Resolutions: What Are You Going to "Focus On"? and The Power of Forgiveness

It's interesting that the word "resolution" has, as one of its definitions: "to bring into greater focus" (as in a "microscope's powers of resolution"). So, one way of looking at our new year's resolutions is to decide what we're going to "focus on".  Chris and I, both being Aquarians, found this recent Free Will astrological forecast by Rob Brezsny's quite fitting as we refine where we put our attention for this coming year. Perhaps you will too, whatever your sun-sign is!

Aquarian philosopher Simone Weil formulated resolutions so as to avoid undermining herself. First, she vowed she would only deal with difficulties that actually confronted her, not far-off or hypothetical problems. Second, she would allow herself to feel only those feelings that were needed to inspire her and make her take effective action. All other feelings were to be shed, including imaginary feelings—that is, those not rooted in any real, objective situation. Third, she vowed, she would "never react to evil in such a way as to augment it."

One of the feelings we're choosing to focus on this year is forgiveness. Here's a video we recently came across that show forgiveness at its best. it features a 3-year old's response to his mother telling him that she ate all his Halloween candy. Precious.(And very forgiving...).

Small Things With Great Love

Sometimes, when I'm feeling overwhelmed with the enormity of the challenges the world is facing, I am comforted by this quote attributed to Mother Teresa:

Recently, I came across the following incredible story of how degraded gorse-infested farmland has been regenerated back into beautiful New Zealand native forest over the course of 30 years. It's a real David and Goliath story. When, in 1987, Hugh Wilson - the protagonist of the story,  let the local community know of his plans to allow the introduced ‘weed’ gorse to grow as a nurse canopy to regenerate farmland into native forest, people were not only skeptical but outright angry – the plan was the sort to be expected only of “fools and dreamers”.

Now considered a hero locally and across the country, Hugh oversees 1500 hectares resplendent in native forest, where birds and other wildlife are abundant and 47 known waterfalls are in permanent flow. He has proven without doubt that nature knows best – and that he is no fool. Set aside 30 minutes of your time and prepare to be inspired and uplifted!

At the end of the video, Hugh says, 

"So, if people watch this and say, 'Gosh, this is succeeding in lovely ways, I'll do something in my little corner of the world' - that would be great!...And if that's repeated over and over again, well - the possibilities are immense!" - Hugh Wilson

And, if you need a little bit more inspiration for doing your own "small thing, with great love", here's a music-video I made called The Forest of a Million Trees Begins By Planting Just One Tree. 

Adri with a little frog found in our garden.

And here's a re-post of an article I wrote a few years ago on our Sharing Gardens site about living cooperatively with the wild animals in our small-town/rural neighborhood.  Blessings on your day!  Llyn

The Keep Going Song - The Bengsons

My friend Jan sent me a link to a song that really touched my heart so I want to share it with you too. It's a song for our times. A spontaneous prayer to connect us all and fill our hearts with all the deepest, most rich feelings we are capable of and give us the courage to just Keep Going on! Much love, Llyn

If you are curious (as I was) to learn about the background of the song and the people who created it, here is a wonderful, informative post by Aimsel Ponti. 

And, if you'd like to send a love-note to the Bengsons, here is their Facebook page.

Good news about Re-wilding Our Planet

Hello friends - Just last week we were looking out our backyard window during midday and there was a beautiful, full-grown grey fox just sauntering through our meadow! We'd been having concern that the three neighborhood cats who consider our 3-acres their backyard, have been over-hunting the rodents that also call our place home, thereby reducing food for the wild creatures that depend on them. But sight of the fox eased my fears. He or she looked radiant with health with a thick and lustrous coat and tail. No signs of hunger there!

Grey Fox - image credit: Susan Tenney

Here's a re-post of an article I wrote a few years ago on our Sharing Gardens site about living cooperatively with the wild animals in our small-town/rural neighborhood. 

It seems we could all use some good news about things that are going right on the planet these days. Here are a multitude of articles I came across recently about efforts to preserve habitat, and breed endangered animals for re-release back into the wild.

