Earth Teach Me
The following is an excerpt from the "Regenerative Poems, Short Stories and Recipes for the Soul" chapter of Recipes For Reciprocity.
(inspired by an ancient Ute prayer.)
Earth teach me to embrace stillness ~ as the grasses and the mosses are still with new light, gently holding the dew drops in peace and receptivity.
Earth teach me humility ~ as blossoms are humble with beginning.
Earth teach me interdependence ~ as the fungus and the algae who choose to live as one as a lichen.
Earth teach me to embrace my individuality ~ as the flowers that bloom in their own unique way, no two being exactly alike.
Earth teach me peace ~ as the still waters are in lakes reflecting the mountain peaks.
Earth teach me symbiosis - as the Cells and mitochondria which abandoned their ancient predator and prey beginnings to unite and become the building blocks and energy generators for complex organisms such as we (homosapiens)
Earth teach me grace ~ as the red salmon who have worked hard swimming upstream to give hope to future generations and give their bodies back to the forest (bringing nutrients from the ocean up into the valleys and mountain streams to feed countless others and build the soil) resulting in some of the most productive forest ecosystems containing some of the largest and most beautiful trees on Earth.
Earth teach me foresight ~ as the ants that carry the aphid eggs into their nest to protect them over winter so they can bring them 'out to pasture' again in the spring. (Ants farm aphids carrying and placing young aphids on the stalk of a plant, protect them and harvesting their excretion for nourishment like humans do with goats or cows.)
Earth teach me alchemy ~ as the fungi which bridge the process of death and returning to earth to the beginnings of new life. Our talented elders in the Fungi Queendom use their gifts to accelerate the breakdown and transformation of that which is dead and dying making the way to nourish the seeds of new life. Fungi often do this while simultaneously creating medicine and food for other larger organisms. We can do the same as we bare witness to that which is coming to an end.
Earth teach me caring ~ as mothers (whether heterotroph or photosynthetic mothers) nurture their young and sometimes nurture those that are not their own as well.
Earth teach to tread softly ~ as the Lynx, who uses her gifts to walk gently and gracefully on top of the deep snow
Earth teach me tenacity ~ as the moss that slowly grows on the rock face perched above the mountain stream reaching out its leaves gathering precious mist from the waterfall.
Earth teach me honesty ~ as the ancient stone that bears all its cracks and scrapes revealing the beauty and uniqueness in the innate imperfections that are part of each facet of Creation.
Earth teach me courage ~ as the osprey that dives from high in the air into the water to get food for her babies.
Earth teach me to go with the flow of positivity ~ like the free flowing waters of the babbling brooks, streams and rivers that collect the precious rains, and effortlessly shape and give life to the landscape through being one with the forces of nature.
Earth teach me ingenuity ~ as the beaver who uses her mind and her teeth to build a home and create a habitat for herself, her family and countless others (creating trophic cascade ripple effects in the broader ecosystem she is a part of)
Earth teach me cooperation ~ as the rhizobium that live in mutualistic harmony with the plant's roots.
Earth teach me resourcefulness ~ as the leafcutter ants that invented a regenerative form of agriculture long before humans and have been farming fungus for millions of years (feeding the fungus with chewed-up leaves, "weeding" their fungus patch, "mulching" it, "fertilizing' it and harvesting).
Earth teach me freedom ~ as the eagle that soars in the sky.
Earth teach me to resist oppression ~ as the amaranth that was resilient and persisted in growing and providing nourishment and cultural sustenance to the indigenous people’s of the Américas despite the viscous attacks and attempts being made by the imperialistic conquistadors to make her cultivation illegal and eradicate her.
Earth teach me acceptance ~ as the trees that let go of their precious leaves each fall, letting go of that which no longer serves them while giving back to the soil.
Earth teach me to be aware of my surroundings ~ as the praying mantis that carefully observes her environment and those she shares it with.
Earth teach me vigilance ~ as the honeybees, woodpeckers and the squirrels and others) which fastidiously and diligently collect seasonal abundances of food and store them for the winter (so they do not find themselves in a tough spot facing a food shortage when their usual sources of food are not available).
Earth teach me commitment ~ as the Albatrosses' and the wolves who mate for life.
Earth teach me fortitude ~ as the squash plant that reaches out its strong and flexible tendrils to climb up and reach the sun.
Earth teach me resilience ~ as the Red Russian Kale leaf that braves the minus 25 Celsius winter winds, freezes solid, and then wakes up and grows again afterward.
Earth teach me friendship ~ as the Sea anemones and hermit crabs that share a home, share their meals and protect each other from danger.
Earth teach me perseverance ~ as the bar-headed geese that give everything they have to fly over the highest peaks in the Himalayas to get to Mongolia so they can safely raise their young.
Earth teach me faith ~ as the seeds that fall to the snow on the winter winds knowing that the warmth of spring will come.
Earth teach me originality ~ as the Photoheterotrophs (like Pea Aphids and The Oriental Hornets) that absorb sunlight to nourish themselves like plants do.
Earth teach me renewal ~ as the seed that rises in the spring.
