Earth Blessings: Prayers, Poems and Meditations

By Viva Editions

In this book of poems and prayers for the planet, you find not only beautiful prose written by modern writers and from ancient cultures but illuminating passages and reflections on the condition of the planet, and humans' place here. In Earth Blessings, Cotner and her contributors, many of whom are award-winning writers, contemplate every aspect of the environment, from grasslands to ocean, desert, and mountains, with gorgeous meditations on the world around us, how we are nurtured by nature, and the vital role as stewards of the earth. Earth Blessings fosters environmental awareness and insight, and it inspires individuals to view the Earth as sacred and cherish it as they explore writings about the relationship of humankind and the environment. The selections in the book remind readers of the necessity for sharing and conservation. The overriding intention of Earth Blessings is to create an ecological celebration of inspiring poems, interfaith prayers, and spiritual prose. By nature of the spiritual focus of Earth Blessings, the selections energize readers to recognize and embrace environmental stewardship.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Viva Editions
• Release date: Mar 8, 2016
• ISBN: 9781632280275

Book preview

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EARTH

BLESSINGS

Also by June Cotner

Amazing Graces

Animal Blessings

Baby Blessings

Back to Joy

Bedside Prayers

Bless the Beasts

Bless the Day

Christmas Blessings

Comfort Prayers

Dog Blessings

Family Celebrations

Forever in Love

Garden Blessings

Get Well Wishes

Graces

Gratitude Prayers

Heal Your Soul,Heal the World

The Home Design Handbook

House Blessings

Looking for God in All the Right Places

Miracles of Motherhood

Mothers and Daughters

Pocket Prayers

Say a Little Prayer: A Journal

Serenity Prayers

Soar! Follow Your Dreams

Teen Sunshine Reflections

To Have and To Hold

Toasts

We Are Women

Wedding Blessings

Wishing You Well

EARTH

BLESSINGS

PRAYERS, POEMS AND MEDITATIONS

BY JUNE COTNER

Copyright © 2016 by June Cotner.

All rights reserved. Except for brief passages quoted in newspaper, magazine, radio, or television, online reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published in the United States by Viva Editions, an imprint of Start Midnight, LLC, 101 Hudson Street, 37th Floor, Suite 3705, Jersey City, NJ 07302

Printed in the United States.

Cover design: Scott Idleman/Blink

Cover photograph: iStock

Text design: Frank Wiedemann

First Edition.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Trade paper ISBN: 978-1-63228-023-7

E-book ISBN: 978-1-63228-027-5

DEDICATION

For Brenda Knight—

Thanks so much for believing in the importance

of publishing Earth Blessings.

For the staff of Viva Editions—

I’m deeply grateful for your work in support of this book.

There are no passengers on spaceship earth. We are all crew.

—MARSHALL MCLUHAN

Contents

LETTER TO READERS

THANKS

one | NATURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Nature Speaks to Me

It Is Good

The Hoh River and Rainforest: A Haiku Sequence

Spirit Ear

Fig Grove

The Place No One Knew

Unto the Hills

The Inn in the Cedars

September’s Early Dusk

The Natural World

October Dusk

Dusk at the Farm

Blackberry Man

two | HONORING THE EARTH

The Earth’s Dance

Faith in the Water

My Mother

In Beauty May I Walk

Nature near Home

Theology

What Struck Me Most Was the Silence

A Proverb

Earth Speaks

Custodians of the Future

Restoration

To Care for the Earth

three | CYCLES OF LIFE

When You Return

Lullaby for One AM

Giving Back

Heartwood: A Diary

Cycles

After the Long Gathering

A Field in August

What the River Said

Season of Surprises

Remember

Each in Its Own Time

four | LIVING SIMPLY

A Concept of Grace

Happiness

Blessed with Simplicity

Coda

Simplicity

Gifts to Yourself

The Best Season

five | OUR CHILDREN

Golden Pearl

First Grandchild

What I Want to Tell You about the Rain

Little Eyes

For the Children

Go Ahead

Copper, Gold, Russet

Summer Evening Interlude

Summer Solstice

six | HONORING ANIMALS

On the Grasshopper and Cricket

Bless the Animals

How Beautiful and Perfect Are the Animals!

Study the Winter Birds

Wildlife

Also, There Are the Kindnesses of Birds

Bear Calls

The Secret of Life

Wintering

Deer at Santa Sabina

Almost as If

An Afternoon Spent Watching Flights

Hummingbird Whisperer

A Wonderful Miracle!

Eagles

Wild Geese

seven | SPIRITUALITY, PRAYERS AND BLESSINGS

Sacrament

Earth and Spirit

What the God Says through Me

Fog Lifting

Zen Garden

In Between

A Peaceful Heart

Knowing God Is Good

Resplendent World

A Prayer for Wisdom

To Earth

Invocation

All Praise Be Yours

Doxology

Invocation for the Earth

The Blessing of Light

eight | JOY, PRAISE AND GRATITUDE

Just Another Day

Just There

Praise Song

A New Doxology

On Earth

A Dance

Earth Song

Thank You, Thank You

Walking Alone on a Thickly Starred Night

Benedicte America—A Canticle of Creation

Boreal Reveal

Communion

Earth Day

Here by the Water

Returning Thanks

Thankfulness

A Toast to Morning

O Creator

Heritage

Tugging Us toward Wonder

Life Is Precious

Listen,

The Third Beatitude

nine | REFLECTIONS

The Cadence of Earth

Presence

Find a Place on Earth

This Earth Deserves You

Whatever Befalls the Earth

Treat the Earth Well

The Measure of a Civilization

Pessimistic or Optimistic?

Come to Meet

Earth, Teach Me

A Green Somewhere

Green

No One Owns a Tree

I Am Coming Back as a Tree

The Path

Chorus of Stars

I Care so Much about the Earth

One Summer Night

Listen to the Sounds

Listen

Summer Evening with Kayak

Reflections on the Earth

ten | MAKING CHANGES

Working Together

Building a Compost Pile

To Frank Michler Chapman

Perspective

A Barefoot Blessing

Natural Cure

Go Take a Hike!

Let Us Press Forward

Earth Day

Do Not Divert Your Love

eleven | INSPIRATION

The Resonance Around Us

Says Mother Earth

Prayer for the City

One

A Poem for Peace

The One Great Secret

I Pledge Allegiance

Lovely Earth

Golden Roads

Earth Blessing

The Earth Sings

I Believe

AUTHOR INDEX

PERMISSIONS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Letter to Readers

As a child I was always drawn to the outdoors…as an adult, I still am! Some of the most memorable times in my life have been spent surrounded by nature. To this day, I continue to hike regularly—and I honestly don’t know where I would be without the solace of wilderness.

But we don’t need to be in the wilderness to experience the beauty of nature. At home, I continue to be astonished by the everyday marvels that surround me—birds, plants, animals, sky, sunshine, and moonlight. These things serve as reminders that we can carry nature with us wherever we go.

It was the book Silent Spring by Rachel Carson that first drew my attention to the fragile nature of the environment. I read it in college and her words opened my mind to the