🌎🌿 MOTHER EARTH 🌿🌎 

Over the past few days, I've been asking questions I never expected to ask. 🤍

One question led to another.

First it was...

"WHAT IF YOUR CREATOR WAS A WOMAN?"

That single question eventually led me to another.

WHO IS MOTHER EARTH? 🌎

As I continue reconnecting with my Native roots while remaining grounded in my faith, I have realized something important.

Sometimes we hear words our entire lives without ever stopping to ask what they truly mean. 🌿

For much of my life, I heard people speak about Mother Earth, yet I never stopped to ask what they meant by it.

Was she a god?

Was she someone to worship?

Or was there something much deeper being expressed? 🤔✨

The more I have learned, the more I have come to understand that for many Indigenous peoples, MOTHER EARTH IS NOT SIMPLY A POETIC PHRASE.

She is a way of understanding our relationship with creation.

She represents the land beneath our feet, the life that surrounds us, and the gifts we often take for granted every single day. 🌎💚

SHE IS...

🌱 The soil that grows our food.

💧 The water that quenches our thirst.

🌲 The trees that give us oxygen.

🌿 The medicines that help heal our bodies.

⛰️ The mountains that remind us of strength.

🌊 The rivers that teach us to keep moving.

🌸 The seasons that remind us everything has its own perfect time.

She feeds us.

She sustains us.

She provides for us.

She reminds us that every living thing is connected. 🕸️💚

Calling the earth "MOTHER" is, for many Native traditions, a way of expressing gratitude and respect for the source of physical life. Just as a loving mother nourishes and protects her children, the earth continually gives of herself without asking for anything in return except that we care for her as well. 🌿🤲

That perspective has challenged me.

Because if I truly believe everything I have is a gift, then gratitude cannot simply be something I feel.

It must become something I live. ❤️

That means...

• 🚮 Picking up trash when I see it.

• 💧 Respecting and conserving water.

• 🌱 Caring for the land beneath my feet.

• 🍎 Not wasting food.

• 🚶🏻‍♀️ Walking gently through nature instead of believing I own it.

• 🌸 Leaving every place a little better than I found it.

🌿 GRATITUDE BECOMES STEWARDSHIP.

One thing I have also learned is that there isn't one single Indigenous belief about Mother Earth.

There are hundreds of Native Nations across North America, each with their own languages, ceremonies, stories, histories, and teachings. While many speak of Mother Earth, they do not all understand or describe her in exactly the same way.

That reminded me of something else...

THE BEAUTY OF LEARNING IS LISTENING BEFORE ASSUMING. 🪶

As I continue learning about my own heritage from New Mexico and the stories lovingly passed down through my family, I want to approach these traditions with humility.

Not pretending to know.

Not taking pieces out of context.

But instead...

🌿 Listening.

📚 Learning.

🤍 Honoring.

For me personally, honoring Mother Earth does NOT replace my relationship with my Creator.

It deepens my appreciation for creation.

When I look at the mountains...

The towering trees...

The sunrise...

The desert after a rain...

Or the stars that fill the New Mexico sky...

I don't see something to worship.

I see incredible artistry. 🎨✨

I see beauty beyond anything humanity could create.

I see the fingerprints of the One who created it all.

I see reminders that I am part of something far greater than myself.

🌎 Maybe that is one of the greatest lessons Mother Earth teaches us.

We are not separate from creation.

We belong to it.

We breathe the same air.

We drink the same water.

We walk upon the same ground.

And the choices we make today will affect generations we may never meet. 🌍❤️

Perhaps that is why so many Indigenous teachings emphasize living in balance.

✨ Taking only what is needed.

🙏 Giving thanks before receiving.

🌱 Leaving enough for those who come after us.

🤲 Living with reciprocity instead of entitlement.

There is something deeply healing about that.

Recovery has taught me that healing isn't only about changing my mind.

It is also about changing my relationship with everything around me.

✨ With my Creator.

❤️ With other people.

🌸 With myself.

🌎 And with the earth that has quietly sustained me every single day of my life.

Maybe Mother Earth has been teaching me all along...

🍃 Slow down.

🌞 Be present.

🌺 Notice the beauty.

🙏 Live gratefully.

🤲 Give back.

💚 Protect what protects you.

Because in the end...

EVERYTHING I HAVE IS A GIFT.

🌿 Michelle Ann

SHECHOSEHERSELF2012

THEHEALINGCHEFF.COM

#MotherEarth #Creator #HealingJourney #NativeWisdom #Recovery #Gratitude #FaithAndRecovery #Stewardship #PersonalGrowth #TheHealingCheff