Earth Walk (8:58) by Cliff Aerie
[Click on the image to be linked to the music]
Reflection: I’m old enough to remember the first Earth Day in 1970—where I was and how I protested to save Mother Earth (but that’s another story). The stewardship of God’s Creation has always had a significant emphasis in my ministry through the years. Even more so now during this time of climate change and global warming. During the past decade I have produced several “Earth Walk” concerts, each with a variety of stories, songs, interpretive dance, painting and musician colleagues. But every concert has always featured this song which I wrote 25 years after that first Earth Day.
The music begins as a lament. Although I’ve written lyrics to the lament, they’ve never been performed. The soulful sax and rhythm section have always seemed enough. “Let the music speak for itself,” as Chris would always say. What does this lament say to you? Notice at the end of each melodic phrase it lands on, what I would call, a heartbeat. But then there is a change—the bass enters setting up an upbeat riff. The bass is joined by piano and drums, then sax and trumpet. The optimistic melody is a celebration of the gift of this planet, an affirmation that creation sings and that we are called to join in as one global family.
Prayer:Holy God, as I walk this earth I can’t but help noticing your fingerprints on every tree, rock, river, animal and each person. Teach me to tread this planet gently, savoring each moment to breath in your Spirit, leaving only footprints behind. Amen.