I am continually bombarded by images of fires and Moscow and Russia.. the arid air, the smoke, forests burning down. My mom is virtually confined to her apartment, taking a cold bath every hour, and the authorities are encouraging people to wear surgical masks when venturing outside.
I have close to 3,000 people on my facebook I am connected to. If you took even 100 of those and had them share this with 50 of their friends, you get 5,000 people.
There is not a lot I can do right now to help the situation, except praying and working out a way to get my mom out of Moscow for a few days or so, to get some fresh air, somewhere.
But I am a believer in power of thought. If you are reading this, please take a minute and imagine rain. Rain over Moscow and the woods. Water falling from the sky to stop this madness, which has decimated the crops and countless ecological preserves. And please share this with your friends, and have them do the same. If intention and thought are all we can do right now, at least let's do it on the grand scale, since we can – thanks to the power of social networking.
Listen to the song below I found on YouTube. Say a prayer for all the beauty lost. And hopefully more beauty to be saved. And think rain. Rain. Rain. Please.
Posted August 5, 2010 at 9:50 am
In Celebration of Me (1909)
I am so afraid of people's words. They describe so distinctly everything: And this they call dog and that they call house, here the start and there the end. I worry about their mockery with words, they know everything, what will be, what was; no mountain is still miraculous; and their house and yard lead right up to God. I want to warn and object: Let the things be! I enjoy listening to the sound they are making. But you always touch: and they hush and stand still. That's how you kill. (Rainer Maria Rilke Translated by Annemarie S. Kidder)
This is called an Albizia tree and it lives in our front yard.
Posted August 4, 2010 at 12:26 pm
Yes, yes.
Floods in Pakistan. Israeli and the Lebanese killing each other over a tree. A good friend's friend killed himself, leaving two little girls behind. Russia choking in sweltering heat. The oil in the Gulf. The new patch of garbage in the Indian Ocean.
What can you say to those things? How do you process?..
Joseph Campbell says: we are the consciousness of the Earth. If you go by that theory, the anger.. and the fear.. and the anger.. that vicious circle creates a chain reaction all across the world.
And so today I made a decision.
I will sing – everywhere – and to everyone – and keep following my bliss.
I will work hard and get better every day. I will seek to help and inspire and be of service.
I won't be afraid of anything anymore.
I will smile and laugh as much as possible every single day.
I will share my love for life, music and the world with as many people as I can.
..and I will cultivate joy. And make it contagious, because music is that, too. As evidenced by the Phoenix song below:)
In your brain are special cells that read the minds of others. Dubbed mirror neurons, these cells fire in response to the “reflection” of another person. Whether you smile or watch another smile, the neurons in your brain respond exactly the same. That is, your brain perfectly mirrors the emotion and experience of others (energetically, holographically and chemically-speaking) as if you are having the emotion or experience yourself — first-hand. Neuroscientists believe mirror neurons are what allows us to feel empathy and compassion for others, as our brains use “mirroring” to translate what we see so that we can relate to each other and the world.
“Mirror neurons may well become this century’s equivalent of the mid-20th century discovery of DNA,” writes Robert Sylwester, emeritus professor of education at the University of Oregon.
“New brain imaging from UCLA demonstrates that specialized brain cells, known as mirror neurons, activate both when we observe the actions of others and when we simply read sentences describing the same action.When we read a book, these specialized cells respond as if we are actually doing what the book character is doing.”
Mirror neurons may be a key to enhancing our evolutionary process. Knowing that personal and group realities are largely created from the inside-out, we can carefully select optimal sensory data streams that reflect wholeness, unity, profound harmony and inspiration. Humankind’s creations and relationships in the outer world … mirror what we are seeing, feeling and creating in our collective inner worlds.
Posted August 4, 2010 at 1:00 am
..and then..
Posted August 2, 2010 at 6:42 am
I have moved five times in the last two years. I have grown more than I would have ever thought possible. As I made my fifth move, I realized how little I actually own. Yes, there are still those boxes of books, and they are going into storage in a couple of weeks, to wait there until I have a working space.. I hope it is sooner, rather than later. We need this space for costume development, also rehearsing and generally puttering around in a flower alchemical fashion.
What is going on in Russia is breaking my heart. My mom is in Moscow and having a difficult time of it. The smog is horrendous. Villages are burning. Nature preserves are burning. Entire families have perished or lost their homes in seconds.
A possible upside of the tragedy: a more active participation – by Russia's political regime – in climate control. I don't know how well climate can be controlled, mind you. But being self-aware and decreasing the pollution rates.. that is key. It is a shame if that self awareness comes at this price. But if it does trigger positive change.. let's hope that it does.
I am back to folding clothes, singing and settling into this new life.
