A Prayer for Mother Earth

by Mohammed

Thank you, Mother Earth, for all that you provide us. Your oxygen-rich atmosphere surrounds us, and your varied geography gives us the sweet variety of life on this planet. Thank you for the sunsets over calm, serene beaches, the sunrises from mountain tops, the aurora borealis, the rainbows, the winds that push sails across the seas and carry flamingos home to their lifelong mates, th raindrops over thatched hut roofs hitting mud floors making a sweet sound, and the gentle breezes that waft the sweet aroma of your blossoming flowers. You continue to give generously despite our greedy abuse and misuse of you. My apologies, Mother Earth, for all the toxic dumping, chemical spilling, and forest-depleting greed that we humans continue to practice upon your sweet bosom for the benefit of corporate profit.

Despite your continued provision and love for us, some of your children have divided you into geopolitical entities, creating laws that are unjust and ungodly. While you are so generous and encompassing to fit us all, there are still some of us who, despite being among the living, are counted among the dead for lack of shelter. Some of us, your children, do not fully develop at the same rate as the social status quo, which leaves us lagging in understanding the many sets of laws that we must abide by to be considered living commercial laws, social laws, and so forth.

It is baffling that so many initiatives and so many projects are dedicated to saving Mother Earth and being environmentally friendly and biologically friendly, while no laws are being passed to be human friendly. There are so many of us struggling just to survive on your loving ground.

It is hard to be nice, creative, and empathetic when you don't have a shelter to sleep in. The next time you see a homeless person walking and they are not smiling, remember that they are operating on survival mode. When you don't have a shelter, you can't organize yourself. If you can't rest well, all else fails, and then you fall into drugs and alcoholism just to sleep. It is difficult to maintain civility when you have no shelter, no rest, and most importantly, no privacy.

So the next time you see a homeless person and they are not smiling, just remember these words and how hard it is to maintain it when all you have for a bed is the cold, hard, wet concrete.

I express all my gratitude to the almighty up high in the sky, holding the birds by their wings as they fly. In your praise, I am truly mystified. I pray, Mother Earth, that all your children lacking shelter find it, but most importantly, love and laughter. Amen.

"Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal or ideal", Earl Nightingale.