BEYOND THE SURFACE

Today I got a new gift in the water I've never seen before. I love that! I was doing my usual late day swim and it started to rain. If you have never seen raindrops from below the surface of the water, it is magical! From under water the surface looks like a solid rippling entity, like a sheet blowing in the wind. When the raindrops hit, rather than just breaking and becoming one with the ocean, the surface forms little cups that get pushed down several inches in little shafts by the raindrop before they blend into the rest of the water. Like upside down splashes! It is fascinating to watch. Well today, the SUN came out while it was raining, and this amazing thing happened. When the raindrops pushed the little cups under the surface, the sun would shine down the raindrop shaft so there were bursts of sunlight in little vertical splashes UNDER the water! Suddenly I was surrounded by hundreds of spontaneous columns of blazing light against the blue of the water. YEEHAH! I've never seen anything like it. And then the thought entered...sunshine and rain means....RAINBOWS! So I popped up above the surface and there was not one but two ridiculously beautiful arcs of color out over the open sea. So do I look at the beauty under the water or above? Decisions, decisions.

After the spectacle was done (sigh), I went ashore and began to clean up from the HUGE north swell that has come in the last few days. Big waves means lots of big trash, not just the small stuff I normally pick up over the summer months, but things the size of a toaster. And lots of them. It just breaks my heart to see all that is floating around out there in the beauty of the sea. But what makes me even sadder is seeing all the people that just walk by it and do nothing. It reminds me of the story in the Bible about the Good Samaritan. All those people in the story that saw someone who had been harmed, and walked by on the other side of the road. I am sure every one of them was a loving human being, but their love didn't come beyond the surface and manifest in helping. There was no spontaneous burst of compassion. It feels like that to me down at the water as I pick up the debris that is doing so much harm to the ocean and the creatures that live there. I'm sure all these people who just walk by it and do nothing are loving people, and would even say they love the ocean, but that love doesn't get transformed into helping her. So how can we get love to move beyond the surface into HELPING?

It occurred to me that people who don't spend time at the ocean have no idea how much washes up every single day, so here is a visual. This is from ONE person picking up on ONE day, on ONE beach, on ONE island in the Pacific. Multiply that by all the beaches in all the seas all over the globe, 365 days a year. Hard to comprehend. And the next day there will be that much again if there are big waves. The bottles in front are filled with smaller bits of plastic as this picture was taken before the big north swell when all the really huge things came in. Someone asked me once what is the point of picking it up if you are just moving it from one place to another. Well in a landfill it is buried and not becoming lunch for some un-suspecting sea creature like a dolphin or a whale or a seal or a turtle that then die from ingesting the poison we have created. Of course the best solution would be to not produce poisonous trash, but we already have, so at least take it where it will do the least harm.

On the first day of the big swell I didn't know it was coming and wasn't prepared with big trash bags. So as I began picking up I very quickly filled what I had with me, and began making piles of trash up out of the high wash line that I could come back and get another time. But there was so much and I had a show to go sing at, so I didn't have time to even move it all up so it wouldn't get washed back out again. I needed to ask for help. So I started asking others if they could please help since I had to go. I started with someone I actually know and talk with regularly, who I know loves the ocean. He was picking up shells and leaving all the trash, and I asked if he could please take some time to pick up the trash in that area because I had to leave. He frowned and said "maybe", and went back to picking up shells. WOW. Then came a couple who when I asked if they could help just gave me another bag so I could pick up more! Funny. And finally a woman who asked what I was "collecting", and when I showed her the trash in my bags and asked if she could please help, she looked at me as if I had just asked her to clean my toilet, and laid back down on her towel. All of them there because they "love" the ocean, and not one willing to help when they see her being harmed. How does all that love stay sequestered and not move beyond the surface of their hearts?

We need the love to come forth and manifest in helping the ocean. PLEASE don't just walk by when you see something harming her. We all need an internal rainstorm to create shafts for light to burst forth beyond the surface in blazes of compassion for our Earth. Anyone know any rain dances?

Thanks for listening.

GOOD NEWS!

I have good news! We don't hear that very often regarding the damage being done to the planet. But I have some things to share that are good news for our Earth, in the hopes that if you are feeling despair, this may give you a reason to keep reaching for more ways to limit the harm we do. YES! With so much devastation happening to our home right now, it is sometimes hard to not get overwhelmed and feel like there is no point in trying to help. But there IS light that appears.

A big one came when the current administration in the U.S. put a stop to ALL new drilling for oil in the Arctic. WHEW! It is temporary, while they review possible effects of allowing drilling in seas that freeze over, but if enough people are willing to work to get off oil it could become a permanent thing to leave the Arctic alone! I read an article the other day about a recent survey after the Gulf oil spill that revealed 27 THOUSAND abandoned wells just in the Gulf!!!!! Hard to wrap my mind around that. That is our oil addiction speaking, and it's time to change what we are saying. We need to start saying we don't want more wells dug, and we say it with our actions. Words mean nothing if we keep our oil "lifestyles" going full blast. So let's CHANGE what we are saying, by the way we live, and keep the Arctic free of drills!

