A Thyme Of Peas

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I wanted to write a great post about Earth Day because it’s deeply important to me as I know it is to so many of us these days.  I have been doing quite a bit of research about what’s going on with our Earth today and we’ve had discussions here on this blog about how to deal with what we’ve done/what we are doing to and with our Mother Earth today and at times it’s been rather disheartening.

While researching I happened on an article by Science Daily talking about our oceans and how sick they are and if you go read it, do click to enlarge that photo…..that’s what I mean about becoming disheartened and especially after reading that article and more like them.

I don’t mean to concentrate on the negative because there are many positive things being done today throughout our world.

There are websites all over the net talking about Earth day and Earth Day events and I cannot do it the justice that any of them have done.  I’d almost given up hope of being able to write anything at all but really it’s just that self-doubt thing talking at me again inside my head I know. I’ve got quite a bit to say about how we can recycle, reuse and repurpose things as we go along in life and I’ve had a life time of experience with it and even made a living doing it for a while - living off the money we made while recycling scrap metal.

One thing I found the other day though that really did get me to think again, and to think hopefully, was a video I found at The New York Times website.  It’s about a family who are living, as they say, “Mostly Off the Grid”.   They live on a 1/5 acre plot of land with their mostly solar powered house and hand powered things like the blender that I’m “green” with envy for - even though I have a very fancy high speed, state of the art blender.  It’s given me the incentive to wanting to get on out and wrestle with our berry bushes that took over the garden in the last years and to start growing what we eat again and with me being vegan thereby kinda swaying Aaron towards eating like us vegans, anything from the garden is best for us in all sorts of ways; not just for us but for the Earth around us.

Another thing I found while I was doing research on ecology and our environment was this article about how Denmark is generating too much wind energy with their wind power. What a problem to have, eh?

In the end, there is hope but in my mind I just keep hoping there’s enough time and enough people who are willing to do what it’s going to take to keep this thing going stronger and faster because I really do wonder if there actually is any time or if it’s already too late. I want to be hopeful.

Do you think we have the time to do anything meaningful to save our Mother Earth in time so that our children, our grandchildren and hopefully all the grandchildren to come have an Earth to live and play on like we did?

Technorati Tags: Earth, Earth Day, Ecology, Environment, Mother Earth, Pollution, Recycle, Repurpose, Reuse, Vegans, Wind turbines, World

Do you ever have the feeling that all we do is work to live and live to work?

For a long time now I have been thinking about this and can it be done today in this society. We are, it seems to me, lost in a “money makes right world”. To have land or a home takes money, to make the money we need to work, to get back and forth to work we need more money, and on and on it goes.

So how can one break this cycle of money?

The only way it seems is to get rid of all the stuff;  the car, the home, the job - the whatever then find a cave on Government land and squat. Somewhere with water and plenty of land to farm by hand. I guess what I mean by self sustainability is that in it’s true form. No need for the outside trappings of the world.

Often times I wonder if building a wind turbine and installing solar panels with a huge bank of batteries to power all this electric stuff is the way to go. But it seems that by doing this (wind turbines and solar panels, etc.)  one can never truly be self sustaining. Things break hence the need for repairs and more money, a job or some way to make the money then the vicious circle starts once again. The dance of the modern society.

Oh yes - the advancement of mankind the empowerment of generations wanting life to be easier to make things simpler softer kinder.
Well maybe for those who have the money anyway, or the drive to walk over the next guy to get it.

Is this what life is all about?

I think not.

Maybe I was just born too late? To me the simple things like working the land, accepting what nature has or did provide us with before we killed most of it off to make life simpler.

For a few years as a young hippy living in northern California on FBLM (Federal Bureau of Land Management) land, without electric or running water, with no rent, no taxes, no car, no job, a garden, no need for money, other than for the occasional purchase of rice or grains we could not grow; and come to think of it did not really need;  Now that was what I call self-sustaining.  It was the only time since being a child that I did not need to worry about cash and how to get more.

Yes, that Aaron guy can sure ramble.

So how is it now, today, that one can be fully self sustainable in the society we live in?  Things have changed in so many ways since the olden days.  I am open to any and all comments on this topic.

