Dear sisters and brothers of the Sacred Earth Community,

There is a small finch feeding upon my windowsill as I write. I am reminded that the smallest actions are part of the whole in the Earth Community. No finch is insignificant. No human thought action or intention is miniscule. All of the moments of each day are to be cherished, celebrated and treasured whether they carry great joy, sadness or challenge. On this very cold morning, I am sure finding food was a great challenge for this small finch, yet what joy she brings to my heart.

In the midst of earth realities including water issues, extinctions of species, climate change and many other elements, the finch reminds me again of balance and that even a crust of bread or a small seed is a celebration if it is shared in community. When we learn to celebrate the many gifts, we grow in cherishing them and receiving wisdom that flows through them when we are in a mindful and receptive mode. While we focus on the difficult, Love is always alive and waiting to grow and transform.

Life is a vast community of beings interwoven into one breath continually inhaling and exhaling. The vast community, beloved community, carries the fingerprints, pawprints and leafprints of Love expressed in great diversity. The fingerprint of the divine is like a symphony surrounding us each nano second of life.

One of those wise elders of our time who speaks most eloquently of this amazing reality is Thomas Berry who writes:

the universe carries the deep mysteries of our existence within itself. We cannot discover ourselves without first discovering the universe, the earth and the imperatives of our own being. Each of us has a creative power and a vision far beyond any rational thought or cultural creation of which we are capable. Nor should we think of these as isolated from our own individual being or from the earth community. We have not existence except within the earth and within the universe. —Dream of the Earth, x, 1988

What gifts, wisdom, potential for life rest around us and breathe through us. May we be mindful, celebrative and engaged in life.

Peace and all good,
Your sister,

Joan Brown,osf
President, Partnership for Earth Spirituality