Order of the Sacred Earth: An Intergenerational Vision of Love and Action
Matthew Fox, Skylar Wilson, Jennifer Berit Listug Monkfish Book Publishing (JULY) Softcover $16.95 (240pp), 978-1-939681-86-7
We must preserve the planet’s vital beauty and resources, this collection of essays passionately declares. To convey love for and commitment to our planet and all life upon it, the book was organized by spiritual theologian and activist Matthew Fox, wilderness and meditation guide Skylar Wilson, and writer and publicist Jennifer Berit Listug. The anthology serves as the titular Order’s group treatise, with its unified vow of “I promise to be the best lover and defender of Mother Earth that I can be.”
Citing how many religions, governments, and social theories have become more divisive than unifying, Order of the Sacred Earth proposes a return to the collective consciousness that we are of one human race and part of a majestic world. Turning away from the earth and its natural cycles will only harm humanity, it says, and conservation should not just be regarded as a prudent ecological movement but as a holy privilege.
The essays of Order of the Sacred Earth are rousing and inspired. The Order’s structure details the need to reject excessive—and literally toxic—materialism, respect interpersonal relationships, and limit overpopulation. Laws and economies should adjust themselves around the earth’s needs and not vice versa, it says. There is also much beautiful reflection on nature and our place within it, including glimpses of the Sierra Nevada foothills, vibrant woodpeckers, peacocks with “feathers in full fan,” starry Ohio skies, and the mysteriously fertile volcanic ash of Italy’s Mt. Etna.
The book concludes with a list of practical actions, such as taking the Order’s official vows, forming a local chapter, and sharing the essays with others. As the introduction to a supremely impactful green movement, Order of the Sacred Earth seeks total and willing commitment to preserving vital resources and living in an interconnected world.