April 22

“To forget how to dig the earth and tend the soil is to forget ourselves.”
–Gandhi (Harijan, 8-25-1946, p. 282)

On Earth Day, we owe it to our beautiful planet to ask ourselves why we harm her. Why do we exploit her? Is this because it is our nature to do so? Hardly. The real answer is that we have forgotten who we are, and in forgetting, our species has developed a real self-esteem issue, a really low image of who we are and our purpose here. The dominant narrative is telling us that we cannot find fulfillment in our relationships for very long, and not even to think about looking too deeply inside, either. A Purpose? Forget about it. Instead, it tells us that we are here only once, purposeless, so we might as well loot the place and get as much as we can, by any means possible. And while not everyone believes this, this narrative underlies some of the most powerful political and commercial propaganda that shapes our policies and our lives. Do we simply give up and say, OK, I know it hurts to harm the earth, but what can we do? We’re just a greedy, destructive species? No way.

What if on Earth Day, we recommitted ourselves to a higher, more dignified image of ourselves, the kind that tells us that we are interconnected with all of life, the kind that teaches us to learn from our planet’s wisdom, instead of trying to “improve” her? We might begin by addressing her:

Dear Mother Earth, I am sorry that I contribute to violence against you out of my lack of knowledge of your gifts. Today, I recommit myself to you, by finding the true source of satisfaction, to holding myself and fellow humans to a higher standard of dignity, and to defending you through nonviolence when your voice calls.

Our purpose is calling…

Experiment in Nonviolence:
Take the above pledge today in a quiet moment.

Daily Metta 2015, a service of the Metta Center for Nonviolence, is a daily reflection on the strategic and spiritual insights of Mahatma Gandhi in thought, word and deed. As Gandhi called his life an “experiment in truth,” we have included an experiment in nonviolence to accompany each Daily Metta. Check in every day for new inspiration. Each year will be dedicated to another wisdom teacher.