Suturing the Earth Mother bond
We have lost our connection to the Great Mother.
We have forgotten how to be of this earth and instead have become the greedy consumers. Separate and unattached from her livelihood we have no qualms about deforesting her green, damning her water flow, and polluting her sacred air. We take and take and in the end we forget that our children’s children’s children will be here long after we are gone…maybe.
If we do not take care to reconnect what has been disconnected there may not be anything left for our descendants to see, to touch, to rest into.
But this is not meant to be an admonishment.
Only a reminder from one earth child to the next-Take one step towards your own embrace of the Great Mother.
I am child of the great mother earth. I live and breathe and play on her. I connect with her everyday, multiple times a day.
But, I have not always been this way.
It is so easy to become wrapped up in a life of busyness- work, kids, relationships, meals, errands, money, stress, cleaning, do-ing, blah!
Does it fulfill you in the end? It sure did not fulfill me. It left me lacking, yearning for a connection that was bigger than me, desiring spirit and lust for this sweet life.
Here is what I did(and do) to connect back with the Great Earth Mother:
Get under every single full moon.
Feeling the brilliance on my skin renews me. I camp and sit naked under her. I hike out to shelters to be alone with her. I watch sunsets followed by her rise. I howl, and sobb, and question under her watchful gaze.
Every night take a moment with her regardless of moon phase, give her a high five, show her your sexy dance, smile at her waning and waxing.
Walk barefoot everyday.
The earth beneath your feet is always there. But to be skin on skin is a powerful tonic to your be-ing. Lifts moods, allows you presence, brings you literally back to earth.
Connect with the seasons.
Like the seasons, like the moon, like nature we too change on micro and macro levels. Our life has seasons- maidenhood, motherhood, cronehood. Our monthly cycle has seasons- menstrual, follicular, ovulation, luteal. Even our day has its own ups and downs depending on different hormones coursing through our bodies.
Leaning into the seasons is allowing the Great Mother to hold you. You are not meant to be the same woman all the time, you are not meant to have the same energy level all the time, you are not meant to feel the same things all the time.
Swim naked or just swim in nature
Lakes, rivers, reservoirs, hot springs, any body of water will do. I love sneaking out to hot springs at 2am to gaze at the stars, alone and immersed in my senses. My family takes twilight birthday suit swims in our river. Cold dips in the winter awaken me from sunless stupors.
Gaze at the stars
Take a peak every night. Be in the enormity of your smallness. Plan ahead for meteor showers, eclipses, and other delights.
Take care of plants
I used to scorn people who spent weekends taking care of their gardens. Now I understand. My garden is my sacred space. I tend her and love her and watch her bloom and decay as the seasons pass. It reminds me of the cycles of my own be-ing.
Become versed in animacy
Speak about living things as if they were living instead of referring to them as ¨it¨
Get outside
Hikes, bikes, strolls, naps, swims, skateboards, ski, climb rocks, skydive, tennis..etc
Use your senses outside
Don’t just go outside. Be outside. Smell, taste, touch, listen, see, and internalize everything.
Start a gratitude practice and include the Great Mother every time
I am grateful I got to drink my coffee outside this morning with my feet in the dirt, the warm sun on my neck, and the birds singing back up.
There are innumerable ways to begin again the connection with nature. Make it your own, do what feels right, and ease into her loving embrace.
I highly recommend reading this book- Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
