Nature: The Original Internet

This morning I was feeling a little out of sorts. Low energy and very little motivation to do anything before I had to be at work. I had noticed that some excess moisture had built up on the windows of our cabin over the winter months, due to drying laundry inside and also from all of the moist seedling trays we have in there at night. So I made a tub of natural cleaning solution and scrubbed away for over an hour. While I scrubbed the mold, I felt an intense sadness, but I didn't know why. Then I climbed onto a chair to clean the top of one window and was startled by a snake skin that a former tenant must have placed up there. Interesting find. Shedding old skin?

When I finished the cleaning, I opened up all of the windows to the sunny spring air and lit some Nag Champa incense to clear the house. Ahhhhh. Much better. 

I decided to go sit in the morning sunshine on a log in the garden.  As I sat and felt the warm sun on my face and the gentle breeze in my hair and on my neck, I closed my eyes and I soaked in all of the sounds around me. I heard a woodpecker loudly knocking in the distance. I heard a pair of frogs down in the creek calling to each other. I heard the bees buzzing in the patch of heather flowers on my right. I could hear the neighbors flock of geese and some wild geese playing in the pond just over a small hillside. I heard a hummingbird squeak. I opened my eyes and saw him in a fruit tree nearby. He zoomed away. Then i noticed a pretty orange butterfly amongst the bees and purple and white heather. 

I heard another tiny clicking sound and saw something out of the corner of my eye. I looked to my left and it was a very cute, round, brown mouse. He was trotting happily along the bright green garden hose that was stretched along through the garden.  I sat very still watching him. He stopped periodically to nibble things. Then to my surprise, he made a bee line ...straight toward me. He came right to me, as if he had heard me calling his name. He came closer and closer and then jumped right up onto the toe of my boot. He seemed to say hello. Then he hopped down between my boots, and sat for a minute chewing on some clover. Next to him in the grass sat a small bumble bee warming himself in the heat of the sun enough to be able to take off on a mission. The mouse looked up at me and made his clicking sound, then made his way to the heather patch to join the bees and butterfly. I sat there smiling and enjoying the sun and the magic of nature. Then I thanked everything that was present around me and realized that the sadness and angst had disappeared. Nature IS the best therapy. The information contained within the wilds of Mother Nature is endless. 

Here is something interesting that I read:

http://spirit-animals.com/mouse/

Not so long ago, we came from nature. We are nature at our core. Eckhart Tolle says that birds, crystals and flowers are the three most enlightened forms of matter on the planet. They are the things that we humans adore and the things that we aspire to be. Light, flight and beauty. Its so true. As I typed that last line, a hummingbird buzzed around me garden chirping up a storm. She landed in the top of a cherry and tree and is watching me as much as I am watching her.  When I was little, I found a lifeless hummingbird in my father's airplane hangar. I picked him up and admired his rainbow of feathers. I said a few words for him and buried him in the forest underneath a flap of moss that covered a huge rock that we neighborhood kids had a secret fort at. We dubbed it "hummingbird rock" after that. Hummingbirds have always fascinated me. So tiny and so fast and so quick to appear and disappear. They are abundant on this property. Sipping nectar from the peach blossoms and playing tag in the sun. 

Hmmmmm....

http://spirit-animals.com/hummingbird/

Mother Nature is the origin of every single one of us. As children, many of us spent the majority of our time getting down and dirty outdoors. It was hard to tear us away from the endless wonders that nature supplied us with. Nature, not electronics, used to be the best babysitter. We were one with the wildness. Yet, as we age and "grow up", many of us humans disregard her and treat her like a moody teenager treats their parents. Eye rolls at the weather, disrespect, attitude, lack of gratitude, entitlement of her resources. Sound familiar? We all know folks that have this view of the planet. Then, one day they feel guilty, so they go visit her because they feel like it's what they are supposed to do every once in a while. An obligation. This is family disfuction at its finest. Respect your mother (earth). 

Spending time with her is what we ALL need more of. Hands down. She holds the secrets and answers to everything, and many of us have forgotten how to ask with our hearts because the e-version of the worldwide web is at our fingertips. What about the original World Wide Web of Life? The one that is engrained in all of us? So many have forgotten how to access it. No wifi required. No electricity even! Time to shake off the dust and relearn to connect with your true roots.

Get into the wild. Into the forest. Into the sun and rain and mud. Into the garden. Get into the rhythms of the sun a moon and the seasons and the plants and animals. Plug yourself into the original source. Make. the. time. Even 15 minutes each day. For you. Notice how you feel. Really notice.... 

