As Valentines Day approaches, with so many reminders in the media and surrounding culture, my thoughts naturally, organically turn to love. And when I hold the energy of love in my heart, one name sings out: Thich Nhat Hanh. Almost everything he wrote encompassed and integrated the idea and energy of love. But he had no less than seven titles specifically on the topic, including the 2013 volume, Love Letter to the Earth.
Our Valentine to you is an excerpt from that beautiful volume, found here on the Plum Village Monastery website. And as Thay often told us, to truly love Mother Earth, we must first love and forgive ourselves, as:
You are present in every cell of my body.
My physical body is your physical body, and just as the sun and stars are present in you,
they are also present in me.
You are not outside of me and I am not outside of you. You are more than just my environment.
You are nothing less than myself.
Investigate the Plum Village site for much more on this topic. Plum Village also has a free app with hundreds of meditations, talks, songs, and more, including 370 offerings on the topic of love. We hope it will bring you peace and joy.
Please also listen to this beautiful statement that Thay wrote for the UNFCCC prior to the 2015 Paris Climate Summit, titled “Falling in Love with the Earth.” It was published after his stroke, so another individual is reciting it. If you prefer to read the text version, it can be found here on the Plum Villlage site.