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Practice Day 23: I Come from the Earth. I am Part of Her.

mharnishtherapy

Theme/Mantra: “I come from the Earth. I am part of her.”


Reading:

Lost by David Wagoner

Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you

Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,

And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,

Must ask permission to know it and be known.

The forest breathes. Listen. It answers,

I have made this place around you.

If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here.

No two trees are the same to Raven.

No two branches are the same to Wren.

If what a tree or bush does is lost on you,

You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows

Where you are. You must let it find you.


Meditation:

Find a comfortable space (outside if possible).

Take a deep breath and exhale.

Breathe more deeply and exhale longer.

Imagine the earth beneath your feet breathing with you.

As if you were one.

As you continue in your breaths- in and out- ponder the idea of being lost.

Of not being lost.

Of a confidence and comfort in knowing that the forest, the earth

(or god, or the universe)

Knows exactly where you are and who you are.


Physical Movement:

Stand straight and tall, with your feel hip-width apart, and parallel to one another.

Clasp your palms behind your lower back, interlacing your fingers.

Take a deep breath as you hold your shoulders back and pull down on your hands.

Exhale as you bend forward from your hips, with your back straight (and your face forward).

With your hands still clasped, let your arms fall forward, away from your body and towards the ground.

Don’t strain.

Hold the pose for 2 breaths.

On an inhale, rise slowly, letting your arms fall back gently to your sides, as you bring your head up.

Release your hands.

Repeat as desired.


Reflection:

Perhaps when we feel lost, it is because we are out of touch with the earth - The earth always knows us- knows where we are and even who we are. We aren’t really lost. I embrace this idea. That if we are in nature- we cannot be lost. To be so connected with all things that live - that is to be connected to God.

The Glacial Erratics have an album- (Yes, I think only one, at least I have only been able to find one) called Moving Mountains. I highly recommend you look them up. It is one of my all time favorite albums. They have a sense of humor, and insight, and connectedness to the things that matter.

This song brings us to the realization that “walking on earth is a miracle.” They juxtapose other miracles against walking on earth. Some find walking on water a miracle (referring to Jesus and perhaps Peter), and some find walking on fire a miracle (referring to those who walk on hot coals with bare feet)- The lyricists don’t take away from the possibilities of these miracles. And yet- perhaps the greatest miracle, is the one that is most common and least recognized. To… walk… on…the…EARTH is a miracle. A miracle to feel. To know. To celebrate. To do.

So- today. I encourage you to have eyes to see the miraculous as you walk on the earth. Take off your shoes.

The ground you stand on is holy.

Just be thankful for today.



Song: Raven Song by Glacial Erratics


Lyrics:

There is sadness all around me, Mother Nature’s cries

Unheard on deaf ears and unseen by blind eyes

I wish I knew what to do, I wish I were wise.

There’s a raven flying over me, lands up in a tree,

With wisdom in his brown eyes, he’s laughing down at me.

He says, “don’t you see how lucky we are

As we stand in these trees and lift our hearts and pray

And just be thankful for today.”


Flowers bloom around me, a bear climbs up a tree.

Hummingbird lands on my hand, whale swims in the sea.

It’s a gift just to be here at all as I

Stand in these streams now and lift my heart and pray

And just be thankful for today.


Some say walking on water is a miracle.

Some say walking on fire is a miracle.

I say walking on earth is a miracle.


And I stand in these streams now and lift my heart and pray

And just be thankful for today.


It’s the little things around us that we sometimes fail to see.

Amidst the ashes of the fire there grows a new young tree.

As the circle moves from life to death to life.


And we stand in these trees now and lift our hearts and pray

And just be thankful for today.


And I strand in these trees now and lift my heart and pray

And I stand on this mountain searching for a way.

Feel the world around me with love and work and play.

And just be thankful for today.

It’s a miracle to be alive today.

Let’s just be thankful for today.


Until Tomorrow- Peace


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©2021 by Malinda Harnish Clatterbuck with Wix.com

Photographs by David Parry, Xiao Ma, Malinda H.C.

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