Ambitious Reforestation Project Will Plant 3 Million Trees in Uganda  

How maverick re-wilders are trying to turn back the tide of extinction

With 14,000 Critical Acres Added to Montana Wildlife Reserve, It May Become the Largest in the Lower 48

Ducks Unlimited and the University of Florida working together for conservation at the DeLuca Preserve 

Gone For a Century, Plant Finally Shows Itself When Conservation Work on ‘Ghost Pond’ Stirs Up Hidden Seed 

China's Yangtze River Basin to Recover Biodiversity 

50 Countries Just Joined New Coalition to Protect 30% of the Planet’s Land and Oceans By Decade’s End

There are lots of small ways we can each help create a healthier planet, through our consumer choices and the way we live our lives. Thank you to each of you reading this for all the ways you are contributing to solutions! Love, Llyn

Election - a poem

 ELECTION — a poem by Alfred K. LaMotte:

I voted.

I voted for the rainbow.

I voted for the cry of a loon.

I voted for my grandfather’s bones
that feed beetles now.

I voted for a singing brook that sparkles
under a North Dakota bean field.

I voted for salty air through which the whimbrel flies
South along the shores of two continents.

I voted for melting snow that returns to the wellspring
of darkness, where the sky is born from the earth.

I voted for daemonic mushrooms in the loam,
and the old democracy of worms.

I voted for the wordless treaty that cannot be broken
by white men or brown, because it is made of star semen,
thistle sap, hieroglyphs of the weevil in prairie oak.

I voted for the local, the small, the brim
that does not spill over, the abolition of waste,
the luxury of enough.

I voted for the commonwealth of the ancient forest,
a larva for every beak, a wing-tinted flower
for every moth’s disguise, a well-fed mammal’s corpse
for every colony of maggots.

I voted for open borders between death and birth.

I voted on the ballot of a fallen leaf of sycamore
that cannot be erased, for it becomes the dust and rain,
and then a tree again.

I voted for more fallow time to cultivate wild flowers,
more recess in schools to cultivate play,
more leisure, tax free, more space between days.

I voted to increase the profit of evening silence
and the price of a thrush song.
I voted for ten million stars in your next inhalation.

—Alfred K. LaMotte

Low-Tech Air Filtration During Wildfires - What to pack in your "go" bag - Preparedness Tips

As many of our readers know, the west coast has recently been suffering from unprecedented wildfires and their accompanying smoke. Here is a short post with info on creating a low-tech air filter with a box-fan; What to include in a "go-bag"; and The 7 pillars of Urban Preparedness. We hope you find it helpful.

 

Smoky skies - 9-12-2020

Here is a short video on "How to make your own indoor air filter from a fan". Essentially they suggest attaching a furnace-filter to the back of a box-fan to filter indoor air. We didn't have access to furnace filters when the wildfires started so have been wetting terry-cloth hand towels, wringing them out thoroughly and hanging them on the back of our three box-fans in different rooms in the house. It has been working amazingly well! The towels dry out fairly quickly so we rinse them in a bucket, wring them out again and re-drape them on the fans every 1-2 hours. In the worst, first few days of the fires, the rinse-water was actually grey after each rinse!

 

Low-tech fan air-filter

We live in a 145 year-old farmhouse and suffered, at first, from considerable air-leaks around the doors of our front and back porches so we put towels along the lower edges of the doors and sectioned off the main rooms we live in with curtains to keep the majority of the smoke out of these rooms. This has worked really well.

Here is an article from the Portland newspaper - The Oregonian - with other tips on keeping indoor air cleaner: "Prevent wildfire smoke from entering your home: It’s OK to run air conditioners"

 

Moisten towel and put on back side.

One friend of ours who lives in northern California and had to evacuate her land for several days during wildfires down there says that "the silver-lining of all of this is that these fires are alerting people to the importance of having a "go-bag" already packed and on-hand, instead of waiting to the last minute." 

 

Whether you live in an environment that is prone to wildfires or hurricanes or other natural disasters that might precipitate the need to leave your home under short notice, here is a guide from the Natl. Weather Service of 15 things to include in your "go-bag".

 

For long-term Preparedness, for emergencies that require you to shelter in place for extended periods during weather-related emergencies or extended instances of social unrest, here is an article called "The 7 Pillars of Urban Preparedness" that outlines the important categories of preparedness to address before the crisis hits.

Be prepared. Help others.

We hope you find these tips and links helpful. Stay safe and be sure to help those around you to be prepared as well.

We're all in this together Folks - S.O.S. from the Kids

Here is a post that we feel will give you inspiration and hope, and help you remember that our individual choices and life habits DO make a difference. 