Loosen the Reins.

It's that funny time between Christmas and the New Year and things feel a bit slow and unplanned. It's kind of a holiday free-for-all where lounging in pj's 'till noon and eating weird leftovers for breakfast is totally acceptable.

I admit. I have been trying to force things along to get to the next stop on our journey. Where will we go next? What's around the next corner? As far as I can tell, we are still on a road trip - Just back on Canadian soil. Living out of our suitcase, skipping around to visit friends and family all over Vancouver Island is wonderful. But... we all have our limits. I'm ready for some solitude.

It just dawned on me that there is a very good reason that I'm hanging out on a sofa in Lantzville, sipping a coffee while our car is getting poked and prodded by a pair of jolly reunited cousins in greasy coveralls. A perfect pause to write a blog post.

We had a very un-traditional Christmas season. Not surprising, eh? We stayed with some pals who harvested their own 12' tree from the woods, hauled it home and a team of 5 of us decorated it to the nines. I have opted out of chopping down trees to enjoy a brief period of holiday cheer for my entire life, opting instead for decorating mini living potted trees or the occasional artificial tree. So this was a first for me. I must say, we had a lot of fun. I'm feeling inclined to go plant a tree though...no, seriously.

Later that week, we helped gift-wrap a bunch of (someone else's) gifts for our friends to bring back to northern Alberta. Also a rare occasion for me. Also lots of fun. I slowly transitioned away from giving people "stuff" several years ago (ok..except for the mix CDs that I passed out last year). Instead, for several years, I opted to purchase "living gifts" from Ten Thousand Villages, a fair trade chain of retailers. These gifts range from school supplies to seeds to milk cows and goats. They go to villages in developing countries who need a meal more than any of us need a new iPad or diamond earrings. Less stuff, more love. 

It's not about how much we spend on a gift or if it was equivalent to what someone else gave or what we received. Eventually, I realized that I didn't really have to spend any money on anything for anyone. I am convinced that the people who know me well, know that they are special to me and don't need a sparkly greeting card or a trinket to know that I'm thinking of them - every month of the year. 

When I asked what their favorite part of Christmas was, two little boys didn't hesitate one moment to say that it was "when grandma took us skiing and we stayed at a cool hotel with a pool!"  It wasn't the Legos. Or the cool shoes. Or the skateboards. Or the gift cards. Or the money. It was the memories. They will never wear out, be out of style, need replacing, upgrading or repairs. Even kids don't "need" stuff.

On Christmas Eve, we were super grateful to be included in a family get-together with some good friends and their new wee babe, and a handful of their family members. We all collaborated to make an awesome Christmas dinner. While their family shared a fun gift exchange, I enjoyed capturing the events on our friend's lovely camera. Baby's first Christmas is pretty special. I was a bit rusty since my photography school days 10 years ago, but I found my groove and snapped away.

On Christmas Day, we met up with some cousins and took a long hike up a mountain.  I was wearing a dress and leggings under my jacket and was told it would be a "little stroll". I laughed at the top after an extremely muddy, steep one-hour climb to the top, as I thought about the time wasted on styling my hair all fancy that morning (which I seldom bother doing). It was sweat-drenched and wild from the adventure. We then took a wrong trail back down the mountain and deep in the thick forest of the northwest, it gets awfully dark, awfully quickly. We eventually found our car at the base (thank goodness for smartphone flashlights...yes, they are handy!) and decided we should try to make this a yearly Christmas tradition. Good times can come from unexpected events. So...then we did the same thing on Boxing Day!!! In a different park. With more people. And a baby. And two Labradors. With extra smartphone flashlights. It was Not on purpose. But it was an equally fun and memorable adventure in the dark woods.

(Note to self: If I had tried to plan the week surrounding Christmas, those things would likely never have happened.)

 

Which is my lead-in to...

This time of year is great for reflecting on what memories and experiences we have been gifted with (the good, the bad and the ugly) and to learn from our mistakes aka "misreading the signs" that are always right in front of our noses. 

Sometimes we try to force things to happen the way we think they should and despite repeated blatant "no's" from the universe, we keep on trying. Pushing. Forcing. Controlling. 

One of my goals for 2014 is to stop trying to direct the details of life. I have been well aware of the "green lights" and the "red lights" (oooh sounds Christmasy) of life for years and yet... I still find myself feeling upset because things failed to materialize the way that I pictured them. How self-centered is that? Hmmmm. 

