And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.- Kahlil Gibran
Hard these days not to feel either hopeless and depressed or so outraged and disgusted you consider creating open season on the management of BP Oil. Yeah, been there myself.
What does pull me up from the pits of despair is something like this photo, taken last year of my granddaughter, feeding lorikeets at the Rio Grande Zoo. When one of them landed on her head, I prepared for a lorikeet mob action if Maddie began to cry or shriek.
Instead, she stood statue-like, asking if I could see any more wanting to join in. Unconcerned about the possibility of “droppings” she was in awe of this contact between thirsty winged creatures and herself and was totally content to allow it to continue. Sorry I don’t have a pic of the enormous grin on her 7 year old face.
I recently returned from a four-day gathering of indigenous elders and others in a small town outside Kansas City, Missouri. I just needed to be out of the city, with people I hoped understood what I am feeling. You know, that sort of camaraderie where you don’t have to explain how you know something or why it’s important. Where there aren’t many deep, head-tripping discussions, just deep moments of silence and laughter and sharing. And here there were ceremony, sweat lodges, ritual which didn’t demand university degrees or letters of introduction. The only prerequisite was respect for the Earth, respect for each other and a willingness to be present.
I also drove to Missouri in search of some clarity on how to continue through all that was collapsing around the world. The group prayed for the Gulf while being reminded that Mother Earth knows what she’s doing so don’t drag her down with your own unrelenting grief. Rather, if we choose to pray, pray for ourselves: to regain balance, to remember our place within and among all the other creatures of the Earth, to set aside our incessant addiction to things, things and more things. We were asked to become givers, to stop taking more than we need. And most interesting for me at this time, we were instructed to be “in-joy.”
Indeed, CELEBRATING the Earth on a daily basis could be just the shift we need to re-balance our relationship with the only home we’ll ever know: this miraculous blue, spinning ball suspended in space by an invisible energetic connection with an enormous swirling gaseous ball of fire. When I wake up each morning, I can only marvel that I slept peacefully while spinning in space at approximately 1,000 mph on a large sphere chasing around the Sun at (hold on!) 67,000 mph! And what would this planet be like if gravity had lined us up say, 100 miles further away or 100 miles closer to our star/sun. Think about that….
This message of joy keeps coming back to me through various channels and frankly it is the one action I can initiate that moves me out of anger and pain. I look for joy and celebration in every moment. I find myself being less critical of those who are responsible for this greed and irresponsibility because in some ways, I AM RESPONSIBLE.
I drive a car– still; I reluctantly accept a styrofoam cup when there are no other choices offered; I wrap left-overs in cling wrap or ziploc bags. Minor infractions, maybe, but multiplied by millions of people millions of times each week and well, that adds up to a lot of petroleum. After meeting up with Julia Butterfly Hill in St. Louis recently, I’ve started carrying my own china, drinking cup, napkin and utensils to functions so that I can take them home and wash and not use disposables.
I’m driving less on purpose, got my bike out of the shop, spending more time helping in the gardens, saving seeds, getting ready for an adventure with the same granddaughter.
We’ll drive this summer to see the redwoods in Northern California. I’ve dreamed of meeting them face to face since I was Maddie’s age. When she was born, I made a silent vow to her “One day you and I will go the redwoods together.” That was almost nine years ago. This is the summer I’ve committed to fulfilling the vow. Another part nags at me to stop consuming gas just for my own personal road trip. And the other part of me isn’t so sure we’ll have another opportunity. This I can give her and me now, this is a once in a lifetime adventure. We can’t know about next summer let alone next month. What I do know is that we can stand together in the temple of the redwoods, in awe and in balance for a little while, simply experiencing the magnificence of beings that pose no threat, harm no one or no thing, take nothing more than they require for survival, and when their time on the planet is finished ease back into the very soil and soul of the source of life.
I have a strong feeling that while she stands in the shadow of trees taller than any building she’s seen in her life, a bird just might flutter by. Maybe even land on her shoulder.
In joy!
Meeting at 7:30am on Saturday, June 26, utilizing the energy of the Full Moon/Lunar Eclipse to activate a vision for Mother Earth in her Highest Light. Location is Rio Grande River bridge on Central NW in Albuquerque. Hope to see you there! (PS: HIGH fire danger-no candles, lighters, incense, etc.)
Gardening calendar for June/July from the Farmer’s Alamanac:
June 2010
25th-26th Poor Planting Days. Cut Hay Or Do General Farm Work.
27th-29th Plant Late Beets, Potatoes, Onions, Carrots, And Other Root Crops.
30th. Poor Day For Planting. Kill Plant Pests, Spray, Fertilize, Do General Farm Work.
July 2010
1st. Good Day For Killing Weeds, Briars And Other Plant Pests, Poor For Planting.
2nd-4th Good Days For Planting Beets, Carrots, Radishes, Salsify, Turnips, Peanuts, And Other Root Crops. Also Good For Planting Melons, Cucumbers, Pumpkins, And Other Vine Crops. Set Strawberry Plants.
5th-6th A Barren Period.
7th-8th Root Crops That Can Be Planted Now Will Yield Well.
9th-10th Poor Days For Planting, Seeds Tend To Rot In Ground.
11th-12th Most Favorable For Corn, Cotton, Okra, Beans, Peppers, Eggplant, And Other Above Ground Crops. Plant Seedbeds And Flower Gardens
13th-16th A Most Barren Period. Kill Plant Pests And Do General Farm Work.
17th-18th Favorable For Planting Peas, Beans, Tomatoes, And Other Fall Crops Bearing Above Ground. Sow Grains And Forage Crops. Plant Flowers.
Lovely post. give the trees a hug for me.