 

First, here is a touching and important message from the kids of the world.

And here's a message from one of our personal heroes, Jane Goodall, regarding the Corona virus and current events: Don't blame the bats for the Coronavirus | Dr. Jane Goodall

 

And recent news of success with the nature preserve Jane Goodall's pioneering in Africa: 

Great news! Ambitious Reforestation Project Will Plant 3 Million Trees in Uganda 

 

And lastly, some wonderful news from the Good News Network, about plans in Europe to raise 22-billion annually to protect biodiversity. More in the same vein:  Save the Insects, Save the Farmers, Save Ourselves: New Global Report Calls for End of Industrial Agriculture

Let's use this opportunity of the world-wide pause in human-activity to ask ourselves what kind of world we wish to create as we move forward. Just imagine what we could accomplish if we collectively channeled resources into protecting the Earth?

As the kids in the video say, "We just have one world to share." Much love, Llyn and Chris - The Sharing Gardens

 

Great news! Ambitious Reforestation Project Will Plant 3 Million Trees in Uganda

Rights of Personhood for Nature and Petition against Ecocide

Dandelions in a meadow - Source

As communities begin to explore re-opening the economy, I feel it's very important to ask ourselves

which aspects of our past ways of doing things do we wish to bring forward in a post-Covid19 world; what behaviors do we want to leave behind? We've seen numerous examples of how quickly Nature rebounds when given half a chance. LINK. LINK, Bees are Thriving: LINK Let's also ask what new behaviors we wish to put in place. What follows are examples of new laws that are important to establish so that Nature gets the same rights as people and that those who are perpetrating crimes against our ecosystem are brought to justice. I hope you'll add your name to the Petition linked below. Llyn

*Image source: Wild Rice

Rights of Personhood for Rivers and Wild Rice

According to United States Law, a corporation is regarded and treated as a person. There is even a legal term, "corporate personhood," that ensures corporations have the same rights as an individual.

In recent years, indigenous North American tribes have joined the international Rights of Nature movement, whose goal is to protect certain natural features by granting them the "rights of personhood."

The Yurok of Northwestern California hope to reverse the human damage done to the Klamath River, and thereby preserve the health of the salmon that live there. These people have designated the Klamath as having the full rights of personhood.

In Northwestern Minnesota, the White Earth Band of Ojibwe has made a similar move, granting personhood status to *manoomin*, or wild rice.

The tribe's resolution asserts that the wild rice has "inherent rights to
restoration, recovery and preservation," including "the right to pure
water and freshwater habitat," the right to a healthy climate and "a
natural environment free from human cause global warming."

What natural feature would be your first choice for gaining the right of
personhood?

 Article Source: Rights of Personhood
Another article about Rights of Personhood for Nature

Petition to End Ecocide

Ecocide is the extensive destruction of ecosystems and environments which has severe consequences for people as well as the environment. What follows is the text of a petition to end Ecocide. Please join us in signing it.

To world leaders:

“As concerned citizens of a fragile planet, we call on you to back an international law of Ecocide. We call on you to make ecocide the 5th International Crime Against Peace. Life on Earth as it is now cannot survive if we continue to treat our environment as we are currently doing. We need to back strong measures to make ecocide a crime, to protect humanity and the Earth.”

As it currently stands there is no international law against ecocide. Making ecocide the 5th International Crime Against Peace will protect our environment and make those who destroy it criminally liable. We urgently need laws that put people and planet above profit.
We can make our leaders listen to our demands for change. Let’s show them that ecocide is a grave crime and that this must be put into international law. Sign this petition and share it with your friends! Find out more about ecocide at www.stopecocide.earth

Abundance, humour and absolute sweetness...

Dogwood in Bloom!

Hello dear friends - This post is a triple whammy! A poem about nature's bounty, a TED-talk on humor as a metaphor for life and the sweetest little snippet of a snoring dormouse, guaranteed to make you smile. Enjoy!  Llyn

Excerpt of a poem by Tony Hoagland:

Outside the youth center, between the liquor store
and the police station,
a little dogwood tree is losing its mind;

overflowing with blossomfoam,
like a sudsy mug of beer;
like a bride ripping off her clothes,

dropping snow white petals to the ground in clouds,

so Nature’s wastefulness seems quietly obscene.
It’s been doing that all week:
making beauty,
and throwing it away,
and making more.

