Mother

"Dear Mother Earth,

I bow my head before you as I look deeply and recognize that you are present in me and that I'm a part of you. I was born from you and you are always present, offering me everything I need for my nourishment and growth. My mother, my father, and all my ancestors are also your children. We breathe your fresh air. We drink your clear water. We eat your nourishing food. Your herbs heal us when we're sick.

You are the mother of all beings. I call you by the human name Mother and yet I know your mothering nature is more vast and ancient than humankind. We are just one young species of your many children. All the millions of other species who live—or have lived—on Earth are also your children. You aren't a person, but I know you are not less than a person either. You are a living breathing being in the form of a planet."

Love Letter to the Earth by Buddhist Master Thich Nhat Hanh

The archetype of the mother is present in all cultures and all periods of time. If you are from the west and go to the east and say mother, everyone will understand what you mean. This is a global concept to name an energy that is beyond our intellectual understanding.

As in the letter of Thich Nhat Hanh, the mothering energy is always present in the form of the Earth. It's about a loving principle that dares time and space. Sometimes you are the mother of your brother or sister, sometimes it's the other way around. When you are supporting another human being, you are embodying this energy.

However, it's not so easy for us as a collective to take care of that energy because we're still living in the mind. In American indigenous traditions, there are rituals for asking forgiveness from mother earth, for giving her presents, and for honoring her cycles.

First, we need to make peace with our mother and our inner child so we fully appreciate this energy in nature and every living being. This is the most important act of self-love and self-awareness. To become our own mother is to forgive and comprehend the importance of taking care of the planet and the ones we love.