Another big one came from the International Whaling Commission when they decided to uphold the ban on commercial whaling. Even though whaling still goes on illegally, if the ban was lifted the numbers of endangered whales being killed would have been berserk. The Commission had been lobbied so heavily by those wanting to kill more whales that they were actually considering lifting the ban. WOW. I am soooooooooo grateful they chose to continue to protect these magnificent creatures, some of which we have brought to the brink of extinction already. Keep on protecting what is left!

On a smaller scale, but still significant, the retail giant Costco now has recycled paper products!!!! YAHOOO! Now people who shop there don't have to destroy trees when they buy toilet paper or paper towels in those enormous packages. Anyone who shops there knows things in Costco are hilariously HUGE, so each package makes a big difference. They still have paper products that DO destroy trees there, but at least people who shop there now have a choice. I know people who buy all their bulk items there and would never go to a health food store for toilet paper, so this may have a large effect when you multiply it by the millions of people who shop only there. More choices to save trees!

Another grocery store chain called Big Save is local here on Kauai, but has many outlets serving a lot more people than the health food stores, and they now have biodegradable grocery bags at the checkout! So even if you don't bring your own bag at least you are not walking out with a plastic bag that is toxic to the Earth. In all the times I have shopped there I have NEVER been in a line where anyone else has brought a bag with them, so again this is no small thing when you multiply that by the hundreds of bags going out of those stores every single day. Less poisonous plastic in the world!

Those of you who have read my other posts know that even though these are small islands there is NO island-wide household recycling program here. Incredible. On Oahu they outgrew the landfills and are now shipping garbage to California!!!! (Sorry California.) That seemed a better solution than starting an island-wide household recycling program???? Really? Here on Kauai there are a few depots where you can drop certain items off to be recycled, but they are few and far between, and those who care enough have to store their items somewhere until they can make a trip to the depot. The nearest one to me is 16 miles away! So this is not something people can do daily, and most don't bother to sort and store things, so it all goes in the landfills. So where is the good news in this? Well just this past summer there was a program implemented here on Kauai to put recycle bins next to most public trash bins, so people now have a choice to conveniently recycle when they are in public places! YAY! (I don't know if they have done this on the other islands as well.) But guess what? There is a beach bin between where I live and town that I stop at regularly to remove the stuff that can be recycled, and I thought my job just got easier because it would all be in the recycle bin now. WRONG. (Sigh.) There is trash in the recycle bin every time, and cans and bottles in the trash bin every time. How can this be? People now have a REALLY easy choice to make with no inconvenience, and still don't choose to help. This is amazing to me. But at least you now can recycle in public places, and hopefully more and more people will choose to care, especially when it has been made so easy.

In facing all the damage being done to the planet, I believe we need to notice and applaud the shifts that take place that are helping this precious Earth. These are the things that need to be increased. Let's pay attention to them and give thanks for them, because we need the caring to expand! I'd love to hear what good news for the planet you have witnessed lately, and I invite you to leave a comment below.

Thanks for listening and thanks for caring.

GO LIGHTLY

Last month I went on an extended trip to the mainland U.S. and Canada and took this picture flying over the mountains of Washington State. Such beauty! I was on 10 flights over the course of the trip, and in 6 airports with some HUGE lay-overs, so I had lots of time to observe people coming and going. I became so aware of how when people travel they tend to abandon the things they would normally do at home to care for our planet. At least I HOPE they care more when they are at home! There really is no way to travel by plane and do no harm, but there ARE ways to do less harm.

I know people who are fairly conscious when they are at home, but that just goes out the window when they are "on the road". Why? Eat out rather than pack a lunch, buy a drink rather than bring a water bottle, buy a magazine rather than bring one with you, and then throw those single use items out. The same goes for food and drink on the plane too. Why is this o.k. when you are away from home? Of course some people do this at home too. Picking up take-out and buying a drink with it, and then throwing it all out. I know some people who get single use take-out EVERY DAY. Sigh. But I digress.... There is an astronomical amount of waste produced in airports every day all over the globe, and I got to see some of it first hand. I talked to one of the women whose job it is to pick up other people's trash, and was commiserating with her on how astounding it is that people throw so much. She changes the trash bins SEVERAL TIMES A DAY! So please pack a lunch and bring a bottle with you to fill at the water fountains.

