A number of years ago [ 1970 ] two different groups of people established events to celebrate an Earth Day. One group uses the Spring equinox, the 21st of March. The other celebrates it's Earth Day events on April 22nd. So there is a bit of confusion but also a choice as to when to join with others to honor Earth Day.

Each year there are programs and events that you can attend both locally and internationally. My wife and I will sometimes travel to New York City for Earth Day street fairs. These fairs are held on closed off city blocks. They draw large crowds of people onto the street, and are really a great celebration. There is food and many vendors selling a whole range of products. Also, there are booths with a range of educational and informational materials. The environment is usually the focus of these Earth Day fairs.

As a shaman, it is my tradition to see the Earth as a sacred space. I see it as a part of The Great Spirit......the body of God. This is in contrast to many traditions who fight wars over the ' Holy Lands'. At this point we all realize that we are all on the same planet, so how can one place be Holy and others not? By modern standards this no longer makes any sense.

One way out of this situation is to come together as the human race and focus our attention on healing the whole planet. Earth Day is one such attempt. So why not plan to attend some event or start your own Earth Day tradition in your area?

Post your programs in the magazine's Calendar Of Events, or go to the Earth Day Network for an international list of groups and planned events. You can reach them at this address: http://www.earthday.net/