“The Father’s kingdom is spread out upon the earth, and people do not see it.”
— Jesus, Gospel of Mary

“For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”
— Third Law of Physics

Recently, I listened to Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer — an Indigenous
scientist and storyteller. In one of her classes, she asked her students, “Do you love the
Earth?”
Many hands went up.
Then she asked, “Does the Earth love you back?”
No hands.

That question stayed with me.
Does the Earth love me back?

I’d never thought of my relationship with nature that way. I’ve always known I love her — but
more as a one-way relationship.

A reciprocal one — where love flows both ways — is something deeper, stronger, more
powerful. It’s alive, circulating, growing sweeter with time. When love is mutual, it transforms
things. It transforms us.

In a one-way relationship, I might care for the Earth when it’s convenient — when I happen
to be in the right place at the right time. But when I truly see, in my conscious mind, that the
Earth loves me back, I feel differently. I begin to sense that when she calls to me, tugs at my
heart, or invites me closer, it’s out of love.

That must be why I always return to her — because my soul knows where it is loved, where
it feels at home.

It may seem like a subtle shift in language, but to me, it’s a profound change in energy and
awareness.

I think of how I’ve felt hiking through forests, mountains, and along the sea.

From the mountains — when I rest my hand on a granite cliff — behind its cold, intimidating
surface, I feel a steady warmth, a deep hum of love from its ancient core.

The trees ground me. When I press my palm to one, I feel like a child before her mother.
She gently adjusts my stance until I stand tall and rooted.
“There you go,” she seems to say.
“Thank you,” I reply.
Like water moving through a tree’s xylem, I feel my spine align, every part of me in sync.

The water murmurs through my hands, whispering to my heart: Let it go. Flow freely, lightly.
All will be well.
And through my feet, I feel the earth beneath the trail quietly reassuring me — You are
enough. You are supported.

When I’m tired, I touch the trees, the rocks, the ground — and they always give strength,
generously and unconditionally.

So, does the Earth love me back?
Yes. In her own ways, each element in accordance with its own nature.

At that realization, I’m moved to tears. Could this be the key to a more beautiful life — this
sacred, subtle, reciprocal flow of energy?

If love flows through every part of the natural world, what about the rest of my world — the
wind, the sunlight, the stars and moon? My garden, my home, even the table where I rest
my coffee cup?

When I touch that wooden table gently, with awareness, can it feel my energy? I don’t know.
But I do know that when I treat everything I encounter with love, care, and respect, that
same energy returns to me as gratitude and peace. And that is enough.

Fish swim in water without knowing what water is. Maybe, as humans, we too live immersed
in something we rarely recognize — the realm of energy, love, and connection that binds all
things.

In the Tao, or what some might call the universal flow, everything exists in infinite variety —
trees, birds, oceans, stars. Perhaps love, too, comes from an infinite source.

For so long, I thought love was finite — something drawn only from people, pets, or familiar
places. But now I see that love is everywhere, flowing endlessly, if only I choose to notice.

“For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” If I give love, attention, or
gratitude to something, that energy responds — in its own form. Everything, seen or
unseen, is made of energy.

Maybe this is the heaven Jesus spoke of — spread out upon the earth, hidden in plain sight.

I think of friends who pick up trash on the trail — an act I once skipped out of convenience.
Now, I’ll do it. To love her, this Earth, in my own small way — because she loves me back.

With awareness comes choice: how I live, what I carry, and what I give. To act with love,
light, and kindness isn’t just good for others — it’s good for me. It shapes the life I want to
live.

Sometimes I think of Disney movies — where everything in nature and the household
comes alive, responding to human hearts. Maybe they were onto something.

When we move with love and respect, the world responds. Everything becomes alive,
interconnected, equal in worth. All energy flows in reciprocity — in a dance of care and
creation.

And in that flow, I see it clearly a beautiful universe.