Mother earth and mothers on earth

International Mother Earth day was celebrated on the 22nd  of April followed by mother’s day in South Africa on the 8th of May.  Two other days family days have since been celebrated, namely Youth Day and Father’s day.  In this blog I explore the connection between International Mother Earth day and Mother’s day.    I am wondering if these two days are deliberately close or if this is simply coincidence.  

Earth day was instigated in 1970 by Gaylord Nelson to highlight the importance of clean air and water.   This idea was sparked after an oil spill in 1969 in Santa Barbara,  California and became an annual event, with its 53rd anniversary being celebrated this year.  In 2009  the UN General Assembly  designated 22nd April as International Mother Earth Day as part of the UN Decade on Ecosystem   Restoration.   The theme for Mother Earth day 2022 was “Invest In Our Planet”.   Mother Earth is a term that has been used to reflect an interdependence between human beings, living species and the planet that we share.  Mother Earth, our home planet, is suffering and telling humanity that she is not coping with how she is being treated.  Her oceans are choking with plastics, extreme heat is burning her up, and deforestation and land use is stripping her bare.  Mother Earth is sending humans a ‘red code alert’. 

Mother’s day was first celebrated in 1907 after a campaign by Ann Jarvis who was a peace activist.  She honoured a suffragette Julia Ward Howe who in 1870 called upon all mothers of all nationalities to band together to promote “Mother’s Day for Peace”  In the early 1920s, Ann Jarvis protested about the commercialization of Mother’s day, and said this day was to express love and gratitude to mothers.  She was ironically arrested for ‘disturbing the peace’.   

Although mothers have given life to a growing population, all is not well.  Many mothers do not have support and are the sole provider for children.  This puts a burden on the many single mothers who are struggling and sacrifice themselves to feed their children.  Mothers are struggling to find employment, and face gender-based violence and unwanted pregnancies. 

Our Earth Mother and mothers on earth are suffering.  They are trying to tell us that the way they are treated is not sustainable, not for our future and our children.   Our mothers are telling us that they need better care. They need clean air and water, forest and land friendly ways of agriculture, respect for the resources and less plastic use.  Our mothers are telling us that they have given of themselves and are now struggling to feed their children.  Our mothers are telling us they are tired and need a rest, and yearn to be respected (look again) or seen with new eyes for their value.

If we are honest, we hunger for each one of us to experience peace and to sleep safely in a secure house each night. If we are honest, we hunger for care and to know that we mean something to someone and that our contributions to our family and community matter.  If we are honest, the challenges are too big and overwhelming.  We all share this hunger. 

If personal attitudes and beliefs are linked to political ones, then perhaps how we care for our earthly mothers is similar to how we love Mother Earth.  Have we forgotten how to care?  Both mothers may teach us about respect and consequences of behaviour.  Our mothers may also help us to see that, through listening to the suffering of mothers and restoring honour to them, there is hope for recovery. Our Mother Earth and mothers may be asking us, is it possible for our ways to become greener with recycling and renewable energy?  And is it possible to be caring and kind to each other?   
        
The choice is ours. 

I am remembering the wisdom of my friend, Jannie Hugo, who said that “ the best gift we can give children is to love their mothers”  

Let us be thankful and show respect to Mother Earth for our home planet and nourishment from the  soil
Let us be thankful and honour our mothers who have nurtured us
Let us be kind to all who inhabit Mother Earth.