An Earth Hour Activity for Earth's Heart and Ours
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Earth Hour is an invitation to stand in solidarity with our home - planet earth - by reducing our use of electricity for one hour. It’s designed to help raise OUR awareness and the particular part WE each play for the health of the planet.
Even with the experience of a global pandemic, we need constant reminders of our fragility and the crisis this is upon us.
ENERGY ALWAYS FOLLOWS OUR ATTENTION.
Where our attention is, there our energy follows.
This is an important teaching in all of the perennial traditions.
What if we raise our awareness of the abundance around us and not just our scarcity. Can we fall in love with the natural world in ever-deepening ways? Can we use this hour to bring our attention to how the earth gifts us every day, and see how our energy follows?
ENERGY ALWAYS FOLLOWS OUR ATTENTION.
Where our attention is, there our energy follows.
Turning off our lights and electronics for one hour is not just a collective act of solidarity but it can be a reminder of the abundance and resiliency we have, and our earth has.
There has never been a more important time to support the health, vitality, and resiliency within ourselves and for our planet.
They are intrinsically connected, and we must slow down so we SEE this Reality with fresh attention and energy.
ENERGY ALWAYS FOLLOWS OUR ATTENTION.
Where our attention is, there our energy follows.
How to Spend Your Earth Hour
Whether you are on your own, or with a few friends and family, consider the hour you want to give to this. It’s less about the exact “8:30pm hour”, and more about how you can bring your attention and heart to abundance.
Turn off the lights/electronics and light some candles.
Consider doing some of all of the following activities:
Read the Poem called EARTH HOUR 2020 by Greg Kennedy SJ (below and in the PDF)
Go deeper with this poem and notice which words, phrases, images pop out to you the most? How does it make you feel? What is your soul saying to you? Take your time with this. There is no rush.
Consider going outside and finding 3 rocks. Then, turn those three rocks into 3 prayers or hopes for others and the planet. Bring the things that are beating hardest in your heart right now.
You may also want to pull out some crayons, markers, or something to create a picture. Use any of these ideas:
Create a portrait of the beauty of the planet from your perspective
Create a “Greeting Card” for the planet. You may want to pick an animal or a tree to focus your attention
Draw a circle as if it’s a container to hold your visual/pictorial prayers for the planet. Then draw your prayers inside the circle.
If you’ve decided to listen to some music, why not play and listen to The Four Seasons by Vivaldi (find it on Spotify). You’ll likely recognize some of the melodies, but slow yourself down and really listen.
If Vivaldi isn’t your cup of tea, why not tune into SoulPlay’s Spotify “Slow-Down” Playlist. Break for a bit, slow down, and wake up to how the music is making your feel.
Learn more about the history of Earth Hour.
Earth Hour 2020
by Greg Kennedy SJ
in the darkness
remember
be it but an hour
remember
the land
you were taken out of
remember?
is the land
you’ll be put into
so please don’t confuse the signs
Exodus does not read EXIT
remember
there is no away
for a heart as plain as prairie
the freedom brewing
on the horizon
must never be forgotten
remember
most deserts you wander
expand to the pace
of your firmer steps
determined to show
just how much love
you can endure.
Used with permission. I’m grateful for Greg’s work and friendship!
**You can find a whole book of Greg’s poem’s just released: Reupholstered Psalms: Ancient Songs Sung New
“Reupholstered Psalms sings a new song to the Lord out of the absurdity and beauty of the modern world. They are prayers that, leaning forward into the winds of change raging today, reach back into the hearts of our ancestors of faith.”
