Savor the Smile
Finding gratitude grounded in the nature of this Earth.
Before becoming an ex-Evangelical, Earth Day embodied an unspoken, yet very much expected, additional commandment to the tune of:
Thou shalt not participate in the worship of this planet.
Today, I find the fact that Earth Day was depicted as too secular and an act of evolutionist idolatry rather amusing. Especially considering I’ve always found my greatest source of comfort and peace in the nature of this Earth.
However, in the midst of life’s constant barrage of political uncertainty, I don’t smile much these days.
Do you?
Yet, when a smile does appear, it’s usually in response to something like:
birds singing
a gentle breeze
muddy hiking trails
warm rays of sunshine
grass turning green
Because, let’s be real, the earthly beauty surrounding us rarely disappoints.
And, it speaks loudly to the importance as to why it remains our duty and honor to guard and protect this planet we call home.
One final thought.
Surrounded by the Earth’s beauty, I’ve come to recognize the importance of these simple, yet profound, moments of grounding gratitude given to me by the things of nature - so much so - that I’ve begun to intentionally lean into them with a whisper of a phrase:
Savor the Smile.
That said, this is my invitation to you, dear reader and life unraveler, on this Earth Day - and every day…when that moment of breathtaking beauty happens, in whatever way it happens…
✨ Savor the Smile. ✨
And, a favor? Drop a comment describing a savor the smile moment you’ve had recently? Let’s spread some encouragement!
I have such gratitude that where I live has a huge White-tail Deer population, and quite often in the early morning or in the gloaming they stop by for a place to take refuge in my front area of what used to be a hobby farm. If I take the time, is always a wonderfully grounding moment to stop and wait for them to trust me enough to unfreeze and go back to their lives.
=Pause for other thoughts=
Pre-comment - some of my statements can start to sound like I am a Christian - for clarity, I am not anymore.
Your beginning thoughts on the "commandment" startled me, and really makes me appreciate the church that I grew up in more. I can resonate with hearing this statement among a few of my relatives, and it makes me so appreciate that I never had to deprogram this particular side of my upbringing. The message I always took from my birth-church was of congruence with both the day and the biblical concept of stewardship of the Earth. Stewardship not as a dog-whistle for ownership, but of a respect for a creation.
Christians I stridently disagree with seem to have a weird tendency to fight an opinion that they agree with 90%, because of that left over 10%. Reverence does not HAVE to equal worship, and even if it does, if both an agnostic Pagan and a Traditional Evangelical Christian want to respect the existing planet, why must they fight...