When my mother was pregnant with me, she had a miscarriage. It was my twin sister who had died. I was born with a gaping wound where we had apparently been joined. This wound would not heal, so at four months old I was admitted into the hospital where I underwent surgery and then was encased in a body cast from my neck to my ankles and fed intravenously. This ensured I would not move or poop and make a mess. This was my reality for an entire month. As a 4-month-old baby I was cut off from two critical aspects of early infant experience - the bond with my mother as well as the tactile exploration and discovery of my own body. I was not held, touched or fed and I could not move. Out of this early experience, I was deeply imprinted with the belief that this world could not nourish me on any level, and I related to my body as if it were a cast. This was the initiation that launched me on my journey in this life. As a result of this initiation I’ve come to realize that in a certain way, this has been the acclimation to life for all of humanity as I recognized the same pain in others. The body looked upon as a restriction, a cast that keeps us trapped here in a world that seemingly doesn’t nourish us. Add to that the religious perspective of heaven !- a better world somewhere else and that this is the place where the Divine hangs out. The result is that Earth is just a place to endure, to learn our lessons and then to leave, freed from the restrictions of a body and the limitations of the Earth. Meanwhile the Earth and humanity are dying, both from lack of nourishment. My journey took me down many roads seeking the pleasure of being held, safe and nourished. My life became about healing this sense of separation from our Divine Mother, the Earth. However, I certainly was not conscious of this motivation. Ironically I became a chef, and nutritionist, feeding thousands, first as a way to polarize from my own lack of nourishment. This wasn’t healing me, but it was a start. The journey kept me going deeper. I turned to nature and wild food and herbs. This was a quantum leap in my healing, as that is when I began to connect with the incredible benevolence of our Mother Earth. Now she was providing me with food, medicine, and the pleasure of her company. I have partaken of her beauty and in turn been gifted with her reflection of my own special beauty. She has shown me sensual delight and awakened my senses on a whole new level offering a doorway into an entirely new experience and reality, one of awe and wonder in the natural world where I already reside. She has taught me about living in harmony, with the deep knowing that I am loved and cared for if I’ll just take the time to slow down and receive her nourishment. I’ve learned that each plant and animal in the natural world has a consciousness, with great wisdom to share and it became apparent to me that the unconditional love that I had been so starved for is literally the very environment in which I live. She taught me to honor and enjoy my sexuality, as I witnessed this energy moving through every aspect of her existence. Is it a coincidence, fate, chance, or the brilliant mind of the Divine that buries our treasures and gifts under our wounds? I found that the discovery, cultivation, deepening and preparation for offering my gifts to the world is actually the journey for healing my own. Are we discovering that our wounding because of our disconnection with our Great Mother Earth can transform into our gifts that will honor her, ourselves, and our physical human journey as a sacred walk that will create the sustainability we need? Living sustainably, eating seasonally, locally and organically reaches far beyond what is obvious on the surface. Among many opportunities, it opens the door for the Divine Feminine to take her rightful place in our world and restore balance. It offers a map reflected to us wherever we turn through the surrounding natural world in how to live in harmony, transform and grow. Our Great Mother has not given up on us and continues to offer her wisdom. Is it possible that to live sustainably will not result from saving our Earth, as if we were separate from her, but from honoring her wisdom enough to live by it? Is it the same feminine wisdom that has been ignored for so long that it has resulted in our disconnection from the very being that supports our human journey, and soul growth?