Earth Day or how I learned to stop fearing a tree and love the world.

Happy Earth Day, though I am afraid all of my liberal friends are about to abandon me. I have to admit I am a little confused about Earth Day. Well, first it was Earth Hour. Lets all turn our lights off for an hour and show the world that we can… survive without light for one hour? Stick it to the big power companies (a.k.a. the man)? Show how, by turning off a few lights people can make a difference. Probably. Though most people tell me that turning off your computer when you are done using it, along with your VCR/DVD player, stereo, ceiling fan, kitchen electronics, etc. you could do as much or more for your power bill and, ultimately, the environment.

Now we have earth day festivals, Green living solutions dressed up as celebrations to mother earth, which according to the Toronto Star “promote a finite number of energy-saving tips – using cold water for laundry, buying locally grown food and using transit. Earth Day's current raison d'être shares the same tips found on every other energy-saving website.”

But a festival, now that sounds more interesting. How about a celebration to Gaia, to the archetype of Mother earth. Frankly I think it would be more successful if you made Earth Day a pagan festival rather than a solar-powered, daylong event filled with music, food, film and celebrities to raise public awareness. Why, because Earth Day is about control, the same way the corporations are. And people will never respond to systems of control unless you show them how big their piece of the pie is. It is never enough to say it is in their best interest, or how it will ultimately empower them as well. Strange and sad, but true.

But a celebration to the archetype of Mother Earth is exactly about the release of that control, for, as Jung points out, since Archetypes are not under conscious control, we may tend to fear them and deny their existence through repression. This has been a marked tendency in Modern Man, the man created by the French Revolution, the man who seeks to lead a life that is totally rational and under conscious control. I think it is that fear of any release of control that is exactly what is keeping people from making the world a healthier , happier place. So, Let's celbrate it and take the power out of our collective fear and get motivate.

Jung found the archetypal patterns and images in every culture and in every time period of human history. The value in using archetypal characters such as that of Mother Earth, the Anima of the world, derives from the fact that people are able to unconsciously recognize the archetype, and thus the motivations, behind the character's behavior forming a connection with it.

I remember the recycling movement of the 1980’s. I still recycle virtually everything with a little triangle on it along with cardboard and paper. Still, I think Dallas could have a more organized and comprehensive recycling program, and only have to look as far as Ft. Worth to see what I am talking about. Still, I am mystified by images of trash floating in the Pacific Ocean covering an area larger than the United States, and feel that these programs are failing.

I remember further back to the 1970’s slogan, “give a hoot, don’t pollute” by woodsy the owl not to be confused with the lollipop stealing owl of tootsie roll fame. Woodsy hangs around with smoky the bear and the crying Sicilian, Iron Eyes Cody, dressed like a Cherokee. Lets dust off these archetypes, along with Johnny Appleseed and Paul Bunyan (well maybe not Paul Bunyan) Now there would be a revival concert.

But perhaps my oldest memory is that of Arbor Day. What the Hell happened to Arbor Day? Now there was a good idea. In 1970, President Richard Nixon proclaimed the last Friday in April as National Arbor Day. Arbor Day is also now celebrated in other countries including Australia. Variations are celebrated as 'Greening Week' of Japan, 'The New Year's Days of Trees' in Israel, 'The Tree-loving Week' of Korea, 'The Reforestation Week' of Yugoslavia, 'The Students' Afforestation Day' of Iceland and 'The National Festival of Tree Planting' in India. Julius Sterling Morton, the original founder of the Arbor Day movement, would be proud.

Why is it special? Because Arbor Day is a celebration of the future, rather than the past or the present. It isn’t about the mistakes of the past or how we feel now, it is about how we are going to make a difference in the future, making it different from most holidays. Planting a tree is an act for the future when the tree will reach its full potential. Mature trees provide beauty as well as wood products, erosion control, habitat for wildlife, and shelter. Perhaps most importantly, Arbor Day plantings signifies the commitment of those present to care for the tree as it grows, and that is the kind of control of a better environment, in my opinion, we all want to foster.