On Friday, Nov. 6th, the day before the Biden/Harris race was called I spent a day in a deeply meditative state. I live in the NY City metropolitan area and it was a beautiful day. I mostly sat in my backyard in a patch of sunshine musing on the world and seeking a personal sense of balance. I didn’t do anything that day. Well not entirely true, I did a few things, for example I shifted positions a few times to stay in the sun. I grew up in the Puritan based school system which frowned on “doing nothing” as if spending a day not actively achieving anything was somehow wrong, perhaps sinful. For my kids, 30 years after me, it was far worse, codified in hours of homework following a complete school day. And today it’s even harder with afterschool activities (although I must say, to my great pleasure, I have never seen so many children playing on the street in my neighborhood than since this pandemic began.) No wonder Mama Nature is not generally honored. We don’t raise our children to have the time nor space for Her.
I live in a community which could be called the “American dream.” All neat houses sit on neat properties, mostly rectangled out to 60 by 100 as is my own. Very flat. My neighbors all have beautiful grass, so green, always at perfect height, each plump spear just like every other one. Every spring and fall little yellow signs show up on the lawns that say a pesticide or herbicide was applied and to stay off the lawn for 24 hours. I always wonder how they let the birds, worms, dogs and squirrels know of the danger. I haven’t put chemicals on my lawn since I moved in more than 10 years ago. My lawn is a lovely green mishmash of what others would call weeds with a bit of grass interspersed. My house faces south so every spring I also plant a vegetable garden right in the front that covers the space of about ¼ of the previous lawn. I don’t know how my neighbors feel. I imagine they could call me Janet DandelionSeed, especially in the spring. But the gift is I have these plumb, beautiful, organic dandelion roots and flowers to make concoctions. This year I made a spring cleansing tonic and a dandelion/bee’s wax salve. It’s fabulous. I have some tins of it which I will give to my daughter when her baby is born so she can use it to protect from diaper rash.
I sometimes guide smallish fire ceremonies in my back yard. I always want to use local wood. It is hard to find in my neighborhood because “garbage” gets cleaned up so quickly and completely. Right after storms I walk around the neighborhood and collect the wood from branches that have fallen and place them around my property, so I have them ready for the ceremonies. Many people place their fall leaves in plastic bags. This one gets me especially crazy as it creates garbage out of nature’s bounty. I have expanded my compost capabilities this year, but I can’t come close to composting it all. Ugh. I do use paper bags to gather leaves but even that hurts.
As I walk about my neighborhood and see the little yellow signs and the plastic garbage bags filled with leaves, I think to myself “have we learned nothing from recent events?” From Trumpism to Covid, its all of a similar mind set, we can’t keep poisoning the earth, we can’t keep demonizing people different than we are. I am thinking basically about the concept of eco-feminism expanded to all bodies, how we treat the body of the earth relating not only to how we treat female bodies but how we treat our own, and all bodies that co-exist on our precious planet. If our paradigms, our stories don’t change . . . if we don’t cherish what we love, our earth, our fellow human beings, what do we have?
When Brexit was approved in 2016 just before Trump’s election, a movement was started where people wore safety pins on their clothes to alert immigrants and other marginalized communities that “you’re safe with me.” Clever huh? After Trump won, I began to wear safety pins on my outer clothing in solidarity. They are still pinned there. The trend didn’t take off here in the United States so no one really knows what they mean. Some people have asked me thinking I had left a sewing project unfinished. I am now contemplating when to take the safety pins off. With Trump out of office we will have valuable breathing room, but the dangers will continue because the cultural roots that gave rise to Trump are historical and deep.
As Biden and Harris get to work changing the political paradigms, we here at FAR have a mission too. We need to continue, maybe even redouble our work questioning and renewing underlying spiritual paradigms. Our world, our culture desperately needs new stories with new values especially surrounding the meaning of success.
Its super hard to step outside those underlying (sometimes unconscious) cultural norms, even those which are destructive. I could not have seen my beautiful dreamy day as a success 20 years, ago probably not even 10. Ten years ago, I would have described my property as unkept, now I see it as a sliver of woodland-pasture sanctuary in the middle of suburbia.
For the US, at least, we have taken a giant step away from cruelty, racism, climate denial, misogyny, and so on. For today, for this week, this month I celebrate. It still brings tears to my eyes to contemplate the joyous, spontaneous street parties that erupted on the 7th. Thank you Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Now let’s get to work!
