Earth Day Pause

Begin with a... PAUSE – Stop what you are doing.

• Sense – Use as many senses as you can. Notice the sounds and smells. Look wide. Look soft. Choose something and look closely. Feel with your skin, your bones, your muscles. Feel your breathing. Notice any reactions you might be sensing in yourself—alertness, curiosity, fear, restlessness, attraction, distraction...

• Appreciate – Focus your attention on something near you. Take as long as you like. Notice all you can about it—its colours, shapes, textures. Appreciate what it is offering to you in this moment. Appreciate it for simply being itself. Acknowledge and give thanks for this gift of Creator/Creation. Speak your gratitude out loud.

• Connect – Is there a story, teaching, or image that this brings to mind? Think about who or what depends on this element. On what or whom does it depend? How does it give? How does it take or receive? Consider any threats to its safety. What will become of it in a day, a year, ten years, a thousand years? How will threats such as climate change and severe weather patterns impact it?

• Respect – Think of how you relate to this element. How do your actions or inactions impact this part of Creation? How do you show care and respect for this element? Are there actions you will take to protect, heal, honour, or cherish it?

• Express – Show your appreciation and respect by making an offering—you could do this with words, a prayer, a ritual, a song, a dance, for example. You might offer water, tobacco, or a lock of your hair. Take an intentional action in the moment to express your love and respect for this unique and precious part of Creation.

• Delight/Deepen – As you leave, or return to your walk, swim, or task, allow the feelings and sensations to deepen in you. Delight in the connections you noticed, or the concern you felt. You may want to take time later to reflect, using silence, art, journaling, or other methods—perhaps in the context of your own spiritual tradition.