April 22 is recognized as Earth Day. This special day had its origins in 1970 in the United States and has gradually spread to over 190 nations. Our first celebration of a Canadian day in honour of the Earth was in 1980, though the official Earth Day started in 1990. Today we celebrate the 25th anniversary of this special day. Events worldwide are held to demonstrate support for environmental protection.
Margaret Mead, the cultural anthropologist, added her support for Earth Day in the final year of her life. Her words are worth pondering at a time when we seem so protective of borders and our individuality as nations.
"Earth Day is the first holy day which transcends all national borders, yet preserves all geographical integrities, spans mountains and oceans and time belts, and yet brings people all over the world into one resonating accord, is devoted to the preservation of the harmony in nature and yet draws upon the triumphs of technology, the measurement of time, and instantaneous communication through space. Earth Day attaches no local or divisive set of symbols, no statement of the truth or superiority of one way of life over another. The selection of this day makes planetary observance of a shared event possible, and a flag which shows the Earth, as seen from space, appropriate.”
In a chapter of Do Monkeys Go to Heaven, Fr. John McCarthy, S.J. offers a few reasons behind our shift in consciousness about the pivotal place of nature in our understanding of God’s relationship to us. He also refers to the Earth as seen from space, suggesting that that famous photo contributed to a new awareness. He refers to the "Apollo spacecraft photo of our home planet Earth as a marvelous, fragile blue-and-white orb hanging over the scarred and cratered surface of the moon at close quarters. That photo changed humanity's view of itself forever and is said to have launched a thousand environmental movements." We understand ourselves in new ways.
At the start of this month, I had a blog post on the April prayer intention of Pope Francis: “That people may learn to respect creation and care for it as a gift from God.” I confessed my cynicism about the issue of care for the Earth. It's evident to most of us that we are at a breaking point and need to start giving evidence of our respect and care for creation. People of faith are often in the vanguard of the pleas to our world and its leaders.
My cynicism is related to the deep chasm between insight and action. Our rhetoric about care for creation is a clear example of the old adage that says that the longest journey is that from the head to the heart. We've never had so much intellectual data. We just know that we have to get better at caring for creation. But do we have the willpower? We are addicted to our way of life and our comforts!
It’s Earth Day! Whether we date its origins to 1970, 1980, or 1990, it’s good for us to ask what has changed over the years. While the abuse of the planet is probably getting worse, we've certainly grown in awareness and consciousness, and, in many ways, concrete action. I think that a helpful sign is the fact that any business that wants respect from its users is well aware that it has to do things in a different way. Yes, the bottom line is a big concern, but smart business leaders are discovering that earth-friendly is actually profitable.
It’s not difficult to find a project or two for this day or for sometime soon. Let’s hope that a simple action will lead to a deeper conversion of heart, a conversion that shortens than journey from the head to the heart.