Earthfulness

‘Mindfulness’ is a term that has become popular as a description of focused attention, awareness, and consciousness of the present moment, of ourselves and the processes in and around us. Mindfulness became popular in the last several decades, and has helped many to understand a more cohesive way of being in the world.

I would like to coin a new phrase: Earthfulness. Earthfulness, the way I see it, is the awareness and consciousness of Earth itself, of the land and processes around us and attention to our place in the ecosystem as well as the place of every other living being. Earthfulness is a process of reconciliation with our origins and our connections to life on Earth. In a world marked by separation, of peoples, of nations, of ideology, of physical space, Earthfulness offers a wholeness perspective. We are, both literally and by heritage, everything that has come before us; everything on Earth is connected through time and biology and the smallest elements of life.

Earthfulness is an understanding. It is an awareness of the processes that both created us and everything around us. It places us in perspective in our ecology and in our history.

Earthfulness is appreciation. Growing consciousness seeds an overwhelming gratefulness for the Earth and our place in it.

Earthfulness is grounding. It (sometimes literally) places us close to our roots, creates a foundation for our conviction and our action.

Earthfulness is attained through conscious consideration of nature and of our place in nature, both historically and geographically. It is a meditative process, a learning process, and an experiential process. Earthfulness is a deep ecological understanding, arising out of deep ecological and nature experiences.

The time for the development of Earthfulness is now.