Could you use a little loosening of the reins? Maybe a lot of loosening? Yeah. Me too. 2014 is now officially known as the Year of the Loose Reins.

Life knows what to do without us micromanaging it. It's got millions of years of experience under it's saddle!

Let's see where life takes us. 

Sit back and enjoy the ride.

Get up. Stand up. Yes, you.

I have spent many, many hours, which translates to hundreds of kilometers, riding my bicycle around the county roads of rural Alberta. It's field after field of genetically modified organisms (GMO's), being repeatedly sprayed with a toxic chemical cocktail (made largely of petroleum byproducts), which feed us, our families and the livestock that ends up on your dinner table. Amongst nearly every farmer's crop is an oil or gas well. Often both. At night, huge flames light up the skyline, flaring off the waste gases from the wells. It stinks. In more than one way. 

It's evident to me that the oil and gas industry has an upper hand, and that BIG agriculture has the other upper hand. They're giving each other a big, sweaty high five right over top of Alberta's heartland.  I would even go as far as saying that they have a secret handshake, and a treehouse where they meet with the banks, insurance agencies, public health providers, government "officials", pharmaceutical companies...and Walmart (to name a few). I am yet to actually document this...but stay tuned. 

What I'm getting at here is that every choice YOU make (by using your inner wisdom...yup. it's in you. I promise.) that uninvolves all of these huge organizations brings you one step closer to your innate birthright of freedom.  

(Canada, don't fool yourself, most of the same things apply to us too.)

For me, things like riding a used bicycle, growing my own food, bartering (really?! Yes!) educating myself on natural health solutions, supporting small local merchants and most of all, speaking to other people about what I believe and about my hopes for a better tomorrow are bringing me ever closer to the life I imagine for our future generations. 

There is a big difference between being awake and aware of what is really happening in the world (starting in your own home) and then actually doing something about it.  So many folks say "I don't want to know! I'm happier not knowing." Or "I can't make a difference anyway." Then there are those who say "well, I sure do my part! I recycle!" Or "I use a cloth grocery bag".  Well, don't get me wrong, those things are great, but honestly folks, that simply is not enough to turn this sinking ship we call humanity around!

We North Americans (and probably all corporate-run countries) have a tendency to pack every moment of our day so full that we won't take the time to notice the bigger picture. We are so absorbed in work and "obligations" (or so we like to tell ourselves) and made-up busy stuff. Working day and night to earn enough for that shiny new vehicle and that all-inclusive holiday and toys and new clothes and appliances  and...and...AND....when is enough going to be enough? 

In 10 years of not owning a television, I have been able to think for myself, have more free time, get outdoors, meet new people, find out what really matters to me (and to others) speak my truth and make a difference, even if it's a small one. The down side of not having a tv is.......(*crickets chirping*.....)

Do yourself and your families a HUGE favor and get rid of your bossy talk box.  Your kids will probably cry. Maybe for days or even weeks. It's called withdrawal. TV and video games (and smart phones, iPads, etc) are a serious addiction. They will recover and on the other side, they will become happier, healthier, less moody, more creative, more active, more like kids are supposed to be! These things are robbing us humans of so many key components of thriving!  Not to mention that no matter how you slice it and dice it and try to justify it, you are being told what to think, how to act and what to consume consciously and subconsciously every single time you turn these things on. And pleeeeeease don't give your electronics to someone else! They need to wake up too! Smash them with a baseball bat and/or chuck it into the local electronics reclamation site (making darn sure that it shatters and is unfixable). I'm serious. Help yourself. Help your loved ones to break the cycle of a mindless existence. Get outdoors. It's nature...natural. Where we are supposed to be. 

Once you have started doing these things, we can make up our own secret handshake and build our own tree houses and enjoy the beauty and freedom we deserve. I don't know about you, but when I was born, I don't recall signing anything that said I agreed to taxation, vaccination, food poisoning, or slavery. We have all come to accept this as normal. Just like our parents did and their parents did. Well it's not normal. So stand up and speak up. Start living. 

Ps. On a lighter note, check out this super creative music video about living simply. And riding a bike. Love it!

http://m.music.cbc.ca/blogs/2013/5/Video-premiere-Jeremy-Fishers-Built-to-Last

PPs. Ignore this box. I can't make it go away. Hahaha. Ha. Technology. Pssssh.