Today is Earth Day.  This day has been gaining steam since its inception in 1970, and is now celebrated by over 175 countries.  It’s intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for our natural environment. Google “how to celebrate Earth Day” to find no end of ideas for activities.  Here’s a list of 15 ways to celebrate Earth Day.  My personal favorite is to spend the day as a “trashmonk“, picking up trash as a form of meditation and devotion.  I find it calming, centering, and rewarding.  Sometimes I even chant a hymn to the Earth Mother as I go along.

Here are lyrics for an Earth Day Anthem set to Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”:

Joyful joyful we adore our Earth in all its wonderment
Simple gifts of nature that all join into a paradise
Now we must resolve to protect her
Show her our love through out all time
With our gentle hand and touch
We make our home a newborn world
Now we must resolve to protect her
Show her our love through out all time
With our gentle hand and touch
We make our home a newborn world