Coupled with my gratitude, I am also deeply saddened by the havoc being reaped on my mother’s back as our society becomes more and more disposable. From one piece of trash thrown on the ground to millions of gallons of oil being spilled into her waters, our mother is being disrespected and not recognized for the treasure she is. Would we throw garbage on the floor in our mother’s house? That’s exactly what many of us do every day with little regard. As I begin the next year’s journey on my mother’s back, I am committed to being better, to doing better, to showing my mother more honor and love.

For Orisa worshippers, the earth is more than just our “habitat” or our “home,” she is a sacred being. She is our mother. She is the one who sustains us in life and who inherits and cradles our bodies in death. She is to be respected, not exploited. Treasured, not trashed. Today and every day, let us be kinder and gentler to our mother. Let us see environmentalism and sustainability not as causes, but as sacred duties. As our ancestors kept her for us, let us let us keep her for our future descendants. Ase!