Mirrors are not confined to bedrooms, bathrooms, and powder puffs; they reveal themselves emotionally through every means possible. If we love our emotional investments, love returns to cherish us. If we hate our emotional investments, something else returns. When the boomerang is pleasing, we?ve made a sound investment. When it isn?t, we need to reinvest.

Standing in front of a mirror only tells us who we are in the moment. It can?t reflect a presence that doesn?t exist. Nature is a mirror as well. Its reflection is every bit as accurate a barometer of our emotions as the people around us are. It tells us on a day-by-day basis what we have prioritized and if it serves our growth.

What we do with that information is up to us. We can ignore it, telling ourselves that what we see in nature is independent of us, or we can open our hearts to recreate the mirror we prefer.

Environmental mirrors manifest in illusion because nature is part of illusion. Our reaction to it emotionally is the reality we experience. For instance, if we dump some trash on a neighbor?s property, we ask to be dumped on. Whether that neighbor retaliates is beside the point; the mirror of disrespect returns as disrespect is given.

On a global scale, one nation may trash another under the guise of security. The victim may not retaliate, but emotionally, the predators will feel trashed whether they do or not. The look of something lives in illusion; the feeling of something lives in reality. And reality is emotional. Why? Because it isn?t what we see in our lives that makes any impact on us. It is how we feel about what we see. Hopefully, awareness blossoms as the knowledge of give/receive keeps us informed of the power we need to reclaim.

Blame is not a solution; it creates a mirror of blame returning. And to blame the government for environmental problems is no more effective than blaming big business. Both reflect the consciousness they speak for. Any blaming that?s done on a small scale reflects itself on a big scale.

Ignore the guidance of nature and it repeats itself again and again until we either come to terms with the truth of our lives or we leave the illusion behind us. But even if we leave it behind us and refuse to look at ourselves, back we come to improve our skills of analysis.

The Earth has a consciousness and reflects the consciousness it faces. We are the consciousness it faces. If we make decisions that don?t serve the whole, the planet serves it anyway; with or without our cooperation, and with or without our comfort. As soon as we acknowledge that mirror and act accordingly, harmony is reestablished.

This Earth is a vibrant force that exists through the balance of physics. If a take-mentality upsets that balance, the Earth goes about reclaiming it. The difference between us and the Earth is the Earth?s awareness of what it must do to recuperate. We often falter ?at least on a conscious basis. 

Mirrors are inclusive. They arrive regardless of procrastination, rationalizations or excuses. It?s impossible to explain away behavior to a benevolent source that only wants to give us what we have given. Because of these physics of give/receive and the gift the Earth represents, nature solves its problems violently if that?s how we are solving ours. Why? To show us who we are so adjustments can be made.

Wait a minute, you say, plenty of non-violent people suffer the whims of nature. That may be so in the relative time-frame we exist, but energy is forever. And energy is accountable. Whether we face that accountability now, later, or in another lifetime, we face it. We are not amoeba without a sense of consequence. We are energy; the energy that gives this Earth a reason to exist. Without us, what significance would it have? We are partners to make the journey meaningful. Can we trust our mutual relationship and embrace our co-creator? If we can?t, I?m sure the Earth will tell you why we should.

Nature?s violence is not a punishment; it?s a reminder of a wiser way to proceed. This benevolent source gives us a mirror that?s immediate, relevant, and always in front of us, helping us find our way. Are we noticing?

The Earth has a destiny and is programmed to fulfill it. We have a destiny, too. The length of time it takes us to reach that goal depends on self-awareness. If we trash our co-creator, we trash ourselves. If we spoil its beauty, we spoil our own. If we take and don?t give, we deplete the very source that keeps us alive in a game we hoped to expand. 

Let us care for this Earth as we hope to be cared for. Then this magnificent force can reflect our giving aura and nourish our journey as we continue to grow.