From - Tony Hoagland, "What Narcissism Means to Me" 

This video from comedian Michael Jr. really inspired me in its simple message of shifting our giving from "what can I get to, what can I give that will help/uplift the receiver". Very inspiring.

This last video is not to be missed; 30 seconds of absolute sweetness. Enjoy!

From What Is to What If

Buckminster Fuller - A visionary genius.

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” R. Buckminster Fuller 

Hello friends - The world is changing rapidly these days and I know most folks are already finding the resources they need for addressing the virus' effects at a local level so I won't bother to add anything like that here. Today's installation includes a prayer for hand-washing, an amazing - and short video - about orangutans, in the wild, actually washing their hands and teaching their off-spring to do so as well. And a wonderful excerpt from a book called: From What Is to What If: Unleashing the Power of Imagination to Create the Future We Want by Rob Hopkins.

First, a 2-minute video about some wild orangutans washing their hands with soap they found at an abandoned human outpost. Good technique, I'd say (definitely more than 20 seconds, but I don't recommend holding the soap in your mouth for transportation!).

Wash Your Hands 

by Dori Midnight

We are humans relearning to wash our hands.
Washing our hands is an act of love
Washing our hands is an act of care
Washing our hands is an act that puts the hypervigilant body at ease
Washing our hands helps us return to ourselves by washing away what does not serve.

Wash your hands
like you are washing the only teacup left that your great grandmother carried across the ocean, like you are washing the hair of a beloved who is dying, like you are washing the feet of Grace Lee Boggs, Beyonce, Jesus, your auntie, Audre Lorde, Mary Oliver- you get the picture.
Like this water is poured from a jug your best friend just carried for three miles from the spring they had to climb a mountain to reach.
Like water is a precious resource
made from time and miracle

Wash your hands and cough into your elbow, they say.
Rest more, stay home, drink water, have some soup, they say.
To which I would add: burn some plants your ancestors burned when there was fear in the air,
Boil some aromatic leaves in a pot on your stove until your windows steam up.
Open your windows
Eat a piece of garlic every day. Tie a clove around your neck.
Breathe.

When fear arises,
and it will,
let it wash over your whole body instead of staying curled up tight in your shoulders.
If your heart tightens,
contract
and expand.
science says: compassion strengthens the immune system
We already know that, but capitalism gives us amnesia
and tricks us into thinking it’s the thing that protects us
but it’s the way we hold the thing.
The way we do the thing.

it is time
to care for one another
to pray over water
to wash away fear
every time we wash our hands

(This was just an excerpt. To read the full poem, go to: LINK

I found the following excerpt from Rob Hopkins, on his experiences about transforming a small town into a small community very uplifting. Enjoy!

"Given the state of the world, the message of despair is pretty convincing. Things look grim. But something about that doesn’t sit quite right with me. In fact, there’s evidence that things can change, and that cultures can change, rapidly and unexpectedly. And that’s not just naïve, pie-in-the-sky thinking.

 In How Did We Do That? The Possibility of Rapid Transition, Andrew Simms and Peter Newell tell the story of Iceland’s 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption, which sent fine dust into the sky that spread for thousands of miles and grounded most of the world’s planes. Then what happened? People adapted. Quickly..."

To read his full excerpt about how his town in Todmorden England became a "Transition Town", click here: From What IS to What IF...

Butterfly Metaphor - Imaginal Cells and the Transformation of Society

Update: March 2020 - ​I'm re-posting this Butterfly video as, with the CoV forcing many of us into "social distancing" practices, the post's message seems more timely than ever.

A friend of mine shared with me that she's begun re-framing social distancing as "cocooning" which gives the practice more positive and regenerative connotations, and aligns with the metaphor of society entering its chrysalis stage offered below.

Ever wonder how we'll ever get out of this crazy mess we're in: rampant consumerism devouring the planet, with no end in sight; ever-widening the gap between the "haves" and the "have-nots"?

Enjoy this 4-minute video by Bruce Lipton that describes the metamorphosis of the caterpillar into a butterfly and how it provides a hopeful metaphor for the current stage of our society. Happy cocooning!

