March 8, 2026
Each Sunday from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m., Sarasota United for Responsibility and Equity (SURE) holds a prayer vigil at Payne Park in Sarasota — a companion vigil to one held simultaneously at the Big Cypress detention facility in the Everglades by the Miccosukee Tribe. The following is a transcript of the personal reflection I shared at the gathering that day.
Good afternoon.
Today is International Women’s Day. It is a day to honor the strength, wisdom, and enduring presence of women across the world, across traditions, and across time.
I believe there is a revolution of consciousness that needs to happen, and that this revolution begins with us. We need a collective awakening in order for us, and our planet, to survive. We need to change our way of seeing and embrace a practice of interbeing. In the Zen tradition, we speak of the Earth not as a resource, but as a living being. Earth is our teacher, our refuge. She is the Beloved Mother of All Beings.
I’m going to share a passage from Love Letter to the Earth by Thich Nhat Hanh, the beloved Vietnamese Zen master and peace activist. Whether you come from a tradition that speaks of the divine feminine, of Mother Earth, of sacred creation, or of resilience in the face of suffering, I offer this meditation as an act of gratitude and reconciliation. It is an invitation to remember what many of us have forgotten: that we are not separate from the Earth, but born of her, held by her, and called to care for her in return. Not only on International Women’s Day or Earth Day, but every day.
I invite you now to find a comfortable position, let your eyes rest, and take deep breaths in through your nose. If you’re able, I encourage you to take off your shoes and ground your body to the Earth.
Dear Mother Earth,
I bow my head before you as I look deeply and recognize that you are present in me and that I am a part of you. It is from you that I have been born, and you who are always present, offering me everything I need for my nourishment and growth. My mother, my father, and all my ancestors are also your children. It is your fresh air that we breathe, your clear water that we drink, your nourishing food that we eat, and your medicinal herbs that heal us when we are sick.
You have all the qualities of a mother. You are nothing less than the Mother of all Beings. I call you by the human name Mother, and yet I know your mothering nature is more vast and ancient than humankind. We are just one young species of your many children.
All the millions of other species who live – or have lived – on Earth are also your children. You are not a person, but I know you are not less than a person either. You are a Great Being, not in the form of a human, but in the form of a planet –a living, breathing being. Each species has its own language, yet as our Mother you can understand us all. That is why you can hear me today. That is why I can open my heart to you and offer you my prayer.
Dear Mother, wherever there is soil, water, rock or air, you are there, nourishing me and giving me life. You are present in every cell of my body. My physical body is your physical body, And just as the Sun and stars are present in you, they are also present in me. You are not outside of me And I am not outside of you. You are more than just my environment. You are nothing less than myself.
I promise to keep the awareness alive that you are always in me, and I am always in you. I promise to be aware that your health and wellbeing is my own health and wellbeing. I know I need to keep this awareness alive in me for us both to be peaceful, happy, healthy, and strong.
But sometimes I forget. Lost in the confusions and worries of daily life, I forget that my bodyis your body, and sometimes even forget that I have a body at all. Unaware of the presence of my body and the beautiful planet around me and within me, I am unable to cherish and celebrate the precious gift of life you have given me.
Dear Mother, it is my deep wish to wake up to the miracle of life. I promise to train myself to be present for myself, my life and for you in every moment. I know that my true presence is the best gift I can offer you, the one I love.
Thank you.
Andrea N. Buscemi 