A reflection assignment from my Ecowomanism class:
When we were asked to consider what in the earth is healing, I first thought of worms. Worms eat dirt and waste, and their waste in turn makes the soil healthy and nourishes the plants that we eat for food. We need worms, bees, and spiders. We need insects. Who taught us that insects were bad? That they were something that needs to be exterminated? That they don’t belong? That any indication of insects suggests a bad, unclean, unkempt home? Insects are natural. They were here before us, and they will be here after us.
Theologically, I think this means we are called to expand what we think of as divine. Even the things that we don’t like, or are ugly or make life inconvenient, are of the divine. What would happen if we showed more gratitude for the Earth? What would it look like if our gratitude for the Earth and for the universe ran so deep that it transformed our DNA? (The way trauma has changed our DNA for so many of us for so many generations?)
Gratitude is radical in a consumerist culture that tries to tell us we always need more. That we need to upgrade or replace. How would the economy be impacted if we all stopped buying things we don’t need? $300 fast fashion hauls will not help us bring about liberation for the people or the Earth. Maybe instilling gratitude into our DNA can help us rethink what is not only necessary but desirable. Why do we desire overconsumption? What hole are we trying to fill when we buy things made of polyester and plastic that will one day clog the soil and the oceans? I think gratitude can help us to fall back in love with the Earth. It can help us realize that we have asked too much of her. We need to rest. God rested on the seventh day. Jesus rested. Buddha took a nap under a tree. Why do we think the Earth does not also need to rest? Without rest, we become sick. The Earth is sick, and she needs to rest. How can we help her get the rest she deserves and needs?
Sankofa Virgo 
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