Gaian Tarot Artist's Journal

End of the week Bindweed Musings

As the past week unfolded, the lessons of the Bindweed card became clear to me on a number of levels.  I have mused more than once in these pages about strategies for keeping oneself calm, centered and at peace even in the midst of troubling or dramatic events.  Darned if this same theme didn't emerge again this week.

Because that's what it's all about in the end — how to stay calm, peaceful and even joyful when it seems like the whole world is crashing in on you.  This week brought resolution to two major issues in our lives — long term tenants moved into our island home (I am so happy to have an extended island family living there) and the Victorian house that Craig rehabbed finally sold after a year on the market. (We won't break out the champagne until escrow closes, but things are looking very good.)  So there's an end to supporting three houses, which has been a major financial drain this past year, and even more importantly an end to the specter of foreclosure.

Share Your Vision with Obama's Team

I just posted a badge on the left hand column with a direct link to "Change.gov", the new site set up by the office of President-Elect Obama.   How cool is this?  Not only do we have immediate access to the plans and agenda of the new administration, but they are also asking for our stories and visions!  Now, as Ketzirah Carly says, I don't know how they will possibly read all these, but I sure appreciate the opportunity to have my voice be heard.  I have to ponder what I want to write.  There is so much.  But I sure do love Carly's suggestion of turning the White House lawn into an organic garden!  And why not?

Yes we can!

And now the work begins.

 

"This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is the opportunity to make that change." - President-Elect Barack Obama, November 4, 2008.

He made activists out of all of us by enlisting us in his campaign.  And now we must continue our activism and not just go back to our private lives.  It's not about him; it's about us.  And he can't do it without us.

And no, we don't think he's the Messiah. Or Superman. We know it won't be easy for him to fulfill all his promises.  But many of us sense that he does have a "rendezvous with destiny."  He is the right person at the right time, at this pivotal point in our history.  

Oh yes, yes we can.

Make History

Reading: the Wall Street Fall

Like so many of you, I was disturbed yesterday by the news coming out of Wall Street.  Hecate wrote a juicy post about how it impacts us personally, and astrologer Lynn Hayes pointed out that the financial fall happened just as Pluto left expansive Sagittarius for the reality check of Capricorn.  (It will stay in Cap until 2023, BTW.)

The good news about Capricorn (trust me, this Cap knows) is that dedication and hard work are always rewarded.

But first, Pluto breaks down structures to make way for their transformation.  (Read Lynn's article for more insight on Pluto in Cap.)

So I pulled my head out of the creative focus it's been in, over the last few days, and did a short reading. 

I asked:  What do I need to know about the current economic crisis and how it will affect us personally?

Help the Good People of New Orleans

Here's what we can do to help out those affected by Gustav.   Thanks, Mike.

In Which I Get Political

And so it begins.

The emails, the blogs, the tweets, the RSS feeds.  Each of us convinced We are right and They are wrong.

I'm not very political on this blog, partly because I try to keep the content focused on spirituality and creativity, and partly because I truly believe in building bridges with people who don't share my spiritual or political beliefs.  I choose to focus on what we have in common rather than the things that drive us apart.

But it can't be a surprise to any of my blog readers that I am pro-choice, pro-environment, pro-gay rights, pro-universal health care and stand definitely to the blue, left side of the stage. 

Random Thoughts on Earth Day

(Earth Day morning!  This is the same view as the photo I took two days ago. Welcome Spring!)

I have a few thoughts and links for you today, on Earth Day 2008.

Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, makes a good case in this NY Times editorial for why we should bother to “go green” these days, in the face of discouragement and despair that whatever we do won’t be enough to turn the tide of global climate change. 

It’s about a change in consciousness. 

“Sometimes you have to act as if acting will make a difference, even when you can’t prove that it will,”  Pollan writes.   “That, after all, was precisely what happened in Communist Czechoslovakia and Poland, when a handful of individuals like Vaclav Havel and Adam Michnik resolved that they would simply conduct their lives ‘as if’ they lived in a free society. That improbable bet created a tiny space of liberty that, in time, expanded to take in, and then help take down, the whole of the Eastern bloc.”

Do you know about Earth Hour, 8 PM your time tonight?

I read about this yesterday on Beth OwlsDaughter's blog, then received an email from Gaian Tarot reader Danielle Salerno.  I'm going to quote part of Danielle's email to me:

Earth Hour is an initiative run by the World Wildlife Federation to get the notice of the public on reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.  On Saturday March 29th, 2008 communities, individuals, and businesses across the globe will be turning off their lights for one hour, from 8pm to 9pm (local time).  Last year this was done in Sydney, Australia with very encouraging results (i.e. a 10.2% reduction in annual greenhouse gas emissions for the whole city), and this year it is being opened up to the rest of the world.

If each of us turns off our lights for one hour on Saturday night, it would make a big difference globally, both in reducing emissions and in increasing awareness about the seriousness of global warming.  More information about Earth Hour, including an online sign-up and free media can be found at www.earthhour.org.

And just now I stumbled across this report from CNN, "First cities go dark for Earth Hour" . . . Sydney has done it again!

I'm in!  I'll be turning the lights out tonight at 8:00.   How about you?

I'm supporting Al in Bali, please add your voice too

In two days Al Gore is going to address the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia. At his urging, I've signed an important petition showing I support his important call for a visionary treaty to address the climate crisis. I hope you will too.

www.climateprotect.org/standwithal

The world's elected leaders must take the steps necessary to solve global warming.  It's not too late.  We have the opportunity now to improve the Earth's future for our children, and their children.  If we don't act, we will only have ourselves to blame.

(Thanks, Chavala!)