Ecosystems

Twelve doorways into the living world. Choose one to rest your attention on, and find something to hold in prayer or reflection.

Reflection

The earth is not a scattering of separate places. It is one living body, woven whole, from the bright ice of the poles to the patch of green outside your window. Snow falling on a far mountain becomes the river, becomes the sea, rises into cloud, and returns again as rain. Every part is joined to every other, and you are joined to all of it.

Each page here opens a door onto one part of that living world. Linger over the images. Let one place, one creature, one corner of the earth reach out and find you. The forest you walked once. The coast you return to. The wide sky over your own roof. When something stirs, that is where your prayer begins.

Many people keep two: one ecosystem close to home, and one far away. So their daily care reaches from their own doorstep all the way around the world, holding the near and the distant in the same breath.

Wherever you begin, you are reaching toward something vast and beyond you, and toward something you have always been part of. Choose a doorway, and step through.

Guidelines for eco-prayer and good will intention, with a person holding a small globe in their hands against a starry sky background, emphasizing positive intentions for the Earth and ecosystems.

The Twelve Eco-Prayer Ecosystems

Earth — the whole living world, held at once

Sky — the air we share with every breathing thing

Ocean — the blue heart of the planet

Forest — the breathing canopy, and all it shelters

Plains — the open grasslands and their ancient herds

Desert — life flourishing on light and patience

Coasts — where land and sea meet and remake each other

Wetlands — the quiet waters that filter the world

Lakes and Rivers — fresh water, carrying life into the land

Mountains — the high country where rivers are born

Poles — the great realms of ice that keep the world in balance

Local — the place you live, the one you can step outside and touch

However you pray, reflect, or simply pay attention, there is a place for you here. Begin with the one you love.

Explore the Ecosystems

A view of Earth from space showing continents, clouds, and oceans against the blackness of space.

Earth

A sunset sky with clouds illuminated in warm orange and pink hues, with rays of sunlight streaming through cloud gaps.

Sky

Underwater scene with various colorful tropical fish swimming above a coral reef, sunlight filtering through the water.

Ocean

Aerial view of a dense forest with green trees and a few trees with white and orange leaves, and a small stream running through the woods.

Forest

Landscape scene of grassy plains with mountains in the background and a cloudy sky overhead.

Plains

A vast desert landscape with red rock formations and mesas under a blue sky with some clouds.

Desert

A rugged coastline with lush green vegetation on cliffs, gray clouds in the sky, and waves crashing onto the sandy beach.

Coasts

A heron standing in a wetland area with green aquatic plants, water, and a background of dense trees and bushes.

Wetlands

A river or lake surrounded by densely forested hills under a cloudy sky, with a few small boats on the water and a section of road with cars along the shoreline.

Lakes and Rivers

Snow-capped mountain peaks under a clear sky with stars, with darker mountain ridges in the foreground.

Mountains

Icebergs floating in cold ocean waters under a cloudy sky.

Poles

A bee perched on a yellow flower, with a green blurred background.

Local