MORE CHANGE

Dear Y'all,

As I prepare for my annual trek west to the Tucson Gem Show, the
subject of change is still on my mind. No one has officially asked
us (we, the people) to consider how we think about and act upon this
Mother Earth, yet these are the most fundamental changes to
consider. Repeatedly in AWAKENING WITH MOTHER EARTH, we are told to
communicate with all the life around us and with Gaia herself. It
still seems to me the best place to start.

Yet I must confess that I now think I may have been a bit cavalier
with my suggestions in AWAKENING for making those connections. After
spending most of my time for the past year or so on the nuts and
bolts of producing the book, I was woefully out of practice at being
"out in it." I was surprised and humbled when I tried to get back
into that mental/emotional state, the zone or rhythm that
facilitates hearing at a deep level. It's not as easy as I may have
led you to believe but with practice practice practice, it WILL
come. I intend to do a lot of practicing on this trip and I
continue to recommend it. Apart from the information gained, the
experience of communication with Gaia or one of our Relations is
deeply satisfying.

Information you might want to seek -- besides knowing what ideas/
imprints are no longer useful -- are what to do with the islands of
plastic trash in our oceans, what plants will work in your area in a
changing climate (they may not be the traditionally recommended local
varieties), how to awaken your imagination for new realities.
Recent examples of the latter I've heard of are getting energy from
the Humboldt current, putting artwork into solar panels (what fun!)
and, my favorite, a Play Pump, invented in South Africa that looks
like a giant tap handle and is a merry-go-round that children play
on . . . at the same time pumping water for their entire village.

As weather, communications and energy production become more
uncertain, you might want to have a list of people nearby who grow or
raise what you eat, have skills that you use, can do what you
can't. A directory, whether for your personal use or shared with
others, might put you ahead of the curve should a barter system
become temporarily necessary. In her book, ANIMAL, VEGETABLE,
MIRACLE, Barbara Kingsolver makes a solid case for growing your own
food or buying as much of it locally as possible. This simply
extends that idea and has the added benefit that you get to know your
neighbors. I recommend the Kingsolver book as heartily as the
Whitty; it has a wealth or information on a variety of food-related
subjects. And this is the perfect time of year to be mooning over
seed catalogues.

I have more packing to do for a trip that may involve way too many
weather possibilities so I leave you with: Happy February, everyone,
and a thousand blessings.

Fran Gatins
www.satolahsingularities.com
www.polkadotbanner.com
http://awakemotherearth.blogspot.com/

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.

Mary Oliver