~April 22
Earth, Mother, and Grandmother, we are speaking to you,
please listen to us! We know that we are all related.
We are your children, we two-legged ones, just like
the four-legged and the winged ones are your children.
We are all related. We are their relations,
and they are ours, all children of the same mother.
If we are all related to you, mother, we must make peace.
Why should your children fight like this? We are all related.
Help us to make peace with each other, lasting peace
among relatives. Mother, Grandmother, Earth,
may we walk lovingly and with mercy upon your paths.
May we make peace with all our relations.
—Prayers from Lakota ceremony for making of relatives
It is not just a pleasant metaphor to say that we are related to all the creatures occupying this green planet with us. Increasingly, science shows us that all the earth’s systems interact with each other, forming communities in which any damage to one being affects us all. We are not immune to the results of our actions. Immensely threatening viruses are released into our world as we destroy ancient forests. Weather systems are changed by the wastes of our civilizations. We cannot escape the damage we do to the other beings on this earth.
We are part, not only of the family of humanity, but of the family of planet Earth. We must learn to live in harmony with our relatives. How does any family live in peace with each other? Only through respect: we must respect the others with whom we share our world. Let us hope it is not too late to learn this lesson, and to apply it in our daily lives.
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