Treesong

I'm making a firm commitment to get my own vehicle as soon as humanly possible. Unfortunately, this decision comes at a time when I have few economic resources. It also comes at a time when our society is filled with insane internal combustion engines and few commercially available electric vehicles. Therefore, in order to strengthen my resolve and raise consciousness about renewable energy, I've decided to track my progress towards owning my own electric vehicle.

I am pleased to wish you a happy Spring Equinox! At 12:48 AM CDT, the sun crossed directly over the equator. From this point forward, our days will be longer than our nights, and the flowers and buds of Spring will be flowering and budding all around us. This is a time for new life, new hope, deep healing, and reawakening passions and pleasures. HOORAY FOR SPRING!

On a sadder note, I am dramatically less pleased to announce that today is also the 5th anniversary of the start of the Iraq War. About 4,000 U.S. troops -- our family, friends, and neighbors -- have died in this war, and many thousands more have been wounded, permanently disabled, or otherwise harmed. I would cite how many Iraqis have been killed or wounded, but as the illustrious General Tommy Franks said, "We don't do body counts." The number of Iraqis killed and wounded, though, is many times higher than our own losses.

So take a moment, if you will, to bear witness to the horrors of war that have been unleashed and sustained by certain heartless men in Washington DC and their accomplices across the nation. Take a moment to mourn for the fallen, and take a moment to act in some way to ensure that this occupation will end, the killing will stop, and our family, friends, and neighbors will come home.

But once you've taken your moment to bear witness, and to mourn, and to act, remember that today is the Spring Equinox -- a day of new life, new hope, deep healing, and reawakening passions and pleasures. Remember to be joyful on this day, because after all that the war mongers have already done, we must not let them take the joyful celebration of Spring away from us. This is not their day; this is our day, and this is the Earth's day. Go outside, enjoy the warmth and the sunshine, and celebrate the fact that even with all of the troubles in the world, the land is still teeming with the exuberance and excitement of Spring.

Seize the Day! Spend time with the ones you love, explore the great outdoors, and enjoy all that life has to offer! This is our moment in the sun, and we should enjoy it while it lasts...

Spring is upon us! The days are longer; the snow is melting; the sun is shining; the temperature's rising; and it looks like the worst of the winter weather has finally broken. As the sun and the warmth return to the land, I find my energy returning. My heart is filled with a new sense of hope, and my goals and visions and plans are returning to the forefront of my attention with a renewed sense of urgency.

I've been noticing once again that the themes of my spiritual life really do tend to fall into synch with the themes of the seasonal holidays. These past few months of harsh, cold winter have been like a trip into the underworld -- and the coming of Imbolc has been like the return of my inner sun, rising to meet the springtime sun on the horizon.

It looks like I'll be missing part or all of my shift at the Co-op today due to the challenging travel conditions. So, rather than catching up on any of my numerous other tasks in life, I thought I'd write a new blog entry about the weather, my life, and anything else that comes to mind.

The "beatific vision" is a religious term for the eternal and direct perception of God that is said to be enjoyed by those in Heaven. For me, though, the Divine -- or "God," if you prefer -- is not a bearded old man who rules from on high in some distant Heaven. The Divine is all around us, and within us, right here on Earth. Therefore, the beatific vision is not some distant mystical state that we will only experience once we've shed this mortal coil. It's the birthright of every living being -- and it can only be found through the power of universal love.

Samhain is always a big time of year for me. This year has been no exception. Now that the old year has passed away and the new one is waiting to be born, I thought I'd share some of my latest reflections on the state of my life and the state of the world.

Harvest time has been a busy time as usual this year. In fact, the prolonged spell of hot weather seemed to add a certain feverish quality to the usual buzz of activity that always comes during the harvest season. Now that the cold rains of fall are finally upon us, though, I feel inspired to write a blog entry about Samhain.

For a long time now, I've been in a rut. I wouldn't call it depression, though it's certainly had depressive aspects at times. Instead, I would say that it's been more of a sabbatical. I was tired, broke, and disillusioned, so I took a big step back from my grandiose revolutionary schemes in order to recuperate, regenerate, and reflect upon my life and my world.

In many ways, this was a good thing. It gave me the time to develop closer relationships with my friends; it gave me new perspective on my goals and challenges; it lead me on a variety of quirky adventures and side quests that I would have never had the pleasure of exploring if I hadn't given myself some breathing room.

But eventually, rest became inertia; stability became entropy; doubt became defeatism. Without even realizing it, I started to accept the problems in my life, my community, and my world as inescapable givens. The people I know and love will always be poor and disempowered; the community I live in will always be conformist and apathetic; the nation I live in will never rise to the challenge of changing economic and political systems that are causing so much social and ecological havoc. This may be unfortunate, but this is the way of things, and all that I can do is ensure that my personal contribution is positive (or at least neutral).

This attitude went on for a while, just under the surface, undercutting my otherwise positive attitude with a pernicious pessimism. Eventually, though, I remembered something.

I remembered that I have the power to create change in my life, my community, and my world.

This may seem completely random... but I've decided today to dedicate an entire blog entry to Freddie Mercury. Maybe it's a belated birthday present to him... but whatever the reason, I figure now is as good of a time as any to share my thoughts on this epic bard whose legend lives on today.