Love Letters to Mother Earth

heatherreba
Aug 2
10 min read

Sermon: July 19, 2026 . Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of San Dieguito

When was the last time you wrote a love letter to someone close to you? Or a confession email to a friend? Have you ever written a love letter to Mother Earth? Or a letter of any kind to this orb that gives us life? If you could, what would you say? Would you express gratitude for the air, the water, the trees, the soil? Would you apologize for the harm we have caused? Would you speak to Mother Earth as though you were her child? Would it be like writing to a parent? A friend? Or a conscious being at all?

In 2013, Thich Nhat Hanh wrote a book called “Love Letter to the Earth” and in it he included a set of ten meditations, ten love letters to Mother Earth that each addresses a different concept related to nature, the climate, and our interdependence. Each letter begins with the words “Dear Mother Earth” and is written with heartfelt gratitude and compassion. At times the letters praise Earth’s magnificent capabilities and beauty. At times they read like the confessions of a shameful child. Each letter exudes familiarity, as though Thich Nhat Hahn was writing to a member of his own family. Each letter ends with a promise.

The first letter is entitled “Beloved Mother of All Things” and it establishes our relationship with the Earth as that of mother and children. He says, “I know your mothering nature is more vast and ancient than humankind… You aren’t a person, but I know you are not less than a person either. You are a living breathing being in the form of a planet.” He defines himself and his physical body as an extension of her physical body and says, “You are more than just my environment. You are nothing less than myself.” He promises to remember that Mother Earth’s health and well-being is his own health and well-being. He says, “Sometimes I forget. Lost in the confusions and worries of daily life, I forget that my body is your body.”

This theme of interdependence and physical connection between us and Mother Earth is carried throughout the letters. In letter #6, “Our Journey of Eons,” he launches into the story of creation and marvels at how long Mother Earth has been journeying. The letter addresses Father Sun and Sister Moon and describes the entire solar system as “one family, revolving around Father Sun in a joyful and harmonious dance.” He ends with the promise to remember that as her children, we are all made of stars.

He speaks of how our interdependence doesn’t stop with our deaths. In the seventh letter, Thich Nhat Hahn ponders energy and its impermanence. He says, “Mother Earth, your true nature is the ultimate dimension of reality—the nature of no-coming and no-going, no-birth and no-death. This is also our true nature. If we’re able to touch this we can experience the peace and freedom of non-fear.” He describes death as merely a returning to our mother, who receives and embraces us with great compassion. He promises to see the truth - “that our lifespan is your lifespan, and your lifespan is limitless.”

Over and over Thich Nhat Hahn reminds us that we are an extension of this planet and not separate from it; that there isn’t a difference between the earth and all its living creatures. We are one.

Like a shameful child, Thich Nhat Hahn confesses that we have not cared for our mother in the ways she needs. In the second letter he admits that there have been times when we have not loved her enough, when we have “underestimated, exploited, wounded, and polluted” her. Letter #9 focuses on our actions and our misunderstanding. He says, “Because of our ignorance and suffering, we have acted with cruelty, meanness, and violence.”

Although the letters lament over the tribulations we have brought upon Mother Earth, they are more often rich with praise of her beauty and resilience. The second letter, entitled “Your Wonder, Beauty, and Creativity” praises Mother Earth for all that she offers. He mentions many of the world’s great spiritual leaders including the Buddha, Jesus, Moses, the saints, and other enlightened beings and says, “It’s through these talented children that you are deepening your communication with the cosmos. Knowing that you have given birth to so many great beings, I know that you aren’t mere inert matter, but living spirit.”

In the third letter, he speaks of the power the Earth has to nourish, embrace, and heal him. Letter #4 is called “Your Stability, Patience, and Inclusiveness” and in it Thich Nhat Hahn calls Mother Earth a great bodhisattva because of her patience and endurance. He says she always forgives us and loves, protects, and nurtures us without discrimination. He says, “You have an immense capacity to embrace, handle, and transform everything that is cast at you, whether it be great asteroids, refuse and filth, poisonous fumes, or radioactive waste. Time helps you to do this, and your history has shown that you always succeed, even if it takes millions of years.” He professes the faith he has in Earth’s great power of healing and says that’s how he knows he can take refuge in her.

In the fifth letter, “Heaven on Earth,” he reveals that Mother Earth is “the wondrous place we’ve been looking for our whole lives.” Because heaven is here on Earth now and since all energy transforms without ceasing to exist, he says we can “appreciate and enjoy life fully, no longer afraid of aging or death, nor caught in complexes about ourselves, nor yearning for things to be different than they are. We already are, and we already have, what we are looking for.” He encourages us to not look outside for salvation, but to look inside our own hearts for peace. With a calm mind and peaceful heart, Mother Earth becomes a paradise.

