Touching Mother Earth (Thich Nhat Hanh)

You carry Mother Earth within you. She is not outside of you. Mother Earth is not just your environment. Fear, separation, hate and anger come from the wrong view that you and the Earth are two separate entities. That is a dualistic way of thinking. So to breathe in and be aware of your body and look deeply into it and realize you are the Earth and your consciousness is also the consciousness of the Earth. Not to cut the trees, not to pollute the water — that is not enough.

When we recognize the virtues, the talent, the beauty of Mother Earth, something is born in us, some kind of connection, love is born. We want to be connected. That is the meaning of love, to be at one. When you love someone, you want to say, "I need you. I take refuge in you." You do anything for the benefit of the Earth, and the Earth will do anything for your well-being.

Many people get sick today because they get alienated from Mother Earth. The practice of mindfulness helps us to touch Mother Earth inside of this body and this practice can help heal people. So the healing of the people should go together with the healing of the Earth. This kind of enlightenment is very crucial to a collective awakening.

Touching the ultimate dimension, we feel happy and comfortable like the birds enjoying the blue sky or the deer enjoying the green fields. We know that we do not have to look for the ultimate outside of ourselves — it is available within us, in this very moment.

— Thich Nhat Hanh 

(excerpts from an interview, book forthcoming)

Photos: Spanish Pine Forests & Mediterranean Bay —okei