We have forgotten who we are
We have alienated ourselves from the unfolding of the cosmos
We have become estranged from the movements of the earth
We have turned our backs on the cycles of life.
We have forgotten who we are.
We have sought only our own security
We have exploited simply for our own ends
We have distorted our knowledge
We have abused our power.
We have forgotten who we are.
Now the land is barren
And the waters are poisoned
And the air is polluted.
We have forgotten who we are.
Now the forests are dying
And the creatures are disappearing
And humans are despairing.
We have forgotten who we are.
We ask forgiveness
We ask for the gift of remembering
We ask for the strength to change.
We have forgotten who we are.
U.N. Environmental Sabbath Program
· Despite the call in 1970 for an Environmental Sabbath, the idea did not develop until the United Nations Environment Program appropriated it in 1986, linking it with World Environment Day. Interreligious in its construction, the Environmental Sabbath is intended to be a time 'to contemplate our bond with nature' and to cultivate a more caring, knowing and responsible attitude toward our use of Earth's gift.
· A poem written in the '80's for this Environmental Sabbath speaks as deeply to us today as it did then.