Who Else Forgot About Earth Day?
Hi friends, it’s been a little quiet here and I’m sorry! Despite all that’s currently going on, there are so, so many stories of success it’s almost overwhelming – and this week was Earth Day! I haven’t known what to focus my weekly Wednesday Wins posts on. So for now, I thought I’d deviate from my topical posts to share…well, a blog. A more journal-y type of story. Did you know it was Earth Day on Wednesday? 😉
The day totally snuck up on me. It’s in my calendar, I know it happens every year, but nevertheless…the day came and went. I think that’s what happens when every day is Earth Day in your world! Perhaps that sounds uppity, but it’s true. I wake up every day grateful for another sunrise, fresh air to breathe, birds singing, and green things growing. I love that I forget about a holiday because every day should be Earth Day. Amirite?
But here we are: two days after Earth Day! So what of it? Well, I had an unexpectedly nature-filled day, so full of abundance and community that I felt compelled to share it.
Earth Day distractions
This last month has been weird: we’re all hanging out with our friends less, we’re freaked out and we don’t know why, and there’s this weird cloud of unease hanging over everything. This is a total bummer because it’s springtime, dammit! This is a time when we should be bouncing out of the house, communing with nature, and gathering with our friends to celebrate the end-of-snow-boot-season.
So, when you get the opportunity to do just that, you jump on it: even if it’s not a classically beautiful day in the Okanagan. On Earth Day (or…Wednesday), we found ourselves driving south around Lake Okanagan, into rainy weather. We stopped at a beach near Peachland and watched the squall come in, as Canada geese casually swam by, honking all the way. So Canadian, eh?
Raining hope in clouds, drizzle, blooms
All along the shoreline, wild Saskatoon and Oregon grapes were blooming, filling the space with that incredible, pungent aroma of freshness. That the flowers, leaves, and branches were all dripping with rainwater put everything over the top. It’s been so dry here (and in other parts of BC, fire season has already taken hold) and the rain was so needed.
And as it turns out…I really, really love springtime in the rain. There is a smell associated with spring rain, and water droplets on everything bring a magical quality to the landscape.
Our journey ended in Naramata, BC – a tiny, end-of-the-road village nestled in the clay banks of the South Okanagan. We found ourselves atop a mountain, next to a raging, meltwater-filled creek, in the rain, surrounded by pine trees, balsamroot blooms, and those ever-present Saskatoon bushes. We stood on this mountainside, looking out across a rain-drenched landscape, clouds draping over the mountains across the lake – water literally everywhere.
It felt like the Earth was crying, exhaling, and laughing all at the same time. Have you ever had a moment like that? I feel like in this current time, we’ve probably had a few such moments.
Endless opportunities for gratitude
The day ended with a cozy conversation in a beautiful home in the forest, warming our rain-drenched clothes by a fire, a bowl of hot soup in hand. Or, “stewp” as it was referred to by our host (neither soup or stew, but somewhere in the middle) – the ingredients of which were all harvested that afternoon from his greenhouse – plants that had been growing in actual soil since last August.
The day spoke of abundance, no, it practically yelled it. The rain, the flowers, the clouds, the stewp, the people. It provided such beautiful reminders of the power of this planet to quiet our souls, bring us into the present moment, and give endless thanks for all that she provides, free of charge. Wow – Mother Earth – thank you. Thank you for your gifts.
Here’s to forgetting about Earth Day (then remembering) over and over again and living in gratitude for this planet every single day. ✌🏼
