on the environment?

• What pollution is most prevalent in my life, and how can I learn more about it?

• What tools (or addictions) do I use to disconnect from nature, and how can I either release or reduce my use of those?