There is a LOT we can do to help the Earth, deal with climate change and restore equilibrium to our beautiful home.

It’s not up to ‘Them.’ They won’t do it. They don’t have that level of consciousness. If we do, then we must act. It is our responsibility. I remember once asking my spiritual teacher, ‘Why do I always have to be the one to act?’ He replied, ‘Because you can.’

We just can’t do it by hating; by fighting; by protesting; by blaming; by resenting; by lambasting or by passive aggression. Or by talking about it at climate change conferences.

We have to do it by love.

Do you bless our Planet Earth every day? Do you pray for Her healing, do you appreciate Her? If not, why not? It’s fairly simple and really very profound.

I say a version of this prayer every morning. Why not join me?

May our holy mother, Gaia, the Earth, be blessed, that she may heal all that is broken within and around her. May all her peoples also be blessed and healed – all her peoples of Earth, Air, Fire and Water: her singing ones, her silent ones, her flying ones, her dancing ones, her laughing ones, her running ones, her walking ones, her swimming ones, her creeping ones, her crawling ones, her wriggling ones, her digging ones, her verdant ones, her rooted ones, her growing ones and her dying ones.

May peace and sanity prevail upon Earth. Amen

I truly believe that if millions of us sent a similar blessing to the land, the air, the waters and the light, every day, it would make a difference. I can feel change in the essence of the air when I pray this. I know She appreciates it and it strengthens Her. And if I am totally deluded and it doesn’t make a difference to the planet, it certainly makes a difference in me.

We can also help Her with thanksgiving – offering gratitude for Her abundance and beauty and also for everything good in our lives, whether it’s a simple cup of tea, a hot shower, the love of a pet. I recommend ten appreciations before you even get out of bed and another ten before you go to sleep at night.

If you can’t find anything to be grateful for, simplify even further. Do you still have four fingers and a thumb on each hand? Well thank goodness for that! You can start as basically as giving thanks that your heart is beating, that you can breathe, you can speak, you can read, you can walk… And if you don’t appreciate any of those, please consider why you don’t. You wouldn’t be happy to lose them!

We also have to stop the hatred. Yes, anger can, indeed, be a positive tool for change, it is the first spark and the jumping-off point. Carry it for longer than the inspiration for transformation that it can bring and you start to emulate the ‘enemy’ and your toxicity actually fuels them. How many folk with the very best intentions who want to stop something they disapprove of, end up hurting, dismissing, condemning, blaming or demonising others? Or even acting with violence against them? And then, the others get stronger by adding self-righteousness against you to their own issues.

Those who cannot forgive, cannot heal. Remember, forgiveness is never about condoning the actions of another; forgiveness is about letting go of the need to remain wounded. You may well be holding on to the rage, the hurt, the fear, while the person who did the initial harm is dancing happily on a beach in Bali. They hurt you once and you are making them hurt you a thousand times.

When it comes to politics, war and the very big stuff, it’s quite true that ‘They’ are probably going to continue with their evil acts but our hatred isn’t going to stop them. Our blessings just might. I know it’s hard to give up our wounds – they give us power, superiority and lots of lovely excuses. But they are poison.

Forgiveness is probably the only human concept that reveals three goodnesses simultaneously. When we forgive, we choose whatever is good about the other over what is bad (and even the worst people have been known to appreciate a sunset, pet a dog or read a bedtime story to a child), we experience Grace flowing through us and we also experience our own goodness in a way that often surprises us. That is an amazing coming together of power, both human and Divine.

So, what else can we do to ensure that our own, personal bit of space on this planet is healing? We can ask for forgiveness ourselves. Don’t worry, you don’t have to do it out loud!

I started forgiving and asking for forgiveness when I was ill a few years back. It was quite shocking how many people in my 60+ years I hadn’t forgiven – for acts tiny and huge. And when I simply couldn’t get the words out, I said, ‘I am willing to learn how to forgive you.’

Then I started looking at all the people that I had hurt or denied or lied to or blamed or despised … and that list was even longer. Just realising that was incredibly powerful. I am not the ‘good girl’ I thought I might be. In fact, I have most likely been just as mean as I blamed all those others for being. Maybe even more…

If forgiveness work is just too hard, please bless. Bless the Earth, bless those you love, bless yourself.

You have the power. You have God in your hand. Truly, you do.

Finally a prayer from Fr. Richard Rohr:

God, Lord of all creation, lover of life and of everything, please help us to love in our very small way what You love infinitely and everywhere. We thank You that we can offer just this one prayer and that will be more than enough, because in reality every thing and every one is connected, and nothing stands alone. To pray for one part is really to pray for the whole, and so we do. Help us each day to stand for love, for healing, for the good, for the diverse unity of the Body of Christ and all creation, because we know this is what You desire: as Jesus prayed, that all may be one. We offer our prayer together with all the holy names of God, we offer our prayer together with Christ, our Lord. Amen.