I am dedicating this post to Earth Day 2017 – may the Earth continue to support and sustain us while we find a way to honor Her and all of creation.
If we surrendered to earth’s intelligence
we could rise up rooted, like trees.
—Rainer Maria Rilke
Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, producing varied fruits with coloured flowers and herbs. Francis of Assisi
When we recognise the virtues, the talent, the beauty of Mother Earth, something is born in us, some kind of connection, love is born. Thich Nhat Hanh
Sooner or later, we will have to recognise that the Earth has rights, too, to live without pollution. What mankind must know is that human beings cannot live without Mother Earth, but the planet can live without humans. Evo Morales
[T]he care of the earth is our most ancient and most worthy and, after all, our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it, and to foster its renewal, is our only legitimate hope. Wendell Berry
Ailsa’s Travel Theme: Earth.
Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge: Earth.
The Beauty Along the Road 
This is a beautiful post, Annette! You made me cry a little. Such a heartfelt tribute to our most gracious Mother.
Peace to you.
Mary
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That is the best compliment, Mary. Sweet tears.
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What I think… ahhhh, well, I’ve never been able to think of earth as a mother – wrong species. There are many things wrong with earth, as well as with mankind. One obvious problem is that of the predator-prey concept as a means of maintaining a balance of terror in a world that is not just prolific, but too much so in some areas, not enough in others. Earth is not a balanced entity and that is why a species such as Earthians can exist, thrive and by eliminating its own predators, systematically eat up the living part of earth until nothing remains. The predator-prey controlling mechanism is a massive failure, conducive to generating fear and making the imposition of pain an enterprise that most Earthians still seem quite at ease with (when not actually enjoying doing it to animals, birds, fish and of course, other Earthians), considering how many of them continue to eat meat when being vegetarian is so much healthier, cheaper and simpler. Even the most dedicated “mother earth” lovers I’ve met don’t get it: there is evil at play within this world but that is not a politically correct approach to the problem so let’s live in denial and pretend. Are we having turkey or beef for our Earth Day dinner?
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I do think that Earth (or Gaia) is an intelligent organism with many feedback and self-corrective mechanisms in place. It is us humans who have interfered with these natural processes to such an extent that we have many systems about to collapse (acidified oceans, warming temperatures leading to huge changes in most of Earth’s systems, deforestation, etc. etc). Those of us living in the industrialized countries of the world have contributed an inordinate amount to these Earth disturbances with our lifestyles, resource and energy use. All of the data and stats are available, so there is no need for me to get into the details. I do think that there’s a lot of hypocrisy, as you pointed out – we KNOW that we are killing the earth and some of us are making small changes, a few are making huge changes, but many don’t want to be bothered – they want to own their toys and enjoy them no matter what the consequences, to their own health, or the health of generations to come. I suspect that we’ll see so many rapid changes in the next 5 or 10 yrs, that all of us will be forced to make more changes than we ever imagined. As Evo Morales said, we can’t live without the Earth but Earth will do just fine without us.
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Exactly!
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Beautiful!
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Thank you, Anarette.
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Beautiful photos and quotes Annette. Thanks for caring. May we learn to live in harmony with this sweet earth indeed.
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Thank you, Brad.
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My pleasure!
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Gorgeous! Your photos are incredible and pairing them to great quotes makes your post even more provocative. Happy Earth Day!
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Thank you so much, Patti.
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The views are so very different from my high desert ones, reminding me of childhood outings in very distant places. All equally precious and uniquely beautiful.
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So many beautiful yet distinct landscapes….are you still having the spring bloom in the desert?
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Beautiful!!!
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Thank you, Sumyanna.
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You’re welcome!
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Pingback: Earth’s Beauty Should Not Be Overlooked, Nor Should it Be Taken for Granted… – Sumyanna Writes
Beautiful collection of words and photos. Perfect for any day–but especially this one.
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Thank you so much, Catherine. I wished we didn’t have just ONE Earth day each year – we need a full year of Earth Day consciousness and activities, for a start….
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Annette, thank you so much for sharing beautiful images along with such wise words. Most beautiful post to honor, what we don’t honor enough.
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Thank you, Cornelia. I am amazed how much beauty there still is around us with all our reckless consumption and pollution we have engaged in.
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Thanks for an elegant and moving post. I spent the day in support of these sentiments as I marched with thousands of citizens calling for sanity in our relationship with Mother Earth. And many of us will march again on April 29th, calling for recognition of the fact that protecting the Earth is our only hope for survival.
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Thank you, Robin. I didn’t make it to the science march, nor the one coming up this weekend. However, I am trying hard on my end, within the boundaries of my power and responsibility to protect Her. Within the next few weeks, I will be adding new plants to my native plant landscape, supporting bees, butterflies, birds, and other wildlife that will benefit from them. Plus, they are beautiful to look at….
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Annette, your beautiful tribute to Mother Earth touched me. I think it is because at this time of the year everything in Nicaragua is brown, wilted, and ugly. But, soon, the earth will be nourished again. I can’t wait. Meanwhile, I’ll look at your gorgeous photos.
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Awww, so happy my pictures help you make it through the dry season, Debbie. May the rains come soon…
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Very topical post. March 11 the tsunami in Japan destroyed the nuclear power plant, April 26 an atomic power station in Ukraine exploded. There are more and more infected places on the planet … We forget that our Earth is unique.
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All the more important to be good stewards to what we do have control over. Thank you for your comment, Dennis.
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Such beautiful fotos! Enriching thoughts, too. I too seek trees as best I can, and walk barefoot in my city park to take in ions and love from the earth. Every Mayday my Mother would go outside, raise her arms and say: “Our Mother the Earth is a maiden again,” and lead us as we children planted flowers in our window boxes.
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what an amazing statement from your mother – the archetype of spring as a maiden – I love it!
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Guess I’m pretty late to the party on this one Annette but glad I caught it – it’s beautifully done!
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Thank you, Tina. And you are not late – this is my latest blog post. It’s taking me a while to commit to my next one, but it’s coming…:-)
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Love the colors and that water shot.
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Thank you, Diana.
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Truly an amazing post right here. It’s always a great reminder to be appreciative for the land we walk on.
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Thank you, Campers. I try to remain grateful for all the goodness and riches the land is providing for us, both our personal property as well as the parks, rivers, and wilderness all around that are still open to us. Good luck with your own venture.
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Agreed. Nature is such a magical wonder and a natural healer for so many things, very much to be appreciative for 🙂 thank you so much!
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Beautiful. You’re a dedicated earth worker. ❤
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Hmm, I love THAT label 🙂
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