Abundance is Temporary

I am always tuned in to, and trying to boost the work of Indigenous Water Protectors from every nation and sector. They are responsible for the recent shut down of the Keystone XL oil pipeline which was illegal, in serious violation of treaties with several sovereign tribal nations, AND would have fucked up millions and millions and MILLIONS of gallons of water, which most creatures need so they don’t die. This news makes my heart burst with joy, emotion, and gratitude. I think of how these many movements and actions, related or separate, are mostly led by small groups of Indigenous elders, tribal leaders and activists. I feel hope and reverence. In the orbit of their words and deeds, I too feel powerful. Not because I take credit for any of the success of the movement simply because I believe in it or talk about it, (that would be psychotic) but because the power of the Water Protectors gives a gift, an actual, present-day representation of people -- not corporations or lobbyists -- shutting down a corporate, industrial course and holding back an environmental disaster (for now). I know they won’t give up. I know they will win. 

I’m following the encamped protest action to shut down Line 3 in Minnesota. Hearing Winona LaDuke speak about the on-the-ground situation and what needs to happen going forward is a balm on my soul. It is the beauty I need to shake off the rage I feel when I see people feeling they have to interject their opinions about how “one person” taking an action such as recycling or opting out of something damaging or unsustainable “doesn’t make any difference.” Every single solution has its issues and complications, and of course we should not turn a blind eye and remain ignorant to those issues, but I sometimes feel that I’m in a sea of nay-sayers who drop the company line to feel a little above it all. It doesn’t help. I’m guilty of having these thoughts and opinions myself, and I’m trying to recognize and not say some harmful, obvious, dark shit like “one person doesn’t matter because corporations, blah, blah, blah...”  if I don’t have another possibility to offer. It’s the lazy, cynical equivalent to throwing your cigarette butt out the window of your car; toxic and shitty, but possibly a spark of large scale destruction. Why roll the dice? Intent is so powerful, so I’d rather reroute it. I don’t want to shame other people or myself, it’s empty and reductive. When I think of what the incredible people on the front lines of NODAPL and Stop Line 3 are achieving I realize that unsolicited dump-taking on possible progress, no matter what possible positive progress you are taking a dump on regardless of where it is happening in the world is disrespectful of the Water Protectors who are actually MAKING change. It’s not ok. Let’s HONOR them whether we are talking about plastic straws in the ocean or the Tar Sands oil fields of Alberta. We can accept their gift with deep gratitude and fan its lovely flames if we choose. When we accept it, we have the incredible opportunity to HELP. We enlarge our personal possibilities. How gorgeous is that?

I won’t always be speaking about environmental activism here, but the recent events are too important NOT to speak of. The Water Protectors are the most effective and powerful human agents FOR the natural world, on this continent at this time. The goal of this newsletter is to talk about and help people find even the tiniest connection to the Nature no matter where we are because I think it makes people feel GOOD! 

I remember the moment years ago, living in Chicago, when I learned that the plants always busting through the concrete and growing out of the tiniest spaces between brick buildings and in empty lots were Alder trees. I noticed them all the time after that. I admired their tenacity and adaptability. They had a name now; bugs lived in them, birds landed on them. I thought I knew things about nature, but that was the day I realized how important a “tiny” connection was -- what starts as something as simple as the act of noticing and learning a natural being’s name can light our way back from oblivion.

Thank you, Water Protectors 

https://www.stopline3.org/biden

https://www.versobooks.com/books/2953-our-history-is-the-future

COMMENTS NOTE: Just so you guys know, comments are welcomed! Conversation, questions, inquiries are the good parts... BUT racist, homophobic, anti-Trans, misogynist, hateful comments and tirades will not be tolerated. IF you find yourself writing long, showboaty paragraphs in favor of something like, say, white supremacy, you either need A) your own Facebook recruitment page or B) to get back to smoking ditch weed on the lanai with my uncle. Thanks, everyone :)