Happy, happy Earth Day. 🌎🌍🌏
This has been about as hectic of a week as I could’ve had without leaving the house. I helped Plant With Purpose launch a campaign to help our communities during the pandemic, then immediately turned around and created a guide for Earth Day at Home.
I’m sure you’ve seen those posts about how the Earth is healing while we’re all locked down and in quarantine. 🏔The Himalayas are visible from Punjab and Jalandahar for the first time in decades. The air pollution levels over Europe are way down. Lions are napping on usually busy South African roads.
There’s an impulse to celebrate all this. To look at it as nature’s chance to put points on the scoreboard while humans are in the penalty box. Isn’t this healing what we’ve wanted??
I think the one flaw to this perspective is that it overlooks how humans are part of creation. Thinking ourselves separate is what gets us into trouble.
Our wellness is connected with the health of our environment. There have been a bunch of studies showing how climate change has accelerated the risk of viral outbreaks, and this shouldn’t be taken as a story of humans versus the planet, but the fact that our health is so intertwined.
I think the narrative that we’re engaged in some sort of battle between humans and nature does more harm than good. That was the plot of The Happening, and we all know that was M. Night Shamaylan’s ultimate downfall. 🌿🌿🌿
I work for an environmental organization and lately we’ve had to pivot to make sure the communities we work in are safe during this pandemic. But that’s still totally in line with the message of loving all creation.
Visit Plant With Purpose to check out the Earth Day At Home guide I’ve put together.