Our Mother Earth

Because of my recent fascination with Professor Brian Cox, the British Physicist, I have been watching more shows about the Earth and our place in the Universe. I have seen what must be real photographs of our planet from out in space. My God, she is a beautiful green blue planet, with wispy clouds draped delicately around our atmosphere! We are truly blessed to be here.

According to Professor Cox the third planet from the sun has come to sustain life through a truly amazing confluence of just the right distance from the sun and the ballast of our gravity and friendly moon keeping us in place. With just the right amount of heat at our core and plenty of fresh, flowing water of life, and that we rotate around the sun in just the right amount of time. Everything aligned perfectly for our planet, in the solar system in which we live, of the Milky Way Galaxy located in a remote corner of this vast Universe.

It is our home. Perhaps someday there will be life on one of the other planets in our system, when just the right factors are met. But that could take millions of years. Maybe we will be able to soar to the outer reaches of the Universe we can now view thanks to high tech telescopes. But the Universe is large. For now, we are here on this spectacular Earth!

As spring unfolds, I’m reminded of the resilience of our planet. After the harsh winter we’ve had here, it lifts my heart to see the bits of green popping up outside. Soon it will fill in and most of the devastation will be hidden. There is a small stretch of road near where I live. It is lined with magnificent weeping willows. They are tall and wild and therefore apt to cause trouble with the cars that whisk by. Maybe they grew tired of trimming, I don’t know what the reasoning was, but one year the township cut them in half. For an entire year they stood, unbalanced and gaping. But, eventually, they all grew back. Maybe not as full as they once were, but strong, nonetheless.

We need to be better stewards of our home. She must be treated with honor and respect for all she gives us. Our well being is so connected to her, truly we must appreciate all the wonders of our Mother Earth.