REDONDOWRITER'S SACRED ORDINARY

Feeling the Energy of Three SoulCollage® Cards

Yesterday at a monthly SoulCollage® gathering, I made three cards to share with others. We meet from 11 a.m. to about 4 p.m. and we have a loose format that we follow, including check-in, image searches from shared magazines, trading of images, and lots of chit chat. This gathering has become one of the high points of my month as we women have known each other since our children were small. 

This card is in the Council suit and I call her Earth Mother; I will put her on my altar tonight as a reminder of Earth Day tomorrow. I am the one who has always been deeply drawn to Mother Nature or Mother Earth since I was a young child. Judaeo/Christianity’s story of how the earth was created in seven days by one God is a powerful myth for me. But I like to think that creation of all the universe, however it happened, has male and female aspects. I am the one who believes Gaia, as Mother Nature, personifies the entire ecosystem of Planet Earth. The way of Mother Gaia is the passive, feminine, Yin way of healing.

This card is also in the Council suit and I call it Ecstatic Dance. I am the one who used to love to go to movement expression gatherings and dance with Gabriel Roth on her videos. I am now more limited in movement, but I believe ecstatic dance is a powerful way to connect with God.

This is another Council card I call The Crone. I have several Crone cards in my deck because I am one and they inspire me to be more positive about the aging process. I am the one who is grateful for the graciousness with which I have aged. I bitch and whine sometimes about pain and limitations, but I know I'm blessed to have made it to cronehood, though I sometimes miss the mark when it comes to wisdom, patience and acceptance. I'm a crone in progress. 

If you would like to see more of my SoulCollage® cards on Pinterest, go to Redondowriter's SoulCollage® site. 

 

 

A Look at a Local Environmental Hero Bringing Awareness on Earth Day

Award-winning naturalist Martin Byhower, who has been working tirelessly long before most of us were even aware of being environmental stewards was honored this past weekend as one of the community’s environmental heroes by Manhattan Beach, CA’s chapter of VOICE (Volunteers and Organizations Improving the Community’s Environment), during the city’s Earth Day Celebration.

Martin teaches Middle School Science at Chadwick School where I work and I’ve had the pleasure of knowing him for almost 20 years. He is a legend in the Southern California environmentalist movement and is well known as a birder in the National Audubon Society. Martin is one of the few people I know who lives his passion.  Below is a photo of him working with a student in Chadwick canyon where for more than a decade he has had the Ecology Club replacing the non-native plants with native ones. 

As part of my school’s Earth Day Celebration for 2009, Martin put the following e-mail out to the entire campus community about Earth Week which is scheduled for next week. Many individuals and the media are critical of Earth Day itself and say it has outlasted its effectiveness. If environmental awareness continues to be relevant, Martin's Earth Week plan in tandem with Earth Day itself still has the potential of making a difference. In education we are forever looking for “teachable moments."

Martin’s e-mail said: “Established April 22, 1970, Earth Day acknowledges that environmental issues have reached a "critical mass." The first Earth Day resulted in long needed legislation to conserve resources and protect human health and wildlife. Although progress was made, on this 40th Earth Day celebration, many of those same problems are still with us, in some cases exponentially greater. HOWEVER, the purpose of Earth Day is to celebrate the beauty, richness, and wonder of Spaceship Earth, and to renew our commitment to the progress that is being made protecting our finite and fragile planet.

During Chadwick Earth Week, brought to you by Chadwick Ecommunity and Chadwick Sustainability, the entire Chadwick community will engage in activities designed to demonstrate that we are well on the path towards a Sustainable, Eco-friendly lifestyle at our school. Here is how the week is planned to play out:

 Mon. April 27: TRASH FREE DAY

All students, faculty and staff are encouraged to Bring lunches in reusable, recyclable, or compostable containers.

Thanks to the kitchen staff, virtually all food plates and utensils are compostable, and kitchen trimmings will also be saved for composting by Ecommunity.

Tues. April 28: POOL TO SCHOOL DAY

Anyone riding a school bus or participating in a carpool with 3 or more students (if there is a parent driver) or 4 or more students (if there is a student driver), and students who are campus residents and who walk to classes, are eligible to win a prize, and more importantly, will demonstrate their commitment to reducing global warming and increasing American energy independence. All students who participate will be eligible to receive a ticket to win one of 13 organic T-shirts bearing freshman Lillian Babcock's original Ecommunity/ Sustainability logo (randomly drawn, but possibly one per grade level) courtesy of Ecommunity. Save your tickets!

Wed. April 29: WEAR SUSTAINABLE CLOTHING DAY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL RECYCLE FUNDRAISER KICKOFF

The Middle School will reaffirm their commitment to making the campus-wide can and bottle recycling effort successful, and in turn will be given half of the proceeds from that program to donate to the environmental causes that they have chosen to support.All students are encouraged to wear sustainably-produced clothing that day (including clothing made from organic cotton, recycled synthetic materials, previously owned clothing, etc.)

Thurs. April 30: BYOBC (BRING YOUR OWN BEVERAGE CONTAINER) DAY

All faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to bring and use their refillable water bottles or, at least, bring or purchase beverages in non-plastic containers. Plastic beverage containers of any sort will not be sold in the cafeteria this day, but plenty of water refill stations exist on campus!

Fri. May 1: MINIMIZE ELECTRICITY DAY and SUPPORT MIDDLE SCHOOL BAKE/ COOKBOOK SALE

Chadwick teachers have been asked to reduce lighting or to use only natural light (windows, skylights, etc., and if that is not possible, perhaps consider teaching class outdoors), refrain from showing videos or smartboards, maintaining classroom thermostats to cool only if the ambient temperature is above 78 degrees, and switching computers or overhead projectors off when they are not in use.

Also on this day, the MS cookbook and bake sale will raise funds to support selected environmental causes.

 

Preparing for Earth Hour

It is 7:15 p.m. in Redondo Beach and I'm preparing for Earth Hour. I'm setting up my writing and reading corner with candlelight. It is suggested we take a photo during this hour and post it to Flickr, Twitter and blog it.

I just watched Larry King Live and saw Ed Norton speaking about Earth Hour and though I know it is a symbolic gesture toward conservation, it's another step for me personally.

VOTE EARTH
YOUR LIGHT SWITCH IS YOUR VOTE

This year, Earth Hour has been transformed into the world’s first global election, between Earth and global warming.

For the first time in history, people of all ages, nationalities, race and background have the opportunity to use their light switch as their vote – Switching off your lights is a vote for Earth, or leaving them on is a vote for global warming. WWF are urging the world to VOTE EARTH and reach the target of 1 billion votes, which will be presented to world leaders at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009.

This meeting will determine official government policies to take action against global warming, which will replace the Kyoto Protocol. It is the chance for the people of the world to make their voice heard.