Mother Earth and I

Mother Earth and I weren’t BFF’s from the beginning. Our relationship grew in stages, like the rings of a tree, into a beautiful, soulful, if not turbulent marriage. Looking back, studying our tree rings, the saying ‘through thick and thin’ comes to mind. There are thin rings, created during ‘lean’ years when I largely ignored Mother Earth, while the thick, robust ones are the result of us getting up close and personal. Sometimes a little too personal… Like during a hardcore survival trip in Sweden’s wilderness when I was 16.

Following my crush, assuming it was going to be a romantic camping trip, I had packed only the most ‘essential’ things: flirty nightgowns and poetry to read to my love by candlelight. To say I was ill-prepared is a colossal understatement. Fast–forward to the (anti–) climax of the trip: the earth sinking from under my feet, literally. Knee–deep in quicksand, my heart pounding in my throat, I was told: “Stay still, eventually you’ll stop sinking when it reaches your waist.” For the first time in my life, I felt completely at the mercy of Mother Earth. With a shaky sigh, I surrendered

I now understand how much Mother Earth cares. She carries us but also corrects us when we break her laws of nature. For years, when it came to sleep, I totally flaunted her rules. ‘Vampire’ my sister used to call me as I spent the nights wandering around the house, drawing, writing, lost in my fantasies. Later on, in the initial phase of my career, I still treated sleep like something overrated. Nights and days blurred into one while I was obsessively building my brand. No wonder these years show up as some of my tree’s thinnest rings.

Then, Mother Earth intervened. At first, there was just a little stiffness in my fingers, which I blamed on years of sketching designs. Next, some pain in my joints. It dawned on me: I was too young to feel this way. I had let myself age beyond my years. But I was lucky – Mother Earth wasn’t just punishing me; she was also providing all the solutions. Delving into holistic science, I learned how the cells in my joints could restore themselves if I stimulated the blood flow to those areas. Deep–tissue massages and ice baths offered great relief, but I realized I also had to get some proper sleep to reset my biological clock. The vampire had to face the daylight.

As I started going on early–morning walks, feeling the sun on my skin while the birds sang their dawn chorus, I fell truly, madly, deeply in love with Mother Earth’s beauty. I revisited Sweden and swam in its ice-cold fjords. This time, my surrender wasn’t shaky. It was 100% sensual. I decided to live a less ‘sheltered’ life, exposing myself to nature’s elements whenever I could. Today, I cannot imagine my life without her magic. I give back as much as possible – reducing my carbon footprint, investing in sustainable solutions for my brand – and Mother Earth rewards me lavishly. I feel younger, more alive, connected. And when I look in the mirror, Mother Earth smiles back at me from every particle of my being.

— Marlies Dekkers