The Blame Game....

To continue on yesterday's theme...

For those of you who are blaming the Democratic party for giving us a less that desirable candidate... or that it is corrupt... burned Bernie... etc...

Let me ask you this:

What did we gain from your protesting and tantrum against Hillary? Do all her flaws add up to being more dangerous than the Monster we just elected?

And before you start in with your "she's a lousy candidate"... you are a lousy voter... remember even Bernie said vote for Hillary because we can not afford 4 years of dismantling the progress we have made... and for all your love of him you could not get over selves and be adult and vote to support the Democrat because you dislike her for (insert what ever your lame excuse is here).

42% of all white voters voted for Trump....
53% of white women voted for Trump
62% of white males for for Trump

I'm inclined to believe these numbers reflect those who will be least negatively affected by this election... those who are not connected in any meaningful way to to the communities who will be damaged by Trump's presidency. It easy to weigh the risks based on your privilege and  status in society. It's easy if your not profiled... or harassed by your boss... or denied a promotion for your sex... or ostresized by society... it's easy to look the other way and pretend you care.

 So.... before post another hair-splitting-mash-up- Monday-morning-quarterbacking-dem-bashing opinion-piece.... Or.... this is why the Democratic party sucks post... We had one  job as voters and that was to not let this guy near the presidency. We failed.... let that sink in....

As The Dust Settles...

I'm hoping to share with you some of my more burning thoughts about this election... I don't expect everyone to agree...

I can make the general statement today that Trump winning this election is a painful and surprising... Jolting... revelation for many of us. Yes, this man won... he won with his hate, misogyny, xenophobia, ignorance... and utter detachment to the real needs of America. 

Trump's method was simple....Getting a rise out people... calling for expressions of rage toward different people...  these are not points of connection. This is poking a festering wound (employment, health care, marginalization, immigration, ignorance...)with an ice pick and asking does that hurt?  Of course it does.... and now the candidate says anything to justify that pain... lie... distract... blame... and the people... in the throws of that pain are feeling... left out and cheated... suffering...  they will be believe what ever it takes for it to stop. Sounds like a kind of torture... and it is... a kind of brain washing... it worked... He bent reality to feed his ego and to get a response that has lead us here. and yet the wound he poked was never given medicine only more to fester on...

For those of you who voted for the 3rd party choices or wrote in some random name because you felt you need to vote your conscious... Let me ask you this:

When you voted your conscience did you think of the next seven generations? 

I know a lot of you will drop this concept at the drop of a hat. Proudly stating your convictions to people, all beings, the planet..... yet... really... Were you conscious?  How about the next seven generations of African Americans? Muslims? Hispanics? LGBTQ?  or any other group that might be the victims of violence, rage and deportation?  Was it Conscious to not see them as important or possible victims of a Trump presidency? Or is that necessary collateral damage as long as we get our 5% for the Green party?  Our protest vote?  

For me it feels unconscious and selfish... being right should never over ride the need to do the right thing. Can you look into the eyes of anyone in these groups and say I voted my conscious  because I knew it was best in the long run even if you live in terror for the next 4 years?

I'm not delusional I know suffering exists... but to justify this president for any reason seems to also say we can afford to accept that their are certain people, places and things who are on some level expendable... I find this appalling...  

Like everyone else I'm running the full gamut of emotions and responses... Between feeling and functioning and figuring out a plan... I also know in order to hold it together and create the least amount of damage to the most vulnerable people in this country... the environment... with this result  we need to look inside ourselves and ask these questions.

This election has shown all the fractures between us... all the ways we justify our ego and actions to feel better about something so awful... REALLY AWFUL. It's as bad as it gets for now and WE all need to get that and really work together so it does not get worst. And to be clear that is not about holding up the "establishment"... or inhibiting change... This is protecting the democracy that states we are all equal... that we all have rights... 

We might have to get honest... real honest... and remember what we see in him could be is in us too reflected outward in a different manner.

