This week, the Earth gets a day. Which is a little absurd when you think about it. One day out of 365 to acknowledge the planet that holds us, feeds us, and catches us when we fall from the sky.
But here we are. Earth Day. April 22nd. And this year’s theme feels less like a slogan and more like a fact. Our Power, Our Planet.
What does that mean?
‘Our Power, Our Planet’ means environmental progress was never handed down from above. It was built by ordinary people who decided the air should be breathable, the water should be clean, and the rivers shouldn’t catch fire.
Did you know that the first Earth Day in 1970 drew twenty million people into the streets? It started in the U.S., but it didn’t stay there. Today, over a billion people in 193 countries participate. So, what began as a national teach-in became a global movement born from people showing up and refusing to look away. And it worked.
I feel that the theme this year is a reminder that power didn’t disappear. It still belongs to us, but it needs us to use it.
The energy this week
The fire is settling.
After weeks of initiating, deciding, launching, and landing, everything slows down because this is earth season now. Think: the body, the garden, the senses. It’s the part of the year that asks us what we’re going to tend?
Not start. Tend.
There’s a difference. Starting is fire. Tending is earth. Plus, tending takes longer, and it’s less… glamorous. It wants (needs?) you to show up again tomorrow, and the day after that, even when no one’s watching.
But, of course, that’s how things grow. And that’s how they last.
The belief that won’t survive this week
“What can one person really do? It’s too big for me to make a difference.”
Actually, no. The planet doesn’t need saving by superheroes. It needs tending by ordinary people making ordinary choices, over and over, until those choices become culture.
Twenty million people showed up for the first Earth Day. It wasn’t one person with a cape. It was twenty million people with feet.
You’re not too small to matter. You’re exactly the right size.
What to expect
A slower pace with a pull toward the physical. Maybe that’s your body, or your garden, or your kitchen, or the ground beneath your feet. You’ll know.
You also might find yourself wanting to touch things. Dirt. Bark. Water. Skin. You name it. The energy of the season is waking up the senses and wants you to stop living so much in your head. Because very soon, something big shifts: a seven-year cycle begins in communication, technology, and all manner of how we connect. That means the way we talk to each other is about to change. And what kind of change depends, in part, on who’s paying attention.
Why this matters
You belong to something larger than your own life.
I know that can feel abstract, but it’s not. The air you’re breathing right now was made by trees. The water in your body fell from clouds. The ground you’re standing on has been holding things up for four and a half billion years.
You’re not separate from the Earth. You’re literally made of it.
And this week, as the fire gives way to soil, and we mark one small day for a planet that gives us every day, maybe that’s worth remembering.
So my advice? Tend something. Touch the ground. Say thank you to the thing that holds you.
It’s still holding.
Jonni
P.S. Go outside this week. Even for five minutes. Kiss a tree. The planet’s been waiting for you.
P.P. S. If you’re feeling this season of tending, and you want steady support while things take root, UNLIMITED gives you 7, 30, or 90 days of real-time access, for when the work is underground, and you need someone in your corner.