One other statement I have heard over and over is that without electricity the modern society would crumble in no time at all.  Now we face that crumble;  If not this week surely in a short period of time, with things getting worse world wide. Electric seems one of the smallest worries, if we have no food who cares if we have working refridgerator to cool it?

I will post more on this as my thoughts formulate so as not to ramble on too long at one time.   Lol.

Love to you all, Peace.

What are your thoughts on sustainability? What does sustainable mean to you?

Aaron

Technorati Tags: Economy, Freedom, Life, Off the grid, Self-sustainability, solar panels, Wind turbines, World

It’s very still here.
There is a peace and silence that is deafening.
It is a place where nothing seems to be able to touch me.
It is a place where I can stand and
     watch the whole world spinning by,
          whirling in its array of activities
               and struggles
                    and conflicts
                         and joys
                              and anguish;
yet I remain still, untouched.

It’s neither a warm or cold place.
It’s neither an easy or difficult place.
It’s neither a sad or happy place.
It just is.
There is no activity here.
There is no hurry to get to the next appointment
     or finish the next project or to …
there is just IS.

There is a certain detachment that allows observance here.
There is no judgement,
     but rather a tremendous and profound permission granted
          from some unknown source
               to simply be and accept.

Others could confuse this place with depression,
     for in this place there is such an absence of emotion.
But when you settle into this place,
     you realize that there is profound peace.
This is not depression.
This is oneness.
Feelings run deep here,
     yet merge into the oneness of being.
Pain and joy are one.
Sadness and elation are one.
Ecstasy is the constant state — yes, bliss.
Yet this is not how I would have described those terms
     in my human ego’s perceptions.
Ecstasy and bliss are states of being,
     not states of doing.
And the ego know nothing of being.
The ego only knows doing.

How does one get to this place?
Everyone is on their way to here in their own time.
Every experience is preparation.
Every moment is a step closer,
     even when you feel like you are running the other way.
It’s all part of the journey to the quiet.
It’s a place where everything is reduced
     to its simplest form and meaning.
It’s a place where the criteria for choices becomes
     whatever allows you to continue being;
          not getting caught up in doing.
Many struggles may lead you to this quiet place.
Yet when you arrive,
     suddenly there is peace.
Everything else has simply fallen away.

How did I get here?
Carrying wood.
While carrying and stacking firewood to provide heat for the winter,
     I suddenly arrived here.
Carrying wood made sense to me.
Carrying wood helped me to get to “being” instead of “doing.”
How long can I stay here?
Each time I arrive here I am able to stay longer,
     but then my ego pulls me back into “doing.”
Yet each time I come back here,
     I get into deeper chambers of this quiet place,
          and I get more comfortable with “being” and not “doing.”

It’s very still here.
This place is where God lives within me.
This place is my soul.
This place is my oneness with every creature
     and with every point in time.
This place is my truth, my essence.
This place is sacred and to be honored above all else.
This place is Love.

Intuitive Living: A Sacred Path by Alan Seale

 

Technorati Tags: Detachment, Earth, Humanity, Love, Oneness, Peace, World

Meditative Peace Walk
Across the Golden Gate Bridge
in support of the monks & nuns in Burma

Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Gather at 9:30am, Vista Point (Marin side)
Walk at 10am ( rain or shine)

Led by Burmese monks and Buddhist clergy, including Jack Kornfield, Alan Clements, Jeannine Davies, Eugene Cash, Blanche Hartman, and other senior teachers.
We will walk in peace to support the democracy movement in Burma. We call on China to reflect the peaceful values of the Olympics by:

1. immediately halting arms supplies to Burma
2. demonstrating support for a comprehensive UN Security Council arms embargo on Burma.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WHY April 9?

This is the day that San Francisco hosts the Olympic Torch Relay, which is making its way to Beijing to start the Summer Games. San Francisco is the only North American city to host the Relay.

Why China and the Olympics?

The August 2008 Beijing Olympics are a key opportunity to draw attention to China’s role in the suffering of the Burmese people. China is a major supporter of and trading partner with Burma, not only in oil and natural gas but they are the largest single supplier of military goods to Burma. Further, China vetoed a resolution at the United Nations which called for dialogue, national reconciliation and the release of all political prisoners.

