
Planet parenting is no different.
- You’re a planet parent if you wake up at 3 am and worry about your planet.
- You’re a planet parent if you feel like your planet’s gifts are underappreciated by most people.
- You’re a planet parent if sometimes the beauty and wonder of this thing you’re caring for completely blows your mind and melts your heart.
- You’re a planet parent if you do all the day-to-day caregiving stuff: the recycling, the carbon offsets, the water conservation; and still worry, in the dark early morning, that it’s not enough.
Generally, we have two dominant narratives about the Earth. One is that its a giant ball of resources to be exploited, hurling through space for our pleasure and destruction. The other is that is a Mother, providing for us benevolently and generously and never asking for nurturing or support in return.
We’re trying to change the story. The first narrative is fatally arrogant. The second is potentially passive, and gives our little planet credit for more strength and resilience than it really possesses.
We need to see the planet differently. We need to see it as fragile. We need to see it as wounded, but with huge potential. We need to see it as vulnerable. Even more importantly, we need to see ourselves differently: not as dependent and needy children, not as conquerers, but as responsible and connected caregivers and nurturers. We need to see ourselves as planet parents.