9: Planet
You are out in space
Floating, weightless, calm and secure
Seeing things clearer than ever before
Watching the earth
Listening to its uninterrupted stream of noise
From the silence of infinite space
From here there are no visible countries
It's not like a map or a globe
There are no lines for territories
No colours to mark out countries, historical separations, human definitions...
Just rock, sea, forest and desert
Evolving, eroding, reforming, colliding
Life, death, birth, turning -
Movements and currents
Massive and caught up in the energy of creation
You are looking for signs of ownership but none are visible
You are looking for clues of permanence
But all is slowly changing
To who does this all belong?
Who has the right to claim its power, plunder its resources?
You are out in space
Breathless and patient
Awe-struck and motionless in front of this big, blue, bright ball
This great glittering, god-filled gift
This unbounded blessing you can only call
Home
In the palm of your hand you hold a small seed
This seed contains all the information needed to reproduce its own kind
You plant the seed in some soil
As you do so, feel the moist earthiness of the soil
Think of the darkness the seed experiences before it can spring to life -
on the brink of creation there is darkness
As you plant the seed you are participating in one of the greatest mysteries of the cosmos -
you are co-creating with God. Together you give birth to life.
As the seed grows and flowers it is a symbol of your love and care of nature, creation, of the planet, of home.
