Can Planet Earth Count On Us?

Dear Mother Earth,
Human species is but one of your many children. Many of us have been blinded by greed, pride, and delusion, and only a few of us have been able to recognise you as our mother. Not realising this, we have done you great harm, compromising your health and beauty. Looking deeply, we also recognise that you have enough patience, endurance and energy to embrace and transform damage we have caused, even if it takes you hundreds of millions of years.

When greed and pride overtake our basic survival needs, the result is always violence and unnecessary devastation. We know that whenever one species develops too rapidly, exceeding its natural limit, there is great loss and damage, and lives of other species are endangered. For equilibrium to be restored, causes and conditions naturally arise to destroy and annihilate that species. Often, these causes and conditions originate within the destructive species itself. We have learnt that when we perpetrate violence towards our own and other species, we are violent towards ourselves. When we know how to protect all beings, we are protecting ourselves.

We understand that all things are impermanent and without a separate self-nature. That is why we know that, in ultimate dimension, you transcend birth and death, being and nonbeing. Nonetheless, we need to protect you and restore balance, so that you can continue for a long time in this beautiful and precious form, not just for our children and their children but for 500mn years and beyond. We want to protect you so you can remain a glorious jewel within our solar system for eons to come.

We know that you want us to live in such a way that in each moment of our daily lives, we can cherish life and generate energies of mindfulness, peace, solidity, compassion, and love. We vow to fulfil your wish and respond to your love. We have deep conviction that generating these wholesome energies, we will help reduce the suffering on Earth and contribute to alleviating suffering caused by violence, war, hunger, and illness. In alleviating our suffering, we alleviate yours.

Floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis aren't punishments or manifestations of your anger, but are phenomena that must occur on occasion, so that balance can be restored. The same is true of a shooting star. For balance in nature to be achieved, at times, some species have to endure loss. In those moments, we have turned to you and asked whether or not we could count on you, on your stability and compassion. You didn't answer us right away. Then, beholding us with great compassion, you replied, "Yes, of course, you can count on your mother. I will always be there for you." But then you said, "Dear children, you must ask yourselves, can your mother count on you?"

Today, we offer you our solemn reply, "Yes, you can count on us."

World Wildlife Day falls on March 3

Authored by: Thich Nhat Hanh