I love how you put this: we are, quite literally, the earth. There’s something humbling and beautiful about that realization, isn’t there? That we don’t just exist on this earth, but as part of it. That every particle of us has always belonged to something much greater than ourselves.
I’m so sorry for your loss. I can only imagine how deep that grief runs, but I find it incredibly moving that you see your father in the elements, in the rhythms of nature itself. Maybe that’s how love refuses to leave us where we sense them in ways that defy explanation.
And yes, you’re absolutely right, if we are the earth, then taking care of it is also a way of honoring those who came before us and now returned to it. What a beautiful thought to carry forward. Thank you for sharing this.