I rise at 4 to 4:30 these days, and sit in the dark responding to stars one morning and clouds the next, receiving what comes. Impermanence.
My grandson is six today. He’s entranced with snakes so Jungle James came to his birthday party on Saturday, bringing four amazing snakes, and entertaining children and adults for an hour. The snakes were carefully passed around so we could touch and stroke in alignment with the scales. I’m with the beauty of this earth we share, the love of touch.
Yesterday I was at the beach for a five year old’s birthday party. Five children to celebrate a five year old. Each child’s party favor was a kite. In the howling wind, the father patiently put each kite together and each child waited patiently for their turn. Grandson got a green King Cobra kite, which he found thrilling since he loves snakes and the color green.
I’m with the words of Julia Butterfly Hill:
If we take action out of anger, we’re only making more problems in the world. But when you can take action out of love, then miracles can happen.
The news today is beyond devastating as Musk takes over our government and shuts down foreign aid. There is no compassion in this, no awareness of how many will be affected in this country and the world.
The Trump administration has also warned more than 1,100 Environmental Protection Agency employees who work on climate change, reducing air pollution, enforcing environmental laws and other programs that they could be fired at any time.
That’s in addition to the insanity of the tariffs.
Meanwhile my local family-owned grocery store Good Earth sends this email which I’m thrilled to honor and respect. I wonder why this isn’t more publicized.
They announce: This is a day without immigrants and products will be limited.
Today, Monday, February 3rd is the Day Without Immigrants, a grassroots organizing movement focused on unifying the voices of immigrants across the country. Today, people throughout the United States are refraining from going to work, attending school, and shopping to help demonstrate the essential impact that immigrants have on our society.
At Good Earth, we recognize that this is an important moment for many of our staff. We support our staff members choice to strike and participate in this day of activism. We also support our staff members who have elected to work today.
We are focused on providing grocery essentials today, however, our product offerings will be very limited in both stores, and all of our food service counters, bakery counters, and cafes will be closed. We ask for your patience with out of stock items and for your support of our staff.
Today I was in the Sausalito bookstore, Books by the Bay. This time of year, stores in Sausalito participate in a contest display of gingerbread houses. Perusing, I met a lovely woman visiting from India who had just come from Muir Woods. We both agreed Muir Woods is a cathedral. She shared a photo with this sign.
Last night I started reading Nicholas Kristof’s memoir Chasing Hope. It offers an opportunity to learn what journalists risk to bring us the news. I was enticed when a friend told me the story of Kristof’s son’s birthday party in Japan. Kristof set up the game of Musical Chairs.
He writes on his blog: For Gregory’s birthday, we invited his classmates over and taught them to play musical chairs. Disaster! The children, especially the girls, were traumatized by having to push aside others to gain a seat for themselves. What unfolded may have been the most polite, most apologetic, and least competitive game of musical chairs in the history of the world.
Right now we have an election where one side blatantly lies and somehow it’s seen as okay. In my opinion, there are a multitude of reasons to vote for Kamala Harris but there’s one that defines a democracy, health care for all including those with preexisting conditions. We’re in this together, and we each contribute in our way. Just that one issue should decide the presidential election.
Life is not a game. We live on a planet of abundance in a country rich with resources. There’s no reason to leave anyone out. We have enough chairs.
Yesterday a friend and I went to the Presidio Tunnel Tops to walk around and see the views. It’s an easy walk from the Presidio to Crissy Field, so gentle movement from grass to sand. We began up top with the Visitor Center where we learned of Michael Painter’s vision that inspired others to cooperate to create this place of beauty, fun, and education. We watched short films on the history of the area, which includes the Native people, Black people, Chinese, and Japanese, and now is a place for all to gather, savor, and feast. We bought lunch at the cafe, and sat in comfy orange lounge chairs to eat with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge, and the world.
This is a place of community and restoration. The children’s playground is made of natural materials and blends in beautifully. If you need a place to believe in the communion of nature, grace, and humanity, this is it. San Francisco is already amazing, and this tops the dream.
For four nights, my family gathered in a house in the Redwood trees on Kings Mountain in Woodside.
I’m still vibrating with the beauty and clarity – sun, mist, stars and the rising embrace of trees from a ground moist with the clasp, movement, and release of fog. The first days were hot and clear and then the fog moved in and out, a meditation on the elements reflected and shared with all. Here’s a shared taste beginning with the path down from the house.
A good friend passed unexpectedly on Wednesday. I was surprised when her daughter and husband led Sensory Awareness today in her place. She was meant to lead today and clearly she was on the Zoom call as we experienced when we shared.
Her husband led something that sounds simple and yet is profound. I offer it now.
After coming to quiet, come to standing. Using your dominant hand, write in the air the name of the person who passed and your own name, and see and feel what happens. Give yourself at least ten minutes for this.
You may end up using both hands, and writing large or small. Creativity. Guidance. Trust.
I won’t share my experience, only offer the invitation as a way to heal and connect with someone who has passed, or maybe someone who is still “here”.
Today we shared the kindness, generosity, creativity, and joy with which this woman lived. We connected in the heart-opening warmth and sharing of tears, memories, and breath.
The Northern Lights, Auroras, were seen even in San Francisco last night. It seams a sign of the oneness we share as caressed with light, we mother ourselves, each other, and the planet we share.
I was at the Farmer’s Market yesterday so we’re feasting on abundance: asparagus, strawberries, peaches, and blueberries. The visit reminds me of the work of producing, planting, harvesting, and bringing nourishment closer to me. I’m fed by a hard-working and intricate web of connection.
Wednesday morning I was at the Bayside Cafe for breakfast. A little boy about three or four emerged from the bathroom with his father, and the child was saying “Happiness”. He then walked through the restaurant and out the door repeating “happiness, happiness, happiness” with a slight pause between each word. I’m carrying that with me, such an ease-filled way to be and ripple in the world.
As Cheri Huber shares:
When you think you’re the center of the universe, you’re a misery. When you realize you’re the center of the universe, you’re a blessing.
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