Lately I've been on a kick: I'm reading books set in the 1940s and earlier. They detail the stories of the lives of their times. I've recently noticed, though, that no one ever mentions the environment. It wasn't on their radar.
When did we even start noticing the environment? I decided to look up Earth Day as a stepping stone to the answer.
Wikipedia says, "Earth Day is a day that is intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's natural environment. Earth Day was founded by United States Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in first held on April 22, 1970."
When did we start noticing the environment? In the 1960s. We've been noticing Earth for more than 50 years.
Wikipedia goes on:
While this first Earth Day was focused on the United States, an organization launched by Denis Hayes, who was the original national coordinator in 1970, took it international in 1990 and organized events in 141 nations. Earth Day is now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network, and is celebrated in more than 175 countries every year.
We've been celebrating the environment all over our globe for more than 30 years.
Prior to the 1960s, the environment wasn't an issue because people were so focused on their little corner of the American dream that the space in which it was taking place was unimportant. In the '60s, that changed.
What dawned in the sixties? Some would answer "awareness of the Earth," which is a correct, but in my view, limited, answer.
What really dawned in the '60s was an awareness of the space in which events take place because the space makes a difference. It affects those events. Presenting "Oklahoma!" at Podunk High School is very different from "Oklahoma!" at the Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway.
Mystically, that space in which reality takes place is known as the Divine Feminine.
The Divine Feminine is sometimes personified as Mother Earth or Mother Nature and She is those things. In the Hebrew Bible, She is the Shekinah. In the Christian Scripture, she is the Dove of the Holy/Whole Spirit of God.
The thing is: the Divine Feminine simply is, whether we recognize Her or not, name Her or not, worship Her or not. She doesn't owe us anything, not even an explanation. To paraphrase the great Mark Twain, "Don't go around saying the world owes you a living; the world owes you nothing; She was here first."
So, yes, Earth is our Mother, and yes, Earth is divine, and yes, our Mother is divine.
For those who have ears to hear and eyes to see, pray with me for our Mother, our Earth, and all those displaced by her disturbances due to our negligence.
For spiritual nourishment, visit Dr. Susan Corso's website and blog, Seeds for Sanctuary. Follow her on Twitter @PeaceCorso and Friend her on Facebook.