Earth teach me resourcefulness (aka stacking functions) ~ as the spider that weaves a web that serves to gather food and water from the morning dew
Earth teach me the value of community ~ as the ancient trees that stand tall in the old growth forests connected to the younger plant members of the forest through their roots and the fungi offering nourishment to those in need, providing shelter and a home for countless organisms and holding the soil together with their roots.
Earth teach me trust ~ as the eagle mates who embrace each other in a spiraling motion towards the Earth knowing the other will let go before it is too late.
Earth teach me precision ~ as the dragonfly uses its impressive cognitive capability to perform split second mathematical calculations when they are gauging the changing trajectory of their prey and planning a mode of attack.
Earth teach me to remember there is always hope despite what ever darkness may currently be present in our midst ~ as you show us each morning when you reveal the breaking dawn after the darkest hours of night.
Earth teach me selflessness ~ as melted snow forgets its crystalline life and nourishes the seeds of spring.
Earth teach me metamorphosis and how to tap into the the morphic resonance fields that connect us all ~ as the monarch caterpillars that let go of what was, allowing imaginal cells that emerge within to become a template for transforming them into an entirely new being and as the adult Monarchs that tap into the ambient field of consciousness that guides them to be able to make the journey towards a far away land (without ever having been there) with precision and grace.
Earth teach me remembrance ~ as the elephant who knows who has been kind to her and where she can find water for her young.
Earth teach me balance ~ as the photosynthetic lifeforms that complete and stabilize the carbon and water cycles ensuring favorable conditions for countless members of a given ecosystem to thrive.
Earth teach me fractal geometry ~ as you seamlessly weave them into all the world's living systems (from the cellular level up to your own planetary magnetic field) with dendritic, toroidal and spiral patterns.
Earth teach me of the transformative and life giving potential of natural processes which on the surface may seem ‘destructive’ ~ as the natural forest fires that clear underbrush, transform dead wood into mineral rich soil, helping certain seeds to germinate and making the way for pyrophilic lifeforms and as the volcano which offers a way for your molten rock and superheated volcanic ash to create new land and nurture soil structure in the long term, resulting in lush jungles and other ecosystems (housing countless organisms).
Earth teach me intuition ~ as the bulging buds know spring will soon come.
Earth teach me to share my unique gifts to inspire and uplift my fellow beings ~ as the blackbirds, robins, and thrushes that sing at the break of dawn, immersing us all in a gentle wave of bird song, a sonic bath that perpetually washes over your body, through out all mature ecosystems, as you gracefully spin on your axis.
Earth teach me tolerance ~ as the butterflies and other insects that share the nectar of the same flowers.
Earth teach me surrender ~ as the apple tree gifts the fruits of it's labor knowing they will bring new life.
Earth teach me devotion ~ as the puffin mates that take turns incubating the egg and caring for the chick.
Earth teach me compassion ~ as the many animals (such as wild cats, bears, rhinos, koalas) that often adopt orphans of not only other parents within their own species, but also sometimes from different species all together!
Earth teach me to see the beauty even during the darkest moments ~ as the glimmers of sunlight that pour through the ominous storm cloud on the horizon.
Earth teach me to be like water ~ as the raindrop that refracts the light pouring through her from the cosmos, creating a rainbow to inspire and uplift and then falling to the ground to nourish and give life, becoming one with countless beings and flowing effortlessly to the ocean from which she came, completing the cycle of life.
Earth teach me to speak to my fellow beings in the language of energy in a way that is life affirming and in a way that nurture’s coherence ~ as you do with your eternal heart beat (which some call the Schumann Resonance) that harmonizes and connects all living beings on the Earth and offers us inspiration on how we might emulate your way of speaking with your heart to consciously communicate (energetically) to bring peace and healing to this world.
Earth teach me to be a protector of those that cannot protect them selves ~ as you do with your loving heart that emits a protective field of magnetic energy that shields us humans and your countless other children from the harmful x-rays and gamma rays originating from outer space.
Earth teach me unconditional love ~ as you who still gives to and cares for us, the humans, even though many do not return to you the love and respect you deserve.
The material above is an excerpt from my recently published book (cover shown in image below).
For those interested in purchasing a physical copy of the book you can do so through this link:
https://recipesforreciprocity.com/shop/softcover/
I hope this inspires you to open your heart and mind to some of the many ways in which Mother Earth offers us wisdom on how to improve our lives, heal our relationships and become our best selves.
May all the knowledge, healing, inspiration and fulfillment that you seek be revealed to you through your conscious choice to closely observe and learn from our elder species and the living planet that sustains us all. <3
This is one of the many reasons i feel blessed that we share our lives together, sweets. I love how you have chosen to nurture your poetically loving view of Mother Earth by planting seeds in the hearts of many and opening their eyes that they may see her from a renewed perspective of awe becuz of your photography and wordsmithing. Thank you for being you, my love! ❤️
This is so beautiful, Gavin. There's a reader of mine in particular, Citizen Doctor, who produces Fractal Sovereignty. As I was thinking that I wanted to introduce him to you, it occurred to me that I could cross-post. May I?