THE QUEST

I love the word quest. It conjures up visions of long journeys through unknown and magical terrain. I have had many quests in my life, and here are 2 that are calling to me right now:
Continually looking for new ways to do more myself to help and not harm the Earth.
Finding ways to inspire others to do more to help and not harm the Earth.

The first one is so much easier than the second. I have become a voracious reader of online sites that have a wealth of new ideas for being kind to Creation, and I have friends who discover things and tell me about them. I get so excited when someone brings something new to me that I have not yet heard of or thought about to lessen the harm I do. But I have realized that I am very unusual in my desire to constantly find new ways to change my impact. I have some friends and family who welcome what I have to say, and even ASK me for ideas to do less damage. But then there are the ones who not only do not welcome what I have to say, but they somehow turn my efforts into a negative thing. I would like to explore this, because it feels REALLY important to me to not just give up in the face of opposition from people close to me. I recently had a very painful encounter of this kind. It is one thing to encounter animosity from someone you don't know or love, and quite another thing to be confronted with that when it is a person you cherish. And when the subject is something that seems like it should bring you TOGETHER, I am even more mystified. How does this happen?

Most of the people I know love God in some form. Most of the people I know love the amazing things God has created. But if I come to them with something they can to do stop harming Creation, suddenly it is not about loving God or Creation any more, but about me being "negative" or "attacking" them. Let me try an analogy. If you see someone beating up another person, are you "negative" for witnessing that? Are you "negative" for wanting to help the one being beaten? Are you "attacking them" for actually taking action to try and stop the person from being harmed? I see what God has made being damaged. I want to help this beautiful Creation. And I actually dare to take action to talk to the people I see doing harm to try and get them to stop. I have been told I should just work to change the impact in my own life, and not try to get other people to change what they are doing. But staying silent and not asking others to become aware and make new choices feels just like walking away when I see someone being beaten up. Why would I do that? Fear. Not wanting to "get involved". Not wanting to have their anger turned on me. But what are the consequences of NOT saying anything? More damage to something I love and am trying to help. Walking away is the exact OPPOSITE of finding new ways to help. Asking others to shift their choices IS one of the new ways I can help.

We need to find our common ground. We need to work together. We need to recognize that we DO love the same Earth and we can HELP each other to do less harm. And to do that we need to be willing to help, which includes being willing to hear when someone is telling you of something you do that is causing damage. We ALL cause damage every day because of the systems we have in place in our society. I am causing damage right now typing this on the computer, but it feels important enough to do it anyway. The quest is to find more and more ways to do less damage ourselves, and be willing to take action when we see others doing harm. If you are someone who dares to speak up, please don't just give up and walk away because others may turn on you. This Planet is worth taking some risks for. If you are one of the people who believes in God, then I ask you to act from THAT place inside you. Let your love of God and what God created on this Earth be the motivation for finding more and more ways to help and not harm. We need to make it not about the person who is pointing something out, but about the Earth.

Please be willing to find more and more ways to help. Please be willing to listen when someone comes to you with new ways that you can lessen the harm you do. Please be willing to ask others to help too. No more fear. Just love.
Thanks for listening.

SAVING LARSENS AGAIN???

My dear readers, today the unthinkable happened. After my last post of pure joy, we were all so busy celebrating that this sacred place was saved, and meanwhile the rancher started putting up the fence TODAY. Turns out the surrendering of the DLNR permit was just a foil, because he had a permit through the COUNTY, so he is going ahead with that permit. He was actually down there today and he stated to me his intention to cut down the trees on the hillside and plant grass for cattle. It was SO hard to face him and just listen. The run-off is already 5 times what it used to be on the beach just from the small amount he has already cut, and he's only just begun. I can't imagine what will happen to this important and beautiful reef if he is allowed to do what he wants to. So what we thought was over, is not.

You can imagine where my heart is right now. I had to weep long and hard. So once again I find myself asking for your prayers, in whatever form you do that, to protect this amazing land. Visualize the picture at the top of this page with all the trees STILL THERE. And once more, I look forward to telling you Larsens has been saved, AGAIN! Hold that thought.
E malama i ka heiau.
Hold this land in Sacredness.
Thanks for listening.

LARSENS SAVED!!!!!

A MIRACLE just happened. One year ago in October of 09 I wrote about my favorite place in the world, a beautiful coastal wilderness, being threatened with immense destruction. If you want to read it: http://lightoneden.blogspot.com/2009/10/saving-larsens.html The post finishes with the line "I look forward to telling you Larsens has been saved!!!" Well, it took a year and 3 months, but we GOT our miracle. Last night I received word that the permit to cut down the forest above the reef and turn it into cattle pasture has been surrendered! Incredible. When I got the news I didn't dance in joy, I sat very still in complete awe. Stunned. But somehow the whales already knew, because when I had been down there at the beach in the afternoon they were having a PARTY! There were DOZENS of them and I have never seen so much jumping in my life. At times there were 2 in the air at once, jumping again and again. Truly a celebration. Well this morning it really sank in, and I rushed over there to tell all the ocean creatures that might not have heard the amazing news, "your home has been saved!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I like to think that on some level they understand. Then my own celebration began, and continues still. What a way to begin 2011!!

For those of you who have never been to Larsens this may not mean much. But this place has been a CONSERVATION DISTRICT for decades, and the forest on the hillside above the beach has kept the reef alive. It is the only place on the entire North and East shores where the endangered monk seals have their pups. I'm sure they have chosen it as a nursery because the reef is still protected. All that was about to change drastically. How a permit got issued to create cattle pasture in a conservation district is a complete mystery. But perseverance from those of us that wanted to see it remain protected has at last paid off. It has been long and exhausting in many ways, but entirely worth it!

So if you are actively trying to save something wherever you are, DON'T GIVE UP! Miracles really CAN occur, and one just did. THANK YOU to all of you who have lent your support through this. All the creatures of this place thank you as well. Let's go save some more sacred places!!!!! E malama i ka Heiau. Hold this land in Sacredness. YES!
Thanks for listening.