You've had the opportunity to reflect on what the Earth means to you--from what you feel about the planet as a whole, and about your most memorable experiences with nature. But what about the planet in and of itself? Do we have a responsibility to the Earth? Do we have obligations to life that shares our home?

There's been a great deal of news recently about everything from global warming to a threatened energy crisis to the struggle of the oceans and the decimation of all manner mammalian species. And while this is only one side of the planetary story, it is the one the media tends to focus on. What comes up for you when you think about this? What do you believe about these reports? Do you find yourself avoiding the topic? Does it make you sad? Angry? Or are you inspired by how these problems are call to purpose and a new way of living?

"That's here. That's home. That's us. On it, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever lived, lived out their lives. The aggregate of all our joys and sufferings, thousands of confident religions, ideologies and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilizations, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every hopeful child, every mother and father, every inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every superstar, every supreme leader, every saint and sinner in the history of our species, lived there on a mote of dust, suspended in a sunbeam." 

-- Carl Sagan.

It's Earth Day. Here's a larger picture of our little planet--the only home we know. What do you feel when you see this? What does it bring up for you?

What is the world saying to you? If the Earth could speak through you, what would the message be?

Today is Earth Day.