Wildflower Stew

This year has been rough. I read the bad news every day. I think it’s my duty to stay informed. Sometimes I get depressed, especially when I think about my grandchildren and the world they will live in. And then I know what I must do and I get back to work, putting in the good word for the planet, for living in harmony.

So I’d like to end the year with some thank yous for the good that was done; the hard work, the passion of people who really care, the faithfulness of those who are in it for the long haul, in the joy of solidarity, with the dignity of not bowing to oppression.

Thank you Evo Morales, president of Bolivia, and everyone who worked to convene the World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth. Fifteen thousand people from indigenous movements and grassroots organizations, and presidents, scientists, activists and observers from 128 different countries came together after the disaster of the UN sponsored conference in Copenhagen and came up with the people’s solution to the climate crisis based on the right of Mother Earth – which is now being enacted in countries and communities all over the world.

Thank you to Captain Paul Watson and the crew of the Sea Shepherd who saved the lives of 528 whales by interventions against the Japanese whaling fleet during Operation Waltzing Matilda, cut the nets and freed 800 bluefin tuna that were endangered and were illegally caught in the Mediterranean during Operation Blue Rage and flew into no-fly zones in the Gulf of Mexico to expose negligence and lies by BP after the oil spill.

Thank you to the social change activists who write, teach, organize and take to the streets when they have to. No one wants to be beat up, tear gassed and thrown in jail but some people believe in their cause too much to back down. Social movements are alive and well even if the corporate media tries to ignore them.

Thank you to eveyone who works to make more urban gardens and farmer’s markets happen.

Thank you, Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, who recently received the Lennon Ono Grant for Peace, a biannual award presented by Yoko Ono in honor of John Lennon on his birthday. Four people received the award in 2010, along with Pollan – Filmmaker Josh Fox, the documentary producer (he wrote and directed Gasland); the writer and activist Alice Walker; and Barbara Kowalcyk, the food safety activist from Food Inc.

And thank you, Alice Walker, who seems to always find the loving compassionate words needed just when it seems the darkest.

Thank you also, Joe Bageant, for your great humor (latest book: Rainbow Pie: A Redneck Memoir) and your heart of gold.

Thanks to everyone who rushed to help when the oil spill devastated the Gulf of Mexico, the people and the critters who live along it’s shores and to those who hang in for the long haul. This story isn’t over yet.

And thanks to Lloyd Doggett, my congressman, who stands up for progressive causes and doesn’t waver even in the toxic, good-ol-boy atmosphere of texas politics. It’s so amazing to have a representative who really represents me.

There’s so much more that happened – near and far. Thank you every one who did their part, whatever it was, to help us all live in harmony with the natural world – and with each other. For who are we except children of this earth, our home?

My wish for the next year is for us to remember that we’re family and that this planet, this little blue pearl in the vastness of space, is our home.

I just looked at the weather forecast for Christmas Eve here in Austin. Thunderstorms? On Christmas Eve? Cold, rain (snow, maybe?) and thunderstorm? It’s getting pretty strange. It was 85 here yesterday – 20 degrees above normal for this time of year.

Well, it’s not like I’ve never seen wierd weather before. I remember standing in the parking lot of the Puget Consumer’s Coop in Seattle, Washington in 1978 with about 20 other people, all of us standing there with our mouths hanging open staring at the sky. There was a double rainbow, the sun was shining, and it was snowing AND there was a big thunderstorm going on, rolling clouds and flashes of lightning and booms of thunder.

That was 32 years ago and now here I am, back in Texas again and Mother Nature’s still messin’ with me and I’m still lovin’ it. Who knows what’s coming next?

The journey goes on . . . . drumming with the grandmothers, speaking up for the koalas, sharing the good news of family farms and magic pear trees, and folk songs and electric cars and plenty of birds – “us nature mystics got to stick together” (Edward Abbey) – Wildflower Stew – enjoy the view!

Joyful solstice to all . . . swan . . .

(photo taken out my bedroom window)