Article Contributed on: 6/7/2009 12:55:01 PM
I heard a song on Prairie Home Companion today. (Didn't switch the station fast enough.) It was a beautiful song about Mother Earth and the singer's devotion to it.
I was just on my way home from church and feeling reverent. I listened to the song with the same devotion I felt for God, and I applied it to beautiful Mother Earth. I thought, "What if that were my religion? What kind of church would that be?"
1. It would not consist of rituals because just living on earth requires a series of actions that have practical purposes. I'd reproduce those actions on another level, sort of a meta-understanding. Like, I'd wash my face and hands. I'd prepare a meal reverently. I'd give thanks for earth's bounty and protection. There would be lots and lots of singing.
2. It would obligate me to act in accordance with what I believed best for Her. I'd eat as a vegetarian and when I ate meat it would be bought from those with certified good practices. I'd eat organic foods because I'd believe that man-made chemicals were throwing Her out of balance. It would in no way stop me from drinking alcohol because yeast is one of Earth's wonderful creatures.
3. I'd make honesty my doctrine because Earth never hides anything. Whatever you want to know or see is there if you have eyes to see it. Religion is about the reasons why we should do good. My religion would say the reason to do good is because good is real. Falseness is artificial.
4. It would obligate me to tithe and give away some of what I had to the poor, because the earth is plentiful and bountious and so should I be. Instead of salvation for my soul, I would mark my aim as that of processing my emotions and loving all people in the way that was most healthy.
5. It would obligate me to live simply and to avoid waste of any form. My food would go into compost. My containers would have to be recycled. I'd use Dr. Bronner's shampoos and soaps. I'd buy recycled clothing.
The weakness of it would be, I would not be able to judge others' rights and wrongs because the earth does not judge--it just suffers with whatever mess it's left in, or thrives with whatever is done for its benefit. Plus, how could I reconcile owning land with the notion that I belong to Earth and not the other way around? Also, how could I justify having a computer? It's completely synthetic in almost every way.