Janet Maika’i Rudolph. “IT’S ALL ABOUT THE QUEST.” I have walked the spirit path for over 25 years traveling to sacred sites around the world including Israel to do an Ulpan (Hebrew language studies while working on a Kibbutz), Eleusis and Delphi in Greece, Avebury and Glastonbury in England, Brodgar in Scotland, Machu Picchu in Peru, Teotihuacan in Mexico, and Giza in Egypt. Within these travels, I have participated in numerous shamanic rites and rituals, attended a mystery school based on the ancient Greek model, and studied with shamans around the world. I am twice initiated. The first as a shaman practitioner of a pathway known as Divine Humanity. The second ordination in 2016 was as an Alaka’i (a Hawaiian spiritual guide with Aloha International). I have written three books: When Moses Was a Shaman, When Eve Was a Goddess, and One Gods. In Ardor and Adventure, Janet.
pesticides on lawns–yuk!
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I know, it harsh. Yuk indeed. And probably not unrelated, breast cancer rates in this area are among the highest in the country.
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I also live in a suburban community, and I’ve been noticing that there are more natural landscapes popping up in front and back yards, with native plants replacing typical garden variety flowers and shredded leaves used for mulch instead of commercial wood chips. This is a huge step in bringing Nature back into our everyday environment since it is right where people live and kids play. It is definitely one of the subtle yet meaningful ways we can begin to change the spiritual paradigm.
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Garden Rescue with Charlie Dimmock is one of my favorite programs — it is on youtube. They often plant wildflower meadow areas in the garden. There are even roll out prepanted wildflower meadow mixes — like for grass.
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I grow moss!
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Go Moss!
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Thanks for the tip Carol. I just looked her up on youtube and highlighted the channel. I will surely check it out.
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Oh yes, Carolyn, I am so delighted to hear this story. May it grow and continue to spread.
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I agree with you that our FAR community’s first task is to bring spiritual values back to life and back into our neighborhoods, where urban or suburban. Is there still a real, viable American Dream? What is it in the 21st century?
We definitely need to question the so-called values of the Orange T. Rex that’s still occupying the White House. Please write more on these important topics in your next post. And bright blessings for a dearer future for us all!
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Thank you for this insightful post, Janet. Sigh of relief, followed by rolled up sleeves for sure. How people treat their lawns (the little bit of earth where they live and can make choices) expresses how they see and relate the earth and the body. Do we seek (maybe unconsciously) to control, subdue, regulate. Or do we pay attention, listen, enter into relationship, partnership. I am encouraged by your post and by the above comments that people are beginning to do just that. We’ve let much lawn become wild meadow. We plant for birds and pollinators. Love the portrait of you in your sanctuary.
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Yes yes yes!
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Elizabeth, I am encouraged too. I think the way we treat our land (not just privately but as a community) really reflects how we treat ourselves. Love to imagine you in your wild meadow with birds and other pollinators enjoying the bounty you’ve set out! Also love how you put it: “pay attention, listen, enter into relationship, partnership.” Thank you.
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Thank you for your comments Barbara, you are always so supportive of not only each of us here but of the mission: Mission Spiritual Awakening from a feminist POV! I really do appreciate it.
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I hate to sound the alarm but your words have real merit…”With Trump out of office we will have valuable breathing room, but the dangers will continue because the cultural roots that gave rise to Trump are historical and deep.” We MUST remember that 70 million people are trumpets and they are not going away. To underestimate this threat is to be unprepared…
Meanwhile I celebrate your home and the fact that you refuse to use pesticides – the “normal” thing to do in this country – Rachel Carson would turn over in her grave. We just won’t stop – How is it that we cannot learn from our horrible mistakes – DDT – we finally ban it because of Carson but today we continue to sell this killer to our South American neighbors and then we blame them.
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Really Sara – about the DDT? I didn’t know that. I am appalled. Are there any organizations you know about that are working to stop that? Yes, Rachel Carson rang that alarm bell. Will be ever learn?
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I have been so relieved, since I got the News Saturday November 6th, at 8:50am, since that I am much better balanced person, I feel like out lives have a meaning again. Thank you for your supporting post, more power to us women .
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Oh yes Cornelia, haven’t we all felt more balanced and in line with meaning. May those feelings continue to grow and bear fruit as we enter a new time. “More power to us women” – love it!
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I am WITH YOU. We cannot let the Left go back to sleep, as they did under Obama. Time to get to work. And I am totally “that neighbor,” too :D :D <3
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Hi Trelawney, nice to see you here. I agree with you about the Left not going to sleep and I would also agree that the Left is infinitely better than the alternatives. Still, I worry, or better yet wonder, aren’t we all laboring under false paradigms? Both Left and Right.
I found it discordant to see Biden/Harris signs next to the little yellow pesticide/herbicide signs. I just hope we can do better.
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