“Man does not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself. ” Chief Seattle.

What a wise man! This photograph of a spider's web I took one frosty morning and I think it illustrates the delicate nature and balance of the world we live in. Some people think we can do what we like without consequence but we can't, every action we take has a consequence. Our planet does not belong to us, we do not have the right to do what we please to it. It is quite frightening when you look at what we have managed to do to our planet over the years. And whatever we do to our planet we do to ourselves, our children and their children; the affects will go on for generations.

Chief Seattle was a man with great vision who could see back in the nineteenth century the affect that man was already having on this wonderful planet of ours, back before environmental issues weren't really the issue that they are today.

"Seattle is the only major city named for a Native American leader. Recognized as a leader of the Suquamish and Duwamish people, Chief Seattle was known as a peace maker, and as a great speaker in his native Lushootseed language.

The Chief's name was pronounced "See-Ahlth," which was difficult for English speaking settlers to say, so they smoothed it out by changing it to "Seattle," and it is sometimes written as "Sealth.

In addition to the city which bears his name, Chief Seattle's most enduring legacy is his 1854 speech which includes the famous statement,

"Every part of this country is sacred to my people. Every hillside, every valley, every plain and grove has been hallowed by some fond memory or some sad experience of my tribe." Chief Seattle

Chief Seattle could see back in the nineteenth century the affect that man could cause to the environment, he was a man with great vision!

Google Earth have just released the last forty years of images in time lapse sequences that show images for example of deforestation, glacial retreat and city building. It is quite somber viewing to see the rain forest in Brazil disappearing or the sprawling city of Las Vegas appearing out of the desert. 

"Google Earth Engine brings together the world's satellite imagery — trillions of scientific measurements dating back almost 40 years — and makes it available online with tools for scientists, independent researchers, and nations to mine this massive warehouse of data to detect changes, map trends and quantify differences on the Earth's surface. Applications include: detecting deforestation, classifying land cover, estimating forest biomass and carbon, and mapping the world’s roadless areas."

Have a look at it it is quite amazing, the link is here: http://earthengine.google.org/#intro

We are merely a strand in this web of life. We are not the most important creatures on this planet and we do not have the right to destroy it or to cause intense suffering to other creatures who live amongst us. We are slowly awakening to this fact but we do still have a long way to go. Our souls do know the way and we are finding kinder gentler ways of being, we are learning ways to look after our mother earth, Gaia, and by default look after ourselves, however we do still have a lot to learn. Being a Pagan is not just about celebrating the Sabbats and living by the moon cycles. It is about practically doing our bit to help our planet by living as ethically as we can and doing what we can to stop those who are causing these disastrous changes to happen.  Please share this post if you would like to and add your own thoughts. Every day should be Earth day, we owe it to ourselves and to all the creatures who dwell upon this earth alongside us.

Gaia's blessings to you, Alison xx