This morning I was walking the beautiful beaches of northern Michigan. I am not exactly an unbiased person after living so many years here, but to me Michigan is one of the most beautiful states in all of America. There are forests, and sand dunes, and beautiful sandy beaches with waters from the Great Lakes that glisten as far as your eyes can see. I knew absolutely nothing about the state of Michigan before I moved here, and now that I live here it’s hard for me to believe that no one had explained just how breathtaking it is.

One of the things that I’ve come so much to appreciate about my life in Michigan is that when I give myself the gift of time within my natural and beautiful Michigan surroundings, I am filled with a reverence for life. This morning was no exception. I felt the sand beneath my toes and the gentle breeze blowing on my face and was filled with awe at the beauty of our planet. When I saw a bald eagle swoop down to the top of a nearby pine tree and peer out at us, I was nearly giddy with excitement.

I’d like to say that every day is as blissful and divine as it is when I go out to be on the water or in the woods, but unfortunately, I’m probably just like so many of you. So many times as I go throughout my busy days, I’m afraid to say how easy it has become to take the everyday things in my life for granted, including the earth. I suppose part of this morning’s awareness may have evolved from all of the reading I’ve been doing lately. Part of it may have resulted from my recent meditations, or perhaps it was just simply a moment of profound awareness and nothing more.

What dawned on me this morning during those moments of awe and deep appreciation for our world was this… I really believe that if we all devoted more time and energy to becoming more mindful and present in the moment, our appreciation for our world and for ourselves would expand exponentially.

I looked at the beautiful seagulls, the families playing in the sand, and ultimately myself as I walked hand-in-hand with my husband, joyfully strolling down the beach. We stopped for a few moments to meditate, soaking in the sounds of the surf and the splendor of the earth. In that instant, I reflected on my own continuing journey toward greater self-care and mindfulness.

In my own mind’s eye, I could immediately feel the difference, both within my body and about myself as a person during those times in my life that I was being mindful, present, and attentive to my needs and the needs of those around me. It was amazing just how drastically those feelings contrasted with my feelings when I wasn’t being mindful or was distracted for whatever reason.

When I’m fully present, centered, and mindful, I take greater care and I have greater appreciation and tenderness. I feel greater joy and make my actions meaningful. In that space of reverence and respect, taking care of yourself, of those around you, of the earth just becomes a seamless, easy act. It just becomes a natural way of being.

It can be challenging to remain centered and mindful as we are bombarded by the numerous requirements of our days. We sit in offices, confronted with a variety of deadlines or tackle the numerous things that need to be done at home or for our families. Somehow being in nature is a good way to become mindful and centered. Walking through the woods, looking for birds or other forest critters like deer (my all-time favorite!), or kayaking on a river or lake listening to the lapping waters, and suddenly we are centered in ourselves and within the universe. How fascinating it is—it’s as if Mother Nature holds a natural tonic to restore us to our natural state within her presence!

That’s what happened to me during our walk on the beach… Suddenly, as I continued walking with my husband, I realized that up until that point I’d been so focused on what a beautiful morning it was and how happy I was that I’d been completely absent-minded—not mindful at all—about the odd bits of trash littering the glorious beach. As I reached that moment of mindfulness, that realization, I must say, was a bit shocking to me. While I don’t consider myself to be a naturalist or a perfectionist about our environment, I do consider myself a seriously concerned citizen of our world and how we’re treating it. If, given my feelings about what we need to do to protect, even honor, our world for ourselves, our children, and for its own sake, how many other people go through their days so consumed with their own experiences that they are not mindful of what’s right in front of them?

I hear people all the time talking about how they can’t really do anything about global warming or the environment because they can’t afford it, it’s too hard, or not practical for their lifestyles. I know it’s going to sound simplistic, and I know it’s not all that we need to do, but this morning it hit me like a lightening bolt—we just need to be more mindful.

Mindful people see the litter on the ground and pick it up to help restore the earth’s natural beauty and to protect those living creatures who dwell there. Being mindful means you are in tune with something, that you are fully present in this moment and exercise care and concern for not only yourself, but also others as well as your surroundings.

It’s easy, I know, to take our world for granted. I’m not immune to that tendency myself. But what if one day the things we take for granted weren’t a sure thing anymore? What if bees were no longer around to pollinate our fruits and flowers? What if some of the plants we use each day no longer existed? What if our waters became so polluted they were no longer usable for drinking, or worse, would no longer support life? In varying degrees, all of those things are happening right now in different parts of the world, including here in America.

I’ve always been fascinated by the American Indians’ reverence for our earth and nature. I believe they really had it right in terms of how they treated the earth and all of the earthly creations that can be found here. They had a truly spiritual connection with the earth as our Mother Earth, deserving of respect and admiration.

The Indians believed in living harmoniously with the earth and that indeed they were an extension of the earth. It has taken us, as a whole, quite a distance and a lot of devastation to our earth and to our environment to get to a place where we can better appreciate that sort of reverence. For most of us, the earth has become, over time, just the ground on which we walk, rather than the sacred space that allows us to live and thrive.

Thankfully, our attention has begun to turn around and be refocused on taking greater care of our planet. While I know that much of that attention has come as a result of our concern for our own longevity and safety, I am hopeful that part of that awakening is also coming from an increased desire to really pay honor and tribute to the earth as a living being.

The wellness of our planet directly impacts our wellness as human beings as well as the ability of all of earth’s creatures to thrive and live, as they should. As a result, you’ll begin to see articles within our pages that highlight environmental issues, how you can participate as individuals to reduce your own impact, and how you can help make this planet a better place for your families.

For so many years now we have simply been focused on the bottom line—earning more money, making bigger business, how to get ahead. We are now at a critical time in our lives when the decisions we choose to make will directly impact the lives of our children and grandchildren. We can make a difference in the future, and we can make changes now that can improve the earth for those who come behind us.

Some of those changes may be scary, and some of them may feel very unfamiliar. But our choices, like everything in life, have ramifications.

If we choose to care for the earth, the earth will prosper and so will we. If we choose to neglect and even abuse our planet, like we have for so many years now, the outcome can be disastrous for everyone. I do believe this is the right time for these issues to come to light. I wish we had been more aware earlier, but I do think the time is now. More and more people are interested in green technologies and approaches. More people are interested in reducing their carbon footprints. The green industry is booming, and I am hopeful that we can take this opportunity to create new businesses that can help accelerate our efforts to rectify the damage we have done to our home.

During my walk, the moment I became aware that there was garbage littering the sandy shore of Lake Michigan, I began to gather those pieces of plastic, and paper, and litter. I have no idea how long those items had been lying there, nor how they came to be there to begin with. It took hardly any time at all for my husband and me to gather quite an armload of items and take them with us to the garbage can. Obviously those items will be headed for a dumpsite soon, which is another issue that needs to be rectified. But it felt great to know that I was doing my part in whatever small way I could to help restore the shoreline to its former natural state of grace and beauty.

It can be daunting at times, knowing what huge steps we have ahead of us to take in terms of cleaning up our act and getting our world and ourselves healed. But we don’t always have to take the big steps; just taking small steps can help as well until we can do more.

Gathering up a few handfuls of trash from the beach is certainly not a huge step, but it did help the environment in that direct area and it helped me to feel like I was doing my part in whatever small way I could at the time. Larger steps will come, and I am definitely taking measures to reduce my own impact on the environment, as I hope you are too. In whatever way we can help one another, whether it relates to our earth, to our lives, or to our well-being, we are all connected.

We at CoSozo believe we’re here to do it together. Whether the steps are large or small, together we can do anything.

~posted by Christine