By Krista Mitchell

The easiest way to drive me nuts is to litter in front of me, on any given day, but especially on Earth Day. I can’t stand it, I have to pick the trash up and snidely say to the offender “How about I put this in the garbage for you?!!”

And the people who pick up their dog’s poop in a bag, but then toss that bag on the ground and leave it??? @#$%!!! Who ARE those people?!!!!!!

Seriously, how low is that level of consciousness?

While, given all that’s going on in the world, some may say that littering is the least of offenses in comparison, I’m inclined to disagree. It’s the meaning of the action that I find particularly disturbing: If someone literally walked over you and dropped trash on your face, how would you feel? Disrespected. De-valued. Violated. Hurt. Demeaned?

What is it saying about a person’s relationship to the Earth when they do that? To the land they currently occupy. To that which gives and sustains life?

It makes me reflect on my own relationship to the Earth, to the land upon which I stand. When was the last time I actually looked at it, connected with it, realized that I was in a partnership with it?

I’m a gardener, I love to garden, and I have plants all throughout my home, but how often do I pause during my day to recognize the consciousness in the plant beings around me? The symbiotic energy relationship that forms whether I’m aware of it or not?

This is important, because it is healing.

If there are two major things we, as human beings, have pinpointed as powerfully healing and restorative forces in our lives, it’s mindfulness (or presence), and being in nature. 

We have to consciously choose to return to these two things because of the draining nature of the world we have created around, and within, ourselves.

Every plant has a spirit. Every element has a spirit. Every tree has a spirit. Every crystal has a spirit. The the land upon which you stand or occupy has spirits that represent it. The Earth herself has a consciousness, her own divine spirit.

To cultivate a stronger awareness of and relationship to these spirits is healing. It’s like finally recognizing a child or friend who’s been waiting around for you to notice them, to care about them, and becoming in tune with your own need to be a part of them.

Over time and throughout history, a huge rift has been formed between large sections of humanity and nature. A relationship that was once revered has now been abused, forgotten, neglected, and in some sad cases destroyed.

The miracle is that it can be repaired.

I don’t know if we can heal the deleterious effects we’ve had on our planet, but I KNOW FOR SURE that we can heal our relationship to Her, and this goes well beyond clean ups and conservation efforts.

To truly heal the relationship, we have to make an effort to rejoin it, and that means consciously cultivating our relationships to the spirits of the land and nature that surround us.

Click here to learn how to connect and communicate with the land spirits around you using crystals.