A Prayer For The Earth

I was always that kid who wanted to play outside. We live in the heart of the gorgeous Essex countryside, with farmland and riverside walks for miles. I spent much of my childhood out in nature, building dens in the Autumn and making ‘perfume’ in the Green House in the Summer, using honey and rose petals from the garden. We were lucky enough to have space for a vegetable patch too, so I would often help mum and dad with whatever we were growing. I begun to drift away from it as I got older (as you do), finding other things that I thought were cool and more worth my time. Still enjoying the odd walk every now and again, but I didn’t make an effort really to immerse myself in the natural world.

It was during a relationship that I was hugely unhappy in a few years ago that I first began connecting myself with nature again. I turned back to growing vegetables. At first it was a way that I could reduce my plastic use instead of buying supermarket veg, but I soon realised that having my hands in the soil deeply soothed me. I loved caring for the plants, watching them grow and evolve. I got deep pleasure and satisfaction from it and it grounded me when I felt frightened and trapped. I believe that it was the effect that the soil had on me that was the catalyst for a journey that would change the shape of my life on a physical and spiritual level. It all started with the Earth.

Trees in particular have been a huge part of my personal healing and development. I have been able to find so much peace and beauty in nature over the past year. I am blessed that my current job allows me to work outside all day, so I am constantly among a forest that is heavily steeped in spirit and ancient wisdom. You can tell just by looking at the formations in the bark on each trunk that they have seen a lot over the hundreds of years they have been there.

Every morning as part of my morning ritual I make a conscious effort to get outside and connect myself to the Earth, to the trees. I go out early and feed the chickens (with bare feet when the ground isn’t too cold or frosty! It’s amazing to feel your feet in the grass and mud first thing in the morning). I walk through my garden to a quintet of Silver Birch trees and hug one of them. I allow myself to be and ultimately feel connected to the Mother Earth that we were all birthed from. I thank the trees for all I learn from them. Even if I have a rushed morning, this part allows me to slow. And the beautiful thing is that as I have begun to worship nature more and more, nature has begun to give me more and more in return. I see more beauty in every natural being that graces my presence. I have begun to see faces and spirits in trees. I feel at home when I am within stillness in a forest, or by a river.

Trees show us stability and grounding in their roots. They show us growth and expansion in their branches. They show generosity when they give Oxygen for us to breath and fruit for us to eat. They show us how to embody compassion as they offer homes for wildlife. They show us versatility in their material that can be used for furniture, heat, paper. They show us how to re purpose what no longer serves us and how to use it for beauty when their leaves fall and break down into nutrients in the soil. They truly show me how to be my highest self and embody the cyclical nature of life.

Whenever I need inspiration or an answer I turn to nature. It always points me in the right direction. This week my class was based around the Earth, and I would like to share with you a prayer I wrote after watching the movie ‘Kiss The Ground’ (thank you Codie – Leigh Yoga for the awesome recommendation). Please give this a watch to see how we can save our soil, and in turn, our soil will save us.

A Prayer for the Earth

My blessing of love

Is to give back to the Earth

The soil underfoot

Has no limit to it’s worth

The land beneath man

That teaches us so

And the circle of life

That helps us to grow

Mother Earth, The Divine,

The most generous of all

Asks nothing of us

But we must answer the call

To all come together

To regenerate life

To work with our mother

And end worldly strife

The garden of Eden

Is but steps away

Take my hand and walk with me

Into the warm light of day.

I really hope that this post has reminded you of your connection to nature and has encouraged you to take the time to be with it more. I would love to hear about how you connect to nature in your day to day life. Leave a comment below.

With Love, Light & Best Wishes,

Ciara X