Our disconnect with our creator, the Earth

People believe in different things, and I get that. Especially in regards to religion. We can't see anything, nothing can be proven. And that's not to say I don't not believe in anything, I believe in many things. I guess what I'm trying to get at is this: respect others, let them believe what they believe, carry on with your own lives and just simply be happy. No one can be proven right or wrong, in these instances.

The one thing that we can prove, that we do know exists, is Earth. We stand on it, we live on it. It is our provider of life. Without the Earth, we would surely be dead. It's our home. And yet... we destroy it. And we are so out of touch from it. We barely know it anymore.

For one, we used to walk with bare feet. Sure, there are reasons we can't do this so safely anymore, such as broken glass that may cut our feet, or tarmac that is too hot to walk on without burning your feet. Perhaps it is not considered "proper" to not have shoes on. But that was one of our main ways with connecting with the ground, the soil, the Earth. Now, we walk on concrete and tarmac, wearing shoes with thick soles. We don't touch the Earth when we walk. We can't even see the real ground underneath all the man made material covering it. I always feel most at home, most grounded and most human when I'm at the beach, or in nature. I find this to be because I'm usually not wearing shoes, toes in the sand and walking on the Earth all day, or I am at least walking on real soil, leaves and grass. I am truly grounded in those moments.

I look up: all I see is buildings, skyscrapers. At times, it is hard to see the sky, either because the buildings cover it or the city smog makes it nearly impossible to see. I don't see any trees. I don't feel a breeze. All I smell is petrol and cigarette smoke. Artificial flashing lights almost blind me on every corner. I feel like I'm suffocating here, that I need to leave so desperately. I can only be there so long, before the sweet and salty smell of the ocean and the trees call me back to them. The fresh air, filled with nature scents and clarity. My lungs fill as much as they can, afraid they won't get air this heavenly again. My body craves the healthy air I can get here: it never craves the air in the city.

I'm lying in my bed at night, trying to peacefully drift off to sleep. I hear people partying, with their loud speakers and their obnoxious music choices. I hear trucks, cars, sirens from various emergency vehicles. I hear television commercials from the apartments next door. My phone buzzes with an incoming message. My ears are polluted with artificial noise, and there's no way out of that. There's no escape, not even while you're trying to go to sleep. Sometimes, if I wake up at 2am for a glass of water, it will be an odd experience. I won't be able to hear anything. When I am awake at 5, there is still barely a peep. Birds chirping, trees swaying perhaps, but not much else. I wish that all day could sound like that sometimes; how much more at peace I would feel.

We are not kind to the Earth, and that makes us awful at our jobs: taking care of it. Especially after all it does for us. See, this place provides us with life, and all we do to repay that is slowly kill it. It's a slow, painful death: torturous. We throw our waste all over it, or into the oceans. We slay trees to make more space for ourselves. We pollute the air with our machines, we cover the ground with terrible things to allow cars to drive around a little easier, a little faster. We fill the skies with big buildings, instead of big trees. And the worst part is, in my opinion, that we forget to give anything back. We forget to say thanks. We forget the Earth is even there.

The Earth lives and breathes, like us. They don't call it Mother Earth for nothing: it is our life giver, our nurturer. And we punish her for taking care of us, giving us a home... isn't it awful when you think of it like that? She is dying because of our doings, because of our selfishness.

I feel a little helpless in this, because I honestly don't know what to do. I care so much, but I don't see myself as having the tools to do anything productive. I do what I can; I live as much a waste free lifestyle as possible, I eat a plant-based diet, I try to be sustainable in as much as possible. I speak up about it. I speak up for her, Mother Earth. But it's hard when you feel like no-one hears you over the sound of their phones to their ears, or the constant whirring of the sirens. No-one sees you because the bright lights are too distracting, or the buildings too tall, or you're simply just too small because nobody else cares.

So, I ask you to, when you can, touch the Earth. The real Earth. With your hand, or with your bare feet, or lie on your back and look up at the sky. Breathe in the fresh air. Enjoy the beauty of it all. How wonderful it is, that all of these things are alive, and feeding us. You will see why this topic leaves so much despair in my heart, when you re-connect with it all. You'll be reminded of where we all come from, and what causes us to remain here. And why it's so important to play your part in the battle of saving our home, our Mother, and our future.