Meanwhile there is more of an effort by municipalities to put recycle bins in airports which is fantastic!...if people would USE them. I watched over and over as someone would walk up to the bins and just toss something away without even LOOKING at the recycle bin right next to it. Of course some travelers might not read English, but most of the ones I observed were speaking English while they tossed their trash. There was one adorable child of about 7 who made me smile, spending a LONG time reading all the labels on the 3 side by side bins before deciding which one his trash should go in. SWEET!!! Let's have more of that! I was very sad to see that at my own Kauai airport the recycle bins that had been there on other trips were GONE, and when I asked about them I was told they were just putting all the trash together now. Why go backwards once you have started to care????

When I got back home and went to the post office to pick up my mail I was so HAPPY to see they now have a recycle bin for paper where people pick up their mail from the p.o. boxes! YAHOO! Progress for this island. But guess what? There was a woman emptying the trash bin next to the recycle bin and it was completely FULL of paper. So I asked her whether the recycle bin was full and that is why so much paper went in the trash, and she took the lid off the recycle bin and showed me an almost empty bin with 3 pieces of paper. How can this be when they are right next to each other???? She said it's not her job to put the paper in the recycling bin from the trash can, so she just throws it out. So guess what I do now? Every time I go get my mail I take all the paper out of the trash bin and put it in the recycle bins. Why is this so hard people? I just don't get it. I don't go into town much though so it only gets transferred about once a week. I think they should just remove the trash bin and FORCE people to recycle the paper! But then I suppose they would throw other things in there too like their take-out containers! Ayah.

How can we change this? Talk about it for one thing. Talk about what you see with your friends and co-workers. Bring awareness where there wasn't before. One friend of mine is on a campaign to eliminate paper plates from the place she works when people bring in snacks to share. YAY!

If you want to go that extra mile and try to compensate for jet fuel emissions as you travel, this site will guide you to purchase carbon offsets in various ways based on the distance you travel. http://www.terrapass.com/

So I ask you, whether you are just going to the post office in town, or on a long plane trip, please take all your care for the Earth WITH you and GO LIGHTLY. Someone may be watching, and learn from your example!

Thanks for listening.

MAJESTIC PLASTIC?

For those of you who check this blog regularly, forgive me for my silence. I'm still here! This may be the shortest blog I ever do, but you have GOT to watch this video!!!! It's only 4 minutes long, and is BRILLIANT. Laugh out loud, and then be moved to live differently. Enjoy. And thanks for watching!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLgh9h2ePYw

WHAT NOW?

With the oil spill in the Gulf continuing for so many months, there are MANY people that are really upset. Unlike other disasters that have lost media attention and therefore the attention of the masses, this one is staying in the spotlight, and people are getting more and more concerned. As horrific as this event is, there is an awakening that I have not seen before. People are not just walking away and going back to life as usual. They are asking questions they haven't asked before and looking for ways to change the oil habit we all have. This is a GOOD thing, rising from the horror of the spill.

I have been SO grateful every day that the water where I live is still clean enough to swim in. But it occurred to me that the plastic I pick up that washes up on the beach each day is also OIL!!!! So there IS oil pollution here too, but just in solid form rather than liquid. AYAH!

We all know that we use oil in our cars and machines, but I recently saw a list of items made from oil that was shocking. The list was published by an oil company as a boast, as in "look how many things in your life we provide for you". This list looks really different now. Look how many things in my life are part of why this oil was being drilled in the first place. As I scanned down the list it was alarming: I have that, and that, and that, and on and on. Have a look for yourself and see what is in your life on this list. (I had to laugh that ballet tights was the very first item!!!)

CLOTHING/TEXTILES
Ballet tights
nylon cord
women's polyester blouses
beads
pajamas
women's polyester pants
bracelets
pantyhose
nylon zippers
plastic hangers
permanent press clothing
dresses
purses
thongs/flip flops
earrings
ribbons
fake fur
windbreakers
sandals
garment bags
shoe laces
rain coats
iron-on patches
sneakers
sweaters
men's nylon undershirts
sofa pillow material
men's polyester shirts
men's polyester slacks
tote bags
umbrellas

OFFICE
Ball point pens
diskettes
thermometer
Ink
computers
typewriter ribbon/cartridges
business card holders
copiers
waste baskets
calculators
printer ribbon cartridges
microfilm
carbon paper
protractor
name tags
correction fluid
ring binder
erasers
rulers
letter divider
scotch tape
magic markers
telephone

SPORTS/HOBBIES/GAMES
Back packs
fishing lures
air mattresses
Polaroid camera
beach balls
fishing poles
hang gliders
vinyl cases
cameras
footballs
glue containers
puzzles
darts
Frisbees
golf ball/bags
shotgun shell casing
ear plugs
knitting needles
waterproof jackets
stadium cushion
earphones
yarn
kites
tennis racket
fabric dye
decoys
life jacket
nylon strings
face protectors
volley balls
model cars
plastic water gun
fishing bobbers
soccer balls
oil paints
parachutes
fishing