Knowing that you love the Earth changes you, activates you to defend and protect and celebrate. But when you feel that the Earth loves you in return, that feeling transforms the relationship from a one-way street to a sacred bond.
Robin Wall Kimmerer author of
Braiding Sweetgrass:
Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge
“When I started my odyssey of going off into the ancient, wild, redwood forests near my home knowing I loved the Earth, it became clear to me that it wasn’t just me loving the beauty of the old trees, sparkling creeks, singing birds, vibrant moss, but that in some mysterious way I was being loved back. The forest healed me by soothing and calming me. I was in the sheltered and protected embrace of a loving mother. On any given day, the forest seemed to respond to me, offering me what I needed. Professor of Forest Ecology Suzanne Simard has shared with us the science of how trees share nutrients and warnings with each other through the mycelial fungi at their roots. The trees seem to do the same with me, giving me whatever I most needed and was ready for—from simple comfort and relaxation to reclaiming the ancestral gifts of Celtic nature magic and visionary experiences that almost felt like the forest dreaming through me of a restored living green world that can be. I learned that to be in an ancient forest was to be in a deep mysterious relationship.”
Ellen Dee Davidson author of
Wild Path to The Sacred Heart