And for several other inspiring videos about butterflies, CLICK HERE

Silver Linings

Dear ones: As we enter this unprecedented situation brought on by the novel corona virus, I am struck by the many silver linings hidden within. Global pollution: down. Global consumption of unnecessary items: down. Frivolous, self-indulgent travel/vacations: down. From an environmental standpoint, this great global "pause" gives us all a chance to review and redefine all our purchases and activities And as we move forward, after the acute phase of this crisis passes, perhaps we can make decisions collectively that favor the health of all our global family - including the plants and animals with which we share this web of life.

You are invited to join the CV19 Peace & Love Brigade.  The Brigade’s intention is to move the needle away from the red zone of fear and panic which are now palpable energy fields in the human environment.  The only membership requirement is that you carry and spread peace and love to others.  It can be through thoughts, meditation, words, cards, posts, interactions and/or any other option(s). Go forth and spread it until it’s contagious!  The Peace and Love Brigade will SPREAD LOVE NOT FEAR. 

Lockdown (A powerful poem by a Capuchin priest about dealing with fear)

Yes there is fear.

Yes there is isolation.

Yes there is panic buying.

Yes there is sickness.

Yes there is even death.

But,

They say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise

You can hear the birds again.

They say that after just a few weeks of quiet

The sky is no longer thick with fumes

But blue and grey and clear.

They say that in the streets of Assisi

People are singing to each other

across the empty squares,

keeping their windows open

so that those who are alone

may hear the sounds of family around them.

They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland

Is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound.

Today a young woman I know

is busy spreading fliers with her number

through the neighbourhood

So that the elders may have someone to call on.

Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples

are preparing to welcome

and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary.

All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting

All over the world people are looking at their neighbours in a new way

All over the world people are waking up to a new reality

To how big we really are.

To how little control we really have.

To what really matters.

To Love.

So we pray and we remember that

Yes there is fear.

But there does not have to be hate.

Yes there is isolation.

But there does not have to be loneliness.

Yes there is panic buying.

But there does not have to be meanness.

Yes there is sickness.

But there does not have to be disease of the soul

Yes there is even death.

But there can always be a rebirth of love.

Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.

Today, breathe.

Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic

The birds are singing again

The sky is clearing,

Spring is coming,

And we are always encompassed by Love.

Open the windows of your soul

And though you may not be able

to touch across the empty square,

Sing.

~Fr. Richard Hendrick

How to Truly Listen - Evelyn Glennie

Image credit: https://fractalenlightenment.com/

If this deaf percussion player doesn't capture your heart's interest in the first minute of watching her then you can just turn it off and go about your day! Evelyn Glennie speaks with presence and clarity on topics such as deep listening and discrimination in the arts (and art schools) against people with disabilities. Stick around for her solo performance at the end of the video; it's no wonder that the TedTalk organizers extended their usual maximum presenter time of 20 minutes for an additional 15 minutes!

In these first few days since having watched (and listened!) to this video, as I've been out in the gardens pruning our fruit trees, or standing at the kitchen sink doing dishes by hand, Glennie's invitation to "listen with my whole body" has been a way to keep the door open to the kind of bright, all-encompassing presence to, and appreciation for life that I usually only feel after a session of deep, sitting meditation. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU3V6zNER4g

Welcome to Flight 2020

Image credit: Subhash Purohit

Welcome to flight # 2020! 

We are preparing for take-off  into the New Year ⭐️

Please make sure your Attitude of Gratitude is secured and locked in the 'on' and upright position.

All self-destructive devices should be turned off at this time.  

All negativity, resentment, blame, guilt, jealousy, hurt, and discouragement should be put away. 

Should we lose our attitude under pressure during the flight, reach for a friend and pull down a Prayer.  

Prayers will automatically be activated by Faith.  

Once your Faith is activated you can assist other passengers. ‍♀️

There will be NO BAGGAGE allowed on this flight. 

If you are found to have brought baggage on this flight, you will be loved until you release it.  

Then the flight attendants will recycle your baggage. ️

The Captain has communicated with the universe and cleared us for takeoff. 

Our destination is into the Mystery. 

Bring kindness, understanding, forgiveness, caring, respect and love. 

It's sweet to be on the same flight together!  

Happy New Year & may you have an amazingly beautiful flight #2020 

Sent to us by our friends The Yuba Gals who founded and maintain the Peak Moment TV series: Locally Reliant Living for Challenging Times. LINK