FOR this year, I missed out on the Earth Day celebration. I wasn’t the only one. In solidarity with the world, I was on lockdown. With the coronavirus pandemic, this year’s celebrations are limited to our immediate and virtual surroundings.
In the not too distant past, the province celebrated Earth Day activities with community tree planting, cleanup and national park visits. For the health buffs, environmentalists, and mountaineers, there outdoor activities to enjoy within the vicinity of your home that are good for the planet and good for our health.
CNN suggested that on Earth Day, take a walk or run through the neighborhood. Go alone and relish your solitude, enjoying the time for free thought or listening to a podcast. Or take advantage of the opportunity for quality time with your loved ones and stroll with your family and dog by your side.
In the year of covid-19, the buzzword is physical or social distancing. It’s safe to do so if you make sure you “keep your distance from other people” outside of your family, said Dr. Daniel Kuritzkes, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Massachusetts.
“The key word is consideration,” Kuritzkes added. “People need to be aware of their distance from others to be respectful and not crowd them, and not have other people crowding you. If people are respectful, it should be pretty simple to stay sufficiently far apart from other people so that there’s really no risk.”
It’s also good for your health. Walking in nature may even lead to less repetitive negative thoughts, according to research. And a study of older women in the US found the higher the number reached on their step counters each day, the lower their rate of premature death.
Getting your heart pumping by walking may improve your executive functioning skills, a 2018 study also concluded. Those are the skills centered in the part of your brain that helps you take care of yourself and keep up with chores and bills. And walking at a decent speed may reduce your risk of developing high blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels as much as running.
Then there’s Pope Francis. The Pope reminds us that “Humanity has failed to take care of the earth and its inhabitants, sinning against God and his gift of creation.”
Celebrating Earth Day, which fell during the “Easter season of renewal, let us pledge to love and esteem the beautiful gift of the Earth, our common home, and to care for all members of our human family,” he said during his livestreamed weekly general audience from the Vatican.
The Pope dedicated his catechesis on April 22 to a reflection on the human and Christian responsibility to care for the earth, humanity’s common home. The day marked the 50th Earth Day, established in 1970 to raise public awareness and concern for the environment and its impact on people’s health. This year also marks the fifth anniversary of the pope’s encyclical, “Laudato Si,” or Care for Our Common Home. This should be easy during lockdowns where governments, health workers, and the frontliners demand that their citizens stay at home. This way we can contribute our share in flattening the curve. Thank you, Covid-19 in that sense.
“As the tragic coronavirus pandemic has taught us, we can overcome global challenges only by showing solidarity with one another and embracing the most vulnerable in our midst,” the pope said.
God is good and he always forgives, the pope added, however, “The Earth never forgives; if we have despoiled the earth, the response will be very bad.”
“Because of our selfishness, we have failed in our responsibility to be guardians and stewards of the earth,” the pope said adding that, “We have polluted and despoiled it, endangering our very lives.”
While the Earth Day Network at earthday.org coordinated global initiatives, the mainly Catholic Focolare Movement was part of organizing a #OnePeopleOnePlanet.
And as we declare here in the Philippines, we #HealAsOne.