Everyday Should Be Earth Day (+ Meditation For Mother Earth)

Think meditation is hard?

Do me a favor.

Take a slow,

Deep breath in.

And now breathe out.

Congratulations.

You just meditated.

Hi,

I'm Crystal Joukowsky,

And this is Breathe In,

Breathe Out,

A weekly mindfulness and meditation podcast for anyone ready to own their own shit and find a little peace while doing it.

Hi,

I'm Crystal Joukowsky,

And welcome back to Breathe In,

Breathe Out.

This last week,

We experienced the celebration of Earth Day.

And I love Earth Day.

I love the concept of it.

I love how we all take a moment and just celebrate this amazing planet that we live on.

And we all kind of take a day of making efforts to make things better.

For me,

It's a little bit like Valentine's Day and all those other holidays where I believe that we should show our love for those around us every day,

Not just on one special holiday,

Not just on a birthday,

But as much as we can every day.

And I feel the very same way about Earth Day.

I think that we should do it year round.

Rome was not built in a day.

Science has proven that our Earth has a lot of problems right now.

Past decisions have brought us to this point where animals are becoming extinct,

And we're losing the rainforests,

And climate change is real.

Those in our history didn't necessarily know that their actions were bringing this about.

And yet now science has proven that we do have this problem.

We do have this issue.

Some people say,

Hey,

It's not my deal.

I'm just going to live on Earth,

And I'm not going to worry about it because this is my one life,

And I'm going to do whatever I want to.

The problem with that attitude is that the Earth just continues to decline,

And at what point is there no Earth again or anymore?

Is it our children's children?

Is it four or five generations out?

I believe that small actions make big changes,

Huge changes.

One little change,

One little shift right now can completely change the trajectory.

Think of an airplane in the sky.

They set in their path where they're planning on going,

And if they're off by just one degree,

That can mean if they're leaving Florida,

One degree can mean that they end up in Alaska or they end up down in Southern California.

One degree seems like a small thing.

It is a big thing over time,

Just like choices and change.

One small thing can bring about big changes over time.

So what can you do?

How can you change that?

What opportunities do you have to make things a little bit better?

Now since Rome wasn't built in a day,

Mother Earth cannot be healed in a day,

And yet we can all do this.

So here are some options we were just talking about.

What one everyday item can you trade out for a waste-free option?

It could be as simple as switching out packaged liquid soap for bar soap in the shower.

Maybe you want to go with reusable baggies versus disposable ones or silicone cuplet cake liners instead of paper.

How about being a little fancy and shifting to cloth napkins?

You get to feel a little ritzy.

You use a cloth napkin and then you just throw it in with the rest of your laundry.

And while we're on the concept of laundry,

Only run full loads.

Do the same thing with your dishwasher.

This is where procrastination is actually a gift.

When your partner says,

Hey,

I'm tired of you putting that off,

Just say,

Hey,

I'm saving the earth and run a full load of laundry or run a full load of dishes so that you are minimizing your impact and maximizing the benefit that you can absolutely get there.

How about using a refillable water bottle or trading and walking or riding your bike instead of driving?

Find places that you can use less water.

Maybe turn off the water while you're brushing your teeth or turn off the water when you're washing dishes.

How can you conserve and save?

Maybe you put in some drip system,

Drip irrigation for your plants and your garden instead of just open watering where a lot of that can evaporate off.

Play around with it.

What can you do?

Look for energy efficient appliances.

You can switch out to an LED light bulb that takes a lot less electricity and still helps mother earth in major ways.

Borrow or fix instead of buying new.

Simple,

Easy.

Support sustainable and eco-friendly brands.

Now here I want you to do your research.

Some people say that they recycle.

Some people say that they take care of things one way.

But then when you dig into it and you do your research,

You find that they aren't actually taking care of it.

They aren't actually operating in an eco-friendly manner.

There's a vast gamut of what really qualifies.

So do your research,

Find out,

Make sure that the impact,

The efforts that you are making reap the biggest impact possible.

We love this earth.

We would not be alive if she was not here supporting us,

Rotating us and nurturing us through the food that she grows or supports on her belly.

Maybe if you're a meat eater or a dairy person,

You might want to just cut back a little bit on some of those foods,

Meat and dairy,

Because it can also help to support her healing and the climate change.

I know a lot of things are controversial.

I want you to do what works for you.