Why Burma?

The monks of Burma are engaged in one of the most visible, potent non–violent revolutions in our time. As concerned people of the (more) free world, we can support this ongoing movement through our actions here. The people of Burma take great strength from our actions and knowing that the international community supports their struggle for basic human rights and democracy.

Details: This is a permitted walk. Parking is limited in bridge areas and we will have shuttles running from the SF side to Vista Point so that people will only have to walk one way. Wear red! The Bridge has strict rules. All signs must be hand held by one person. No sticks. Signs must be 3 feet by 2 feet at most. No musical instruments, banners, or flags. We can have these things before and after just not while on bridge.

Schedule:

8:30 Park at Battery Park gravel (free)) parking lot on southeast side of bridge at Lincoln St. (directions below). Shuttles will be running across the bridge until 9:15am.
9:30 We will gather at Vista Point on the Marin side of bridge in front of the flagpole.
9:50 Move towards the Bridge
10am Begin walking.

Sponsored by the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, Burmese American Democratic Alliance (BADA), International Burmese Monks Organization Inc. (Sasana Moli), US Campaign for Burma, Burmese Youth Assoc., The World Dharma Online Institute and World Dharma’s Burma Project USA, & Global Exchange.

Call 707-360-8452 or 510-220-1323 for more information or go to www.bpf.org

Directions to Battery Parking lot. This is on east side of Bridge. Take Hwy 1 North to the “last SF exit” going towards Marin. Pass by paved bridge lot. Turn right at stop sign. Then left at next stop sign on to Lincoln St. going towards Crissy Field. Parking lot is the gravel lot immediately on your left. Shuttles will run continuously until 9:30. You can also park on the Southwest side of bridge and walk through tunnel to east side.

Public transport: 29 & 28 MUNI stop near toll plaza. 29 MUNI stops right in front on parking lot. All Golden Gate Transit buses going north and south stop at Toll Plaza.

World Dharma Productions
1950 West Broadway
P.O. Box 29004
Vancouver, BC, Canada V6J5C2

Technorati Tags: Burma, Democracy, Freedom, Peace

You can make a difference in helping to get others to take notice of the importance of saving energy by joining us in the “Earth Hour 2008″ campaign.  The two central goals for Earth Hour 2008 campaign is to help get as many people, houses, communities and businesses to turn off their lights on March 29th, 2008 from 8pm– 9pm.

The main goal of this campaign is to help make a bold statement that the climate changes we are facing are very real and that something as simple as turning out our lights is an important thing that is easily enough done that can truly make a difference.   The hope is that people will continue to look for ways to cut their energy consumption and look for new ways to do things that will help, not harm the Mother Earth we live on.

From the website, EarthHour.org:

“Global warming is one of the greatest threats the world has ever faced. Our continued reliance on electricity sourced from coal-fired power stations is causing a dramatic increase in the Earth’s temperature, resulting in rising sea levels, an increase in drought and severe storms, and massive changes to the environment we all rely on to survive.

For example, if the greenhouse reduction achieved in the Sydney CBD during Earth Hour was sustained for a year, it would be equivalent to taking 48,616 cars off the road for a year.”

This started last year in Sydney, Australia and over 2.2 million Sydney residents took part in; additionally, over 2,100 businesses turned off their lights for Earth Hour. The cities that are taking part this year, as of right now are:

Atlanta, San Francisco, Phoenix, Bangkok, Ottawa, Vancouver, Montreal and Dublin will join Sydney, Perth, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide, Copenhagen, Aarhus, Aalborg, Odense, Manila, Suva, Chicago, Tel Aviv, Toronto and Christchurch.

WWF expects that more than 30 million people will be involved this year, and is still hoping more cities will get on board. To find out more about this campaign and what more we can do, both personally and for our communities, please see their website at EarthHour.

Here at our house we plan on some meditation time and if the weather is decent, going out for a walk. Since we live out in the country it probably won’t look much different than it usually does but I imagine that in those cities involved it will look distinctively different with the lights off.

Technorati Tags: Carbon Emissions, Carbon footprints, Earth Hour, Earth Hour 2008, Energy Conservation, Global Warming, World Wide Fund for Nature