by Gillian
Laura Bruno’s Blog |
I awoke this morning with “Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’ … into the future…” running through my head on a non-stop loop. “I want to fly like an eagle…” Some kundalini yoga chants got rid of it for a little while, but now it’s back with a vengeance demanding that I type. As we cross the threshold of 2012 into 2013, it strikes me that time is, indeed, slippin’, slippin’, slippin’ … into a future many people wondered if we’d ever see. With all the doomsday predictions, movies and “prophecies,” a major pause seemed to hang over the end of 2012. I put “prophecies” in quotes because the Mayans never predicted the end of the world, but rather the end of the Old World. Big difference.
According to the Mayans and many other indigenous cultures, 2012 marked the final transition from one age into another –from an age of deception, selfishness and abuse of the Earth to an age of openness, community and restoration of the Earth and our relationship with her. Whether you follow mainstream or alternative news streams, this so-called shift to a positive new age might strain credulity. Take your pick between the over-hyped “fiscal cliff” and “lone shooter” scare tactics from mainstream sources, or the Chicken Little “sky is falling, they can pry my guns from my cold dead fingers” alternative media. You can play selective three monkeys (“see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil — of my chosen trained monkey political party”), driving a further wedge between you and your neighbor, between “the progressive Agenda 21 whores and gun grabbers” vs. “the racists, misogynists, and greedy, rotten scoundrels” but –honestly — how good does that feel? Ancient prophecies aside, do you really want to carry that radioactive, toxic sludge into the New Year?
Because you don’t have to.
In a world of all possibilities, we can as individuals and as little pockets in society, invent a higher, middle ground. In addition to The Steve Miller Band, I’ve had some other persistent concepts run across my brain today, one of them being the creation of intentional paths. I’m actively reading four books right now, and playing reading roulette with several others. “Gaia’s Garden” and “The Four Season Harvest” both discuss soil building and the importance of building pathways into your garden. In the rush to get the most out of every spot, people often try to over-plant, causing them to over-reach and making garden maintenance less pleasant and more labor intensive on the body. Even worse, a lack of deliberate paths can cause people to step on the soil where plants are trying to grow, and that heavy weight disrupts the soil ecosystem by compacting it and removing much needed oxygen and hydration paths. Even if the gardener avoids the visible plants, the delicate root system below can become compromised, resulting in mysteriously less abundant growth. The solution? Heavily mulching planned pathways that allow easy access to and enjoyment of the garden from multiple angles.
We can apply this wisdom to our own “Garden of Eden” visualizations for a blessed and easier life on Earth and in our communities: remember to make these visions accessible! Create clear pathways that allow easy access to Life’s improvements. Sweeping, sterile generalities and platitudes produce less fruit than carefully tended ideas and intentions that we can get close to. Starting on the individual and local community level makes a lot of sense, especially since the energies of 2013 support these “smaller” steps. The idea of “be the change” takes on new meaning when it moves beyond “sending love to everyone around the world” to include tangible, deliberate, loving actions in daily life. Each action step in the direction of individual sovereignty and sustainable community, no matter how small that step, links us into a larger, planetary and cosmic ecosystem. When we create well-worn paths, others can join us without damaging the tender new growth. By building pathways/opportunities for imitation and joint projects, we all benefit. Working withNature and with the natural energies of the times, we allow ourselves to go with the positive flow, resulting in less work and a larger, healthier “harvest.”
After reading about intentional path creation in both “Gaia’s Garden” and “The Four Season Harvest,” I meditated on Colette Baron-Reid’s “The Wisdom of Avalon Oracle Deck” and asked for an important focus of 2013. I pulled “The Deer: gentleness, diplomacy”:
“When the Deer appears, it’s a reminder to step gently on the path, for you’re walking into a time when gentle movements and diplomacy are required. The Deer’s strength is in this quality. Make it your own, and know that your steps are successfully assured.
“It’s important that you be gentle with yourself as well, for you may be headed into a period where you’re unsure of your footing, or just coming out of a difficult situation.
“Blend your personal energy with the Deer’s energy of gentleness and diplomacy. Walk softly, and the way forward will be smooth. And remember … never mistake gentleness for weakness in yourself or in others.”
Gentleness and diplomacy can apply in all areas. We think of deer as graceful creatures, seeing them sometimes solitary and often in groups. They move within Nature, below our usual perceptions. A deer in the “wrong place at the wrong time” can cause great damage to itself and others, but as a general rule, deer walk silently and carefully on well-worn paths. As we ourselves enter the Unknown — symbolized in fairy tales by the deep, dark forest — we can tune in and follow Nature’s lead. Unlike all the manufactured reality online or onscreen, Nature embraces cycles of time that live more in the Now and also with an effortless future sustainability. Nature wastes nothing –fallen leaves become fertilizer and mulch; plant guilds sustain each other through symbiotic relationships; entire ecosystems arise and morph as each participant serves several roles and functions. We can re-learn how to connect with Nature, and this reconnection process will help us deal with whatever internal or external challenges we face in 2013.
Finding and creating deliberate paths to abundance, sustainability, community and enough food for all brings positive intentions into real world manifestation. The Law of Attraction means working with the natural flow from Source/God/Goddess/the Universe/the All that Is. No matter what you call it, we can all tap into this power, but it will express itself differently in each of us. Just as a natural ecosystem has multiple roles and niches for each participant, we can re-learn how to recognize where we might offer just the right knowledge, skill, enthusiasm or piece of property. We can re-learn to recognize the gifts in others instead of seeing them as Other.
In a world of all possibilities, we can easily choose to self-destruct. The media and power structures pulling media and governmental strings would love to see us fail, but guess what? Nature always bats last. If we tune ourselves into the natural rhythms and cycles of nature and walking with gentleness and diplomacy in the deep, dark Unknown, we will each find our place. Some of the invasive species on our planet — the ones devouring resources and trying to control every aspect of our lives — will drop out of the ecosystem. Once we find ourselves and our place as individuals and on the local level, those local communities will begin to expand and radiate health. Isolated pockets of sanity and sustainability will gradually merge into each other until we have more healing and positive reinforcements than not on this planet. It’s already happening, but we can amplify these effects by studying Nature and emulating her wisdom.
Which brings me back to today’s earworm:
Fly Like An Eagle (Lyrics by Steve Miller)
“Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’
Into the future
Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’
Into the future
I want to fly like an eagle
To the sea
Fly like an eagle
Let my spirit carry me
I want to fly like an eagle
Till I’m free
Oh, Lord, through the revolution
Feed the babies
Who don’t have enough to eat
Shoe the children
With no shoes on their feet
House the people
Livin’ in the street
Oh, oh, there’s a solution
I want to fly like an eagle
To the sea
Fly like an eagle
Let my spirit carry me
I want to fly like an eagle
Till I’m free
Fly through the revolution
Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’
Into the future
Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’
Into the future
Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’
Into the future
Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’
Into the future
I want to fly like an eagle
To the sea
Fly like an eagle
Let my spirit carry me
I want to fly like an eagle
Till I’m free
Fly through the revolution
Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’
Into the future
Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’
Into the future”
Goodbye 2012 and Hello 2013! Happy New Year!
