One winter night, several years ago, I was flying in a plane over the vast wilderness of Siberia.
Below my window a blue-white landscape stretched all the way to the horizon, glimmering in a sea of darkness. It was a barren world. No human-made structures. Nothing but snow and ice. Frozen rivers snaking through mountain ranges that rippled into the distance farther than I could see.
Even from miles above, I could hear the great silence of the steppe. I could feel its beating heart.
The scene was so breathtaking, my eyes filled with tears. I knew I’d probably never again in my life experience something so pristine, so perfect. I’d never again witness that kind of wildness.
Everyone else on the plane slept soundly as I pressed my nose to the window and wept.
Ever since early humans stood upright on two legs for the first time and looked at their surroundings from a new perspective, we’ve been in awe of the natural world. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that. How could we not be in love with this Eden of a planet where we find ourselves?
You know how it is. You stand at the edge of the ocean, its salted air prickling your nose. You gaze up at forested mountains as they rise into the sky. You hear the cry of a hawk, and your heart responds.
It’s worship.
I would also suggest that the reverence we feel for the natural world leads us into the realm of spirituality. Whether or not we believe that one almighty entity created all this wonder, our relationship with nature carries us into transcendence. We are lifted above our mundane, burdened lives into a state of rapture. We sense the sacred.
Thousands of years before most modern religions were born, ancient peoples carved circles into the surface of the earth and built mysterious rings of standing stones. They found ways to express their veneration of the ineffable. These mute monuments tell us that our ancestors drank in the beauty around them and felt the urge to pray, to exalt, to pay homage.
We feel the same urge. Our DNA compels us.
Sadly, we moderns live in a different time—the Anthropocene, an era of inescapable urgency. That ancient Earth reverence we inherited from our ancestors? It’s now suffused with fear.
We know all this holiness is imperiled. And we’re dealing with the existential shame that we ourselves have caused it. We’re continuing to cause it. This is not only a climate emergency, it’s a spiritual emergency.
I take it as a good sign that more and more religious congregations and groups are seeing the connection between spirituality and the threat to our planet. They’re infusing ecological awareness into their credos. They’re offering actionable ideas and emphasizing hope instead of dread.
Here are a few of the faith-based organizations I’ve come across that are taking the lead. If you know of others, please share them in the comments. Let’s create a growing list of inspiration!
GREENFAITH is a multinational, interdenominational group with offices on five continents. They spearhead grassroots events all over the world to push for climate justice. In their own words, their mission is to “end the era of fossil fuels, support a just transition to a green economy, and restore harmony with the planet for a livable future.” Couldn’t have said it better myself! They also organize local GreenFaith circles and are gearing up for a worldwide “Faith 4 Climate Justice” weeklong campaign in May 2024.
ONE EARTH SANGHA is a Buddhist-based organization that promotes thoughtful responses to the climate emergency. They ask a vital question: “How can Buddhism, with its understanding of greed, hatred and delusion, as well as its deep exploration of our connectedness and inter-being, contribute to a conversation about broad-scale transformation?” Through the One Earth Sangha training programs, you can become what they call an “EcoSattva”—someone who follows these vows:
UUA MINISTRY FOR EARTH is an initiative by the Unitarian-Universalist Association to urge congregations among its 1,000-plus churches in the U.S. to promote “spiritual grounding and education that inspire deep practices of Earth care, justice and flourishing for all.” This is allied with the Green Sanctuary program, by which UU congregations can earn certification through creating an eco-friendly campus (native plant landscaping, permeable parking lots), avoiding disposable plastic and paper products, using nontoxic and earth-friendly cleaning materials, and offering fair trade coffee and snacks at after-worship social events. The seventh principle of the UU creed is “Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.”
THE CENTER FOR SPIRITUALITY IN NATURE pops into my in-box every week with their “Monday Note From Nature.” This group, based in Arlington, Virginia, offers in-person nature walks and trainings, as well as low-priced, self-guided video nature immersion experiences for each season of the year, all with a spiritual focus (for example, "Autumn Walk: Finding Sabbath in Nature.").
This is my never-met-her-but-love-her friend, Satya. She and her spouse, Kaspa, live and teach at a Buddhist temple in England called Bright Earth. Along with members of their spiritual community, Satya and Kaspa have participated in more than a few climate justice protests and been arrested several times, usually for sitting in the middle of a busy roadway wearing signs about the climate crisis.
Now Satya is doing something quite lovely. Every morning—and I mean every single morning, regardless of weather—she descends a set of public steps in the town center and sets up her sign on the sidewalk. There she reads aloud a prayer or poem that in some way honors the Earth. After that, she sits in silent meditation for ten minutes—joined by anyone who happens by and wants to support her. Satya calls it “my public act of love for the Earth.”
(If you’d like to follow along virtually, check out her Substack, Daily Prayer for the Earth. Depending on where you are in the world, she also leads the daily Earth prayer and meditation on Zoom at 8 a.m. UK time.)
Satya started this year-long effort back in September. So, five months in, how’s it going?
As you might expect, she says, “I have a mix of feelings about it … Sometimes when I’m really busy it feels like a pain … Most of the time, though, it's a total privilege to hang out with the Earth twice a day, and show my gratitude to her. I love it that people come and sit with me, I love feeling the cool air or rain on my cheeks, I love seeing people's smiles as they pass.”
Does it make a difference? Will it change anything?
Satya responds, “Who knows? Does that matter? No. Do I regret making this big commitment? Definitely not!”
One more thing Satya says, and this can serve as inspiration for us all:
“It reminds me that I am unimaginably small, and that even so I have the power to do … positive things for the Earth. It reminds me of the joy of living on this amazing planet.”
I asked Satya to share one of her recent Earth prayers. This one is from our beloved bard of the natural world, Wendell Berry.
Dear friends of Rx Nature, members of our own “green sangha”: May this sweet and simple prayer live in your heart … in all our hearts … always.
Jeanne, you have just put into words the overwhelming feeling I have every single morning walking my dog. I live a stone's throw from the Canadian Rockies and each morning we head out just as the sun is coming up. The way light in the east can illuminate something so far west is mind blowing to me. And how does an orange sunrise make the mountain tips light up in pink and purple? And how is the moon so bright in the morning?? Some days I just stand there, speechless and give thanks to whatever universe is listening to me. I even tell my dog how beautiful it is 😁😁
We just returned indoors from our so-called happy hour here in Georgia when the symphony of frogs and geese are at full force near the pond. How perfect to read your post and the Wendell Berry poem.