Some days when I scroll through Facebook or turn on the news, I am completely in disbelief at what I see. Wars, threats, people marching for basic human rights, violence, one punch deaths, car crashes, police brutality, animal torture, paedophiles, school shootings, suicides, bullying, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia, missing people, female circumcision, global warming… these are only a few of the horrible things you may see or hear about on a daily basis.

I live in Australia which is a very privileged country where I have been more of a viewer of these nightmares, than a victim of them. At times, I’ve hated the planet or being the way it is, and I’ve hated the people living on it for destroying it without a care. Over the last six months or so my perspective has changed. Instead of condemning the earth for being the way I thought it was, I started to realise how beautiful and healing the earth is. The earth sustains itself, it flourishes and grows beautifully and perfectly.

In one of my university classes a few years ago, I heard a story about how there was a mass wipe-out of a particular region of the world as there was poisonous air that would kill human life. It was abandoned by all humans and you could not return to it without a mask or you would die. When some people returned wearing the masks years later, they expected to see a deserted place where there was no life at all. Instead, they saw the most beautiful sight they’d ever seen. The flora and fauna in the area was flourishing without the existence of humans. It had repaired all the damage human life had done to the area and was able to survive what the people couldn’t. Although I don’t recall a lot of details of the story (I tend to remember concepts and forget the rest with every story I hear), this has stuck with me ever since and always will.

“Nature has always had more force than education.” – Voltaire

If you are feeling called to help heal the earth and assist Gaia/Mother Nature in repairing some of the damage we have done, please do so. There are so many things we can do both practically and spiritually (I know I need to make some changes) to help make sure we are treating the earth with the respect it deserves. Not all of us are going to join Peta or Greenpeace and fight for the Earth as our life mission, but here are some ideas to help minimise your everyday carbon footprint:

• In Australia, we have “Clean Up Australia day” – an annual event where school kids spend a whole day outside cleaning up all the rubbish (also known as garbage or trash) around their local area. Although this should be something we are conscious of every day, if you are able to manage once or twice a week to dedicate a bit of time to cleaning up litter around your area it would help. Forests and beaches, are the ideal place to do this as they are sacred places that belong to earth, but parks and your local neighbourhood are good too. You could also just make it a part of your daily life – if you notice litter, pick it up and either recycle it or throw it away.
• See how you can support sustainable technology. Not all of us are able to change all of our power to solar, or can buy an electric car, but there are smaller everyday items that you can substitute regular electricity for to reduce your carbon footprint.
• Buy products without packaging. Instead of opting for the fruit and veg at your local supermarket that has already been washed and put into a plastic bag or Styrofoam packaging, buy from your local farmer’s market or fruit shop. If you don’t have one, just simply don’t put each type of item into its own separate bag. Things like apples and oranges really do not need a plastic bag to transport them from the grocery store to your home a few minutes away.
• Plant a tree, some plants or herb garden. Bonus points if it is a tree that will grow fruit so you really don’t need to buy those apples, lemons or oranges in packaging!

The earth is so much more powerful than we give it credit for. Mother nature is strong, powerful, beautiful and healing.

“As I walk through the wilderness, my eyes and my heart are pulled towards the thicket, the ever-changing landscapes, the gentle daisy and the old beloved stones; as I marvel at the timeless complexities of creation, Nature never disappoints me.” ― Amelia Dashwood

• Cut down on your meat consumption. Humans don’t need meat to survive and by consuming the amount of meat that we do, we are harming the environment and the cycle of life for animals.
• Reduce your waste. Get a compost bin to throw away all your food scraps, or try producing no trash for a week (or a year).
• Simply stop consuming as much as you do. Take mental stock of everything you own or purchase, and find what have been unnecessary purchases. Maybe you bought a second copy of something “just in case” something happens to the original one – it’s clutter and it’s overconsumption.
• Don’t wash your clothes after every use. I’m guilty of this; I hate re-wearing clothes, especially bras, but you can re-wear the same bra for a week without any issues. If you are an avid washer of clothes after each wash, try re-wearing some of your clothing items that don’t require being washed after every single use, especially if you only wear it for a few hours! Try putting your jeans in the freezer to clean them, instead of in the washing machine every time. Some people swear by it.
• Shop second hand. Second hand furniture and clothing are quite popular but it still is a niche thing to do. A lot of cool pieces can be found in great condition if you know where to look.
• Handkerchiefs have become a thing of the past, but why not bring them back? When I was a child my nan used to give me one with every Christmas and Birthday present and I never once used them as I thought they were gross. However, something as simple as swapping out disposable tissues for handkerchiefs can reduce unnecessary waste.
• Try to eliminate paper towels – we have rags, sponges and handtowels available to us in almost every are you would need one. See this TED talk on how to use a paper towel. 

“People need to be cautious because anything built by man can be destroyed by Mother Nature.” – Russel Honore

• Reduce your shower time. Most of us (myself definitely included!) spend too much time in the shower. Get a water waste reducing shower head or turn off the shower in-between longer tasks like shaving your legs.
• Stop using plastic bags, instead opting for reusable washable snack bags, containers and canvas totes. There is a wonderful organisation called Boomerang Bags that has a number of volunteers get together to make re-useable bags using recycled materials. It started 10 minutes down the road from me, but now has over 300 communities globally participating and saying ‘no’ to plastic bags.
• Swap out bottled water for a reusable water bottle. Again, I’m a shocker for this as I am really picky with the taste of water and tend to opt for cartons of bottled water. If you struggle with the metallic taste of tap water like I do, try making a water infusion (check out Pinterest for some ideas) to change the flavour to something more enjoyable.
• Be the energetic link between heaven and earth. This is a great spiritual practice to heal the planet and to heal your own energy,. Humans are spiritual beings in a physical body, meaning we are naturally already equipped with the ability to do this with little effort. Sit outside on the grass in a peaceful, quiet area with your legs crossed, almost like you are going to meditate. Imagine you gaining healing light from source above you. Feel that energy flow throughout your body, starting at the top of your head in your crown chakra, feel it make it’s way down to your third eye between your eyebrows, through the throat, into the heart, and into your hands. Pause and hold the light source energy there, allow it to heal you and call upon your own power. Lower your hands to the grown and press your palms into the grass either side of you. Push the energy down through your solar plexus, sacral, and root chakras into the earth. I’ve only done this a couple of times but I honestly feel like it works beautifully. It calls upon my own power, strengthens my connection with source, and connects me to the earth. It feels like a true balancing of your own energy.

“If you can’t be in awe of Mother Nature, there’s something wrong with you.” – Alex Trebek

These are just a few of my ideas of how we can help and heal this beautiful planet we live on. Please leave a comment with any ideas you have for simple, everyday things we can do to minimise our waste and to treat the Earth with the respect it deserves. I truly think we can all do our part to help Mother Nature repair all the damage humans have already done to the planet.

“Seems you can’t outsmart Mother Nature.” – Mark Hyman