Hello! I'm Imelda Maguire, SoulCollage® facilitator from Donegal, Ireland. Also a counselor and poet, my joy is in working with others in healing and creativity. This column is for those of you who have already made some cards & are ready to discover the symphony of voices inside of you and around you.


Meeting Mother Earth

In pondering the topic for this month’s piece, I found myself thinking about mothering and our connections to mother; what happens when the process of attachment and bonding is interrupted, disrupted or prevented in some way from taking place between mother and infant. I’ve been wondering if perhaps this is reflected in many ways in our connection and relationship as a species with Mother Earth. I found myself feeling profoundly sad about the widespread disconnection from our mother-place, our planet, this holy ground that is our home, this earth.

I do not see myself as an eco-warrior or environmental activist in any grand way, and yet, this connection to land, to nature is something important to me. I count myself as so fortunate to have grown up in a generation of children that could be allowed to roam free, far and wide, returning home for meals and bed-time, and I think that in this, I learnt appreciation for the small things, tiny discoveries, precious treasures of plants and insects.

I value food that is natural, not processed, coloured, adulterated with dubious substances. This is saying Yes to Mother Earth. And it is saying Thank you when, knowing that creating buildings and streets interferes with an eco-system, I try to help mother nature along by providing food for birds in my area. My compost-bins are miniature worlds in which Mother Earth plays with me. We meet Mother Earth one square foot at a time – the place in which we stand.

I thought I would want to explore the topic in a big way, in a whole sense, in the vision of this great beautiful ball of a planet on which we live, and instead find myself appreciating the little connections, and the importance of them. Because, just as with our own mothers, it is little moments, nonsense-song by nonsense song; touch by touch, kiss by kiss, that our bond is formed, that our attachment is deepened; not by standing back and looking, but by coming in close and touching, and listening.

I share my Caring Gardener card here, as one of the Committee Neters that brings me in contact with Mother Earth.

I am one who works the soil, nourishes it to replace what I take from it. I am one committed to keeping the patch of earth in my care free from chemicals and pesticides, to making it a safe and nurturing space for wildlife.

Which of your committee Neters speak to Mother Earth? What do they say? I am curious!



Imelda Maguire is a SoulCollage® facilitator from Donegal, Ireland. A counsellor, poet, Bach Flower Remedy practitioner, and creative-writing facilitator, her joy is in working with others, in witnessing a-ha moments and experiences of healing. She has been sharing SoulCollage® with groups since 2003, when she first discovered the process, and delights in others' excitement on meeting their Neters for the first time.