In 2017, I packed up my family and traveled around the world for 7 months. After 15 years in NYC, I had been craving nature, dirt, and serenity. We sublet our apt and switched to working remotely so we could live on a permaculture farm in New Zealand, hike the Na Pali Coast Trail in Kauai, swim in the Dead Sea, surf among dolphins in Byron Bay, Australia, and live on a farm in Sicily, eating the food grown in their rich, volcanic soil. You know what else we did? We took 25 flights. I’m not proud of this.
When I look around NYC these days, I notice the absence of constant overhead flights and helicopter tours, that the monolithic cruise ships no longer set sail every Sunday. I also notice the absence of smog, that the Hudson River looks cleaner, and the air smells fresh. I’m grateful for every chance I’ve had to experience the wonders of this planet, and I realize now the best way to practice devotional worship of our planet is to slow way down, keep it simple, keep it local. It would be disingenuous for me to say I’ll never travel again, but I do plan to make these choices consciously. Booking a flight, having something shipped to my door from a factory across the world…the true cost is hidden. Our economy has made these things more accessible than they actually are, and our planet foots the bill. On this earth day, I’m meditating on Thich Nhat Hanh’s words: “walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.”
