Dear Earth, I’ve got a New Year’s gift for you.

I’m going to offer you a daily pause.

Rituals contain magic. They don’t have to be complicated. There are only two rules – that they are repeated over and over, and that they are inspired by love.

I already have a daily nembutsu practice – ten minutes of calling out to the Buddha of Infinite Light. I’ve ordered this painted papier mache globe, and I’ll make a small shrine to it in my office. At the end of my chanting I’ll bow to this representation of you, dear Earth, and dedicate the merit of my practice to you.

This will only take a few seconds, but it will put you at the heart of each of my days. It will enact my intention to be led by you during 2020. Wherever I can, I will be your voice. I will have you in mind when I make small choices and big ones. It will take me into rebellion again, and into the next police cell.

Many others will be doing the same for you, darling Earth. We are few, and we are growing in numbers. We are relearning the wisdom that indigenous people have been guided by for tens of thousands of years. We are sowing the seeds of this wisdom and watering it with patience and with hope. We are rooting out the violence in our own selves, and meeting it with kindness. We are being flooded with the courage of clarity of purpose.

We are saying yes to you, dear Earth.

Love, Satya <3

(Join me and commit to your own Daily Pause for Dear Earth.)