Living with Balance- Earth Day

Having an awareness of the earth and environment has gained a much needed, critical boost in popularity lately. To the Taoists however, the celebration of earth (and heaven) has always been as it should be...and will be.

The wonderful excerpt below is from a favorite book of mine,  "Everyday Tao:  Living With Balance and Harmony" by Deng Ming-Dao.

It is under the section, "Earth".

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   "what is bountiful?"  the ancients asked.  True bounty was not the treasury of the emperor, but the generosity of the earth.  The golden hills provided home, country, belonging.  The rich, black, fertile-smelling soil gave grain, vegetables, and fruit.  The blue-shadowed mountains gave shelter from the wind and storm.  And the seemingly endless plains and deserts provided ample room for exploration and adventure.  Why worry about the abstruse, the ancients asked, when everything we require has already been given to us?

If you want to follow the Tao, the ancients said, first understand the perfection of heaven and earth.  Wind, rain, and sun come to us through the sky.  The earth gives us our home, our nourishment, jewels for our adornment, minerals for our use, places to travel.  As the old saying goes, "Why look far away for what is close at hand?"  You, like the students of the ancients, may want to study the Tao.  Doing so may be as simple as bending down to pick up a clump of earth.

 So many of us look and look for the Tao.  The masters, it seems, are still pointing one hand to the sky and the other to the earth. ~



 Enjoy "all" your Earth Days
  ~ diane fergurson



"Colorado Rocky Mountain National Park" courtesy of Julie Magers Soulen


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Earth Day

Tomorrow (Wednesday) is Earth Day. Mind Body Spirit marketplace member BlackStar was nice enough to share her Earth Day blog post with us. Thank you for the contribution...and enjoy your day!

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I’ve made it a tradition to spend Earth Day in the garden. What better way to honor the Earth, than to spend the day nurturing it? Almost anyone can grow fresh herbs and vegetables. Gardens come in all shapes and sizes; from tractor gardens to intensive gardens to container gardens.

If you have a small patch of earth or a pot or two, you can take joy in growing your own fresh produce. There’s nothing like the feeling of going out to the garden early in the morning and working with your plants. And there’s nothing more fulfilling than picking your first juicy, ripe tomato.

You’d be surprised at the amount of food that you can grow in a small space or a container and there are so many wonderful books and websites to guide you. If you’ve never grown your own vegetables and herbs, give it a try this spring. If you’re unable to grow your own, check out the farmer’s markets in your area. They are popping up in towns across the country. Supporting your local farmer is the next best thing to growing your own.

~Happy Earth Day

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