On April 15, 2019 "Letters to the Earth" were read at events around the world. Hosted by Extinction Rebellion and @CultureDeclares, this was an opportunity to think beyond the human narrative and bear witness to the climate and ecological emergency. How does this existential threat affect the way we wish to live our lives, and the action that we take? Written to or from the Earth, future or past generations, those who hold positions of power and influence, or to other species, this is my contribution. #LettersToTheEarth
Pegi Eyers
Dear Mother Earth ~
Humanity is not a monolith, but a very large group of us decided to move away from your embrace long ago. Why any human collective would want to become alienated from our other-than-human relatives in Earth Community, and leave the sacred circle of Indigenous Society is a mystery, and a mistake of the highest order. Without the reciprocity we had always known, the misguided among us broke natural laws and built vast civilizations misusing your elements, minerals, metals, mountains, forests, plants, watersheds and animal labour.
Without any care or respect for the well-being of the natural world, artificial cities were created by domination, greed, waste, ecocide and plunder. And as the insatiability of all this urbanity continued to attack Indigenous people and the land, the agenda of the Colonizer led to more abuse from fantasies like the endless growth paradigm, and dangerous new forms of industry and technology. Today, the dark engines of our destructive civilization have culminated in a worldwide Empire that encircles us like a snare, and continues to shape human reality. And yet, here at the 11th hour, millions of us are waking up to the impossibility of believing in the lies, and we are acknowledging that the systems of capitalism and endless growth are not compatible with the life-generating design and natural systems of the planet.
Dear Mother Earth, please know that many of us have never stopped loving you, being embedded in you, and knowing you as Sacred and the source of all life. We now see that there are countless ways the living magic and primal matrix of the Sacred Earth Mysteries are returning to our lives, in the shape of things, the ancient shadows and the hidden meanings. The eternal Indigenous archetypes that weave natural law into human life continue to arise, and are showing up RIGHT NOW in profound expressions of resilience, resistance, and the return to Earth Community. Beyond the toxicity of the rectangular-steel flatline, concrete-girded industrial world, the truth of the tribal human soul and the touch of the tribal human hand continue to manifest, and guiding forces are already in place for the collective recovery of our Ancient Spirit and eco-selves.
Because of you, Our Beloved Earth, we continue to access a deep well of ancestral knowing, and your Web of Life continues to sustain all beings with the everlasting restoration of healing and new growth. And even though some humans among us accept the illusion of separation from the natural world, please know that the earth-emergent ones are awake and aware, and ready to embrace your harmonic intelligence once again. Dear Earth, as your Great Heart continues to thrive, please do not give up on us.
Humanity is not a monolith, but a very large group of us decided to move away from your embrace long ago. Why any human collective would want to become alienated from our other-than-human relatives in Earth Community, and leave the sacred circle of Indigenous Society is a mystery, and a mistake of the highest order. Without the reciprocity we had always known, the misguided among us broke natural laws and built vast civilizations misusing your elements, minerals, metals, mountains, forests, plants, watersheds and animal labour.
Without any care or respect for the well-being of the natural world, artificial cities were created by domination, greed, waste, ecocide and plunder. And as the insatiability of all this urbanity continued to attack Indigenous people and the land, the agenda of the Colonizer led to more abuse from fantasies like the endless growth paradigm, and dangerous new forms of industry and technology. Today, the dark engines of our destructive civilization have culminated in a worldwide Empire that encircles us like a snare, and continues to shape human reality. And yet, here at the 11th hour, millions of us are waking up to the impossibility of believing in the lies, and we are acknowledging that the systems of capitalism and endless growth are not compatible with the life-generating design and natural systems of the planet.
Dear Mother Earth, please know that many of us have never stopped loving you, being embedded in you, and knowing you as Sacred and the source of all life. We now see that there are countless ways the living magic and primal matrix of the Sacred Earth Mysteries are returning to our lives, in the shape of things, the ancient shadows and the hidden meanings. The eternal Indigenous archetypes that weave natural law into human life continue to arise, and are showing up RIGHT NOW in profound expressions of resilience, resistance, and the return to Earth Community. Beyond the toxicity of the rectangular-steel flatline, concrete-girded industrial world, the truth of the tribal human soul and the touch of the tribal human hand continue to manifest, and guiding forces are already in place for the collective recovery of our Ancient Spirit and eco-selves.
Because of you, Our Beloved Earth, we continue to access a deep well of ancestral knowing, and your Web of Life continues to sustain all beings with the everlasting restoration of healing and new growth. And even though some humans among us accept the illusion of separation from the natural world, please know that the earth-emergent ones are awake and aware, and ready to embrace your harmonic intelligence once again. Dear Earth, as your Great Heart continues to thrive, please do not give up on us.
 | Pegi Eyers is the author of "Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community," an award-winning book that explores strategies for intercultural competency, healing our relationships with Turtle Island First Nations, uncolonization, recovering an ecocentric worldview, rewilding, creating a sustainable future and reclaiming peaceful co-existence in Earth Community. Available from Stone Circle Press or Amazon |
