Arkan Lushwala has allowed himself to be photographed for the first time ever, so that he could make the video you see here. His message is critical for us, human creatures of the Earth. Powerful and intelligent as we are, we sometimes consider ourselves the rulers of all Creation. Yet in reality, we are one with the plants and animals around us, and our survival is utterly dependent upon the health of our planet. Arkan poignantly tells us (his words in bold):
"More than ever, we need to remember that the Earth is our Mother. We have been hurting our own Mother."
Think of your own human mother, within whose body you were formed, who fed you when you could not feed yourself, and who protected you when you were small and helpless. Mother Earth creates new life, nourishes us, and protects us every day. We must take care of our Mother Earth with the same compassion that we would show to our human mother. Unfortunately, as a species, we have grown forgetful of this simple truth.
Learn more from Arkan Lushwala in this excerpt from his book, The Time of the Black Jaguar.
"We must be fully aware – fully aware – that when we drink a glass of water, when we eat our food, that this was given to us by our Mother."
Everything that sustains our life originates from the Earth. Everything that we eat is plant-based or animal-based. Without a healthy Earth to grow food, we wouldn't have any. When we poison the land with chemicals or destroy ecosystems for profit, we are reducing the potential of the Earth to provide for us, and all living creatures, what we need to survive.
Human beings are about 60% water, and many plants and animals are made of up to 90% water. Without clean water, produced by the natural processes of the Earth, we could never survive. When we spill oil into our rivers and pollute underground water tables, we are harming the water that the Earth created and purified to nourish our bodies.
If we continue on this path, we may reach a point of no return in which the Earth is too sick to heal.
“It is very important, very necessary at this time that we humans return to a child-mother relationship ... By talking to [Mother Earth], by being with her, by giving thanks to her. By crying to her when we need her nourishment. As long as we learn again and practice again, [to have] a good relationship with Mother Earth, there is hope that we may continue being here.”
Nature inspires us. It fills us with awe and wonder. There is a reason we feel happy when we are surrounded by nature. It’s because we are one with the natural world. We are meant to walk on the soft grass, to enjoy mountains and rivers, to revel in the beauty of spectacular sunsets. When we do these things, it reconnects us to the Earth and reminds us that we are a part of her. More importantly, it reminds us that we need to care for her so that future generations will have the same opportunities to experience the sacred feeling of wonder. - JOCELYN MERCADO. Video by the Pachamama Alliance.