In the 6th letter, he mentions that “Life over vast areas of the Earth has already been destroyed more than five times” and expresses his awe for his mother’s “capacity to be patient and creative,” despite all the harsh conditions she has endured. In the 10th letter, he acknowledges Mother Earth’s ability to transform all the damage we have caused, even if it takes her hundreds of millions of years. He speaks of the importance of equilibrium and his faith that Mother Earth will restore that equilibrium through natural disasters and other conditions in which “some species have to endure loss.” Even through these dramatic words, there is a sense of calm in the language, a trust that Mother Earth will indeed right the wrongs.

Over all, the letters actually do read like a series of love letters, praising this world as the protective, compassionate, resilient paradise that it is.

The promises he makes at the ends of each letter read like a child who is learning to do better. At the end of the second letter he promises to live with awakening and compassion, following in the footsteps of those who went before him, so he can be worthy of calling himself her child. The third letter is called “Walking Tenderly on Mother Earth” and Thich Nhat Hahn speaks of the importance of walking mindfully, gently, and with respect. He promises to invest every step he takes on her with love and tenderness.

In the ninth letter he says “we also have the ability, with spiritual practice, to be compassionate and helpful toward not only our own species but also other species—to become buddhas, saints, and bodhisattvas. All humans, without exception, have this potential to become awakened beings able to protect you, our Mother, and preserve your beauty.” He explains to her that we are learning to love her and to love one another “in the light of the insight of interbeing.” He promises “to remain with her throughout countless lifetimes, offering [her] our talent, strength, and health so that many more bodhisattvas can continue to rise up from [her] soil.”

The final letter is a question, “Can You Count on Us?” In it, Thich Nhat Hahn admits to the harm we have brought on our own mother. He says, “We need to protect you and restore balance, so that you can continue for a long time in this beautiful and precious form, not just for our children and their children but for five hundred million years and beyond.” He assures Mother Earth that she indeed can count on us.

Thich Nhat Hahn’s letters are filled with such authenticity, honesty, and vulnerability that one can’t help but believe him. Together they are a prayer for our Mother Earth and for ourselves, but also an acknowledgement that there is no reason for despair. Through the themes of interdependence and resilience, they offer a beacon of hope for this earth, our beloved planet, our beloved mother.

That hope can be found in us. Awareness, compassion, and love are the powers that will transform how we move forward on this earth together. He calls us to cherish life, to shift our mindset to that of noticing its beauty and our interconnectedness so we can help reduce the suffering on Earth. To alleviate the suffering of Mother Earth, we must alleviate our own suffering. He says true presence is the best gift he can offer her. Living with more awareness, gratitude, mindfulness, peace, stability, and compassion in our daily lives will imbue our mother earth with the love and tenderness she needs to flourish. He says whether this Earth can continue to be a paradise depends on “our way of looking, our way of listening, our way of walking.” It is our duty to contribute energies of joy and harmony while transcending the dualistic views of reality so we can be freed from anxiety and fear. He says that “Living deeply in mindfulness, we touch our true nature of interdependence and interbeing.”

How do these letters translate to our own lives? How can we capture and embody this notion of peace even while the polar ice melts and the sea levels rise? During these times of climate anxiety and outright fear over the direction of our beloved Mother Earth, Thich Nhat Hahn’s love letters are a call for humility and hope. By envisioning ourselves as children of Mother Earth, by including her in our family and in our community as an actual presence we converse with, we expand our knowledge of ourselves and our understanding of where we fit into this wild universe. If we view ourselves as an extension of her, we realize why our actions matter. Since we truly are interdependent, how we walk through the world affects not only us as individuals, but all of us collectively, as well as Mother Earth herself. If we walk in relationship to her, we change the footprints we leave behind. It’s not just about recycling more or using cleaner energy. While those are important, the change has to happen internally. We must connect with the earth and embody the idea that she is present in everything we do. When we keep her present in our conversations, our mindset shifts to one of interdependence and our relationship shifts to include her as a family member. We come to understand that as an extension of her, the way we live is the way she lives.

As a practice, I encourage you to write your own letter to Mother Earth. It might be a love letter to a kindred spirit, or a reflection to a friend, or a confession to a parent. What has your relationship to her been like over your lifetime? What is your relationship like now? If she were to write you back, what might she say? Would you listen?

May we remember the words of Thich Nhat Hahn and walk tenderly upon this earth and with compassion. May each step be a word we write in our own love letter to the miraculous planet that decided to experience life through us.

May it be so.

M E G I L L M U S I C

Love Letters to Mother Earth

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