Moon poem #127

Between her full self
and the ocean
spead the clouds.
Modestly slipping over
Her curves
Keeping her
veiled

Sacred Art

I have been on my path for 25 plus years, learning and researching, discovering and creating. Before the internet.... Before the Social media movement. I have worked hard to understand the complexities of the creative process as a healing trans formative experience. To learn things... Obtain knowledge... I have sacrificed my resources, time, relationships, and have moved to be close to the sources of my education. I have practiced and made things over and over to understand... Hone my skills... Explore my expressions and design improvements in the art I make and.... myself. The sacred object is an invitation to a connection to spirit and the translator... mediator... artist. It's not a thing... it's a conscious living being. It lives in the community... as each of us learns to see and explore each other... through ceremony, drumming, healing, celebrating....

Because of this work I have seen miracles... People's lives change... Beautiful places... Beautiful things...

And those desperate times when I could not imagine this working.... With no money...  I have slept in the freezing and the damp... Places with mice and bugs... I have traveled 1000's of miles and slept in my car... a tent.... I know what it's like to be out there and alone... I know what it's like to be in a room full of people and not a single one understands what I do. This only affirmed the need to create more and bridge the spaces where the sacred, art and beauty are a universal language...

My work... Rattles, drums, jewelry, malas, pouches... Etc... Are born from my journey... They have moved out into the world finding homes and special places... Ceremonies... Healing rooms.... Drum circles... they are the children of my heart doing their work in the world. They speak a universal language across time, space, culture... moving into the deeper places of awareness and mystery. They invoke memories of something that once was and  the present moment full of feelings and experiences. Sometimes, I even get to see them again along my continued journey and hear their stories.

This path has been my life line to my self awareness and as a personal healing... a creative therapy for the mind and soul. I would do it again. 

The sacred object is an invitation to a connection to spirit and the translator... mediator... artist. It's not a thing... it's a conscious living being. it lives in the community as each of us learns to see and learn about each other... through ceremony, drumming, healing, celebrating....

Dreams

Dreams shatter
Like ice
Sharp edges soften
Melt
Turning into puddles
Evaporating
over time
waking up

Cars...

As some of you know, I drive a lot. My world view is framed by the shape of my windshield. I have trekked across the country up and down the eastern seaboard... a long route 101 in California.. Canada... and  in the UK where everything is different... and after a dreadful flight, no sleep, and some airport coffee made for a stimulating experience for all involved.  Round-abouts are not for the faint of heart.... I digress..

I started driving late in life. Mid twenties... I was avid walker, public transportation rider and bicycled a lot.... This is because of poverty not necessarily any environment awareness. It was survival... I had to make due with what I had. I lived in places where one could live without a car pretty comfortably. That framed my edges and growth.

It became apparent at some point that I would need to get a car and start  on that road to another kind of independence and expansion. I did not have a lot of money then, most of my cars were  recycling projects that required endless prodding, encouragement, swearing... and tinkering. I could not talk about the environment... I was part of the problem,  a kind of mobile "Superfund Site" that left puddles and pools of fluids everywhere... belching smoke... and weird noises... sometimes loud  noises. Yet these rusty auto projects and poverty taught me a lot.... how to fix things... how to ignore a "check engine" light that comes on at a particular mileage point... how to patch a muffler together with baling wire and plumbing parts.......change a tire.... I am an artist when it comes to Bondoing rust....problem solving glitches... etc... All good life skills. Unfortunately, I never got to make my car noises on Car Talk... bummer...

As I have progressed in my work, the  cars have gotten less life threatening and more environmentally aligned (to the relief of family and friends).  And the journey continues...

From  Facebook  this year,  some of you know I'm in the market for a new car. My trusted chariot... 1998  Honda CRV is in it's last days (227,7774.9 miles) Car shopping in never easy and its a necessary evil in the process of weeding out what you can get for what you got and can finance... it takes time... research...  and listening to sometimes disingenuous cars sales people... test drives... and reading the fine print.

I need to resolve my car choices  this week I have many more miles to put on the road this year and next. And if any of you could throw some good car mojo  my way that would be great... or if you have a lead on a car car that could fit in my world let me know.  I'll keep you all informed about my progress and the new wheels....

Heat

The Sky is burning

lands scorched and left

without water

charred

crumbling

brittle

cracked

Sleeping time capsule of seeds 

determined

conserving

looking for the rains to come..

days

weeks

years

years

years

Recognizing the dire out come

 bewildered...

Do they know?

Do they see?

Will they change?