I want you to find something that makes you happy,

Something that's pretty easy to do and makes you go,

Yeah,

I care.

I'm making an effort.

Maybe you want to recycle.

Maybe you want to figure out how to recycle some of your stuff.

My dad and stepmom,

They actually put together all of their plastic containers and they drive it 45 minutes to go to a recycle facility instead of just throwing it away because they want to make sure that they're making that effort.

Find what works for you.

Find what brings you joy.

Find what supports Mother Earth and can maybe extend her life beyond the next few generations and bring healing to her as well as every one of us.

In the meantime,

I would love to do just a little bit of a guided meditation,

Really short and sweet and yet very much just setting an intention for loving this earth that we live on and giving a little bit back from us to her.

So if you don't mind,

You can do this while you're driving.

Just don't close your eyes.

Please stay awake and alert.

Otherwise,

Feel free to just get cozy,

Comfy somewhere else and just settle in for a minute.

Just start by taking a deep breath in and then another deep breath out.

We're grounding and we're centering.

Another breath in and out.

And as we breathe in,

Our mind calms a little bit and our hearts relax a little bit.

We relax as we exhale.

Another deep breath.

I just want you to visualize a nice big majestic tree.

As you inhale,

You see that big strong trunk.

What kind of tree is this?

It could be different for everyone.

There's so many beautiful trees on this earth.

What color is that trunk?

What is the texture?

How big around is that tree?

Is it like 20 feet or is it just big enough for you to wrap your arms around?

Take a deep breath in and out.

As you hug this tree,

This beautiful thing that is connected to Mother Earth,

Go up its trunk.

Go up its trunk and out to those leaves that are just basking in the sun's glory.

They're taking in that energy and that love from Father Sun and just so beautiful.

Casting shade below,

Cooling the ground beneath it.

It feels so good to flutter in the breeze,

To feel so free and high and happy.

Maybe there's a clapping sound of the leaves around you while the wind breezes through.

Notice the sound and the noise.

And then we're going to follow that sound right out of the branches back into the trunk.

And we're going to go straight down that trunk.

Straight down that trunk and into the roots.

Take another deep breath as you feel those roots and their connection to that cool soil that has unbelievable life-giving nutrients.

The soil that keeps it grounded and connected to Mother Earth.

Those roots go deep.

These are your roots too.

You are connected to Mother Earth.

You live with her seasons.

You breathe the air she helps to create.

And as you go down into these deep,

Deep roots in this cool soil,

You see her heart,

Her life force,

Her energy.

Take a moment to see her.

She may present as a being to you.

I encourage you to wrap your arms around.

I encourage you to hold her in love and peace.

I encourage you to offer her healing and support.

Give her an extra squeeze.

Let her know that you are an agent for change.

That you hope and pray for her healing.

And then share your gratitude with her.

Let her know what you are thankful for that she provides.

Ever giving,

Ever loving,

Ever supporting.

She is a constant.

If ever you experienced unconditional love,

It is by this being here.

She just continues giving.

Your mind's eye wrap her in love.

Wrap her in a boost of energy.

Wrap her in a gift of your prayer for her.

Add a color to that.

Whatever color you feel in the moment.

Perhaps you want more than one.

Deep breath.

And with the exhale,

Blow all of your intention into that loving,

Healing light.

And do it again.

We're gonna thank her one more time.

Before we start right back up those roots of that magnificent tree that you are connected to.

Come back into that solid trunk,

That existence of this beautiful,

Magnificent.

This is your connection to Mother Earth.

This is your gift.

And any time that you feel like you want to give her a little bit more of a love,

You just send another pulse right down that tree straight to her heart.

You just say,

I love you and I support you like you support me.

And you send another burst of light right down that tree straight into her heart.

You're connected.

She is a gift and you can be a gift right back to her.

Make a small change that'll bring about a big difference.

Thank you so much for experiencing this earthly human existence with me.

Thank you for tuning in.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to connect with you on a different level.

Thank you for loving this planet.

Thank you for choosing just a little change.

Thank you for owning your own stuff so that we can then give that healing forward.

Until next time here on Breathe In,

Breathe Out,

I'm Crystal Joukowsky.

I hope this moment of self-care and healing brought you some hope and peace.

I'm Crystal Joukowsky on Instagram,

Facebook,

And YouTube.

And I hope you check us out and follow along for more content coming soon.

I look forward to being with you again here on Breathe In,

Breathe Out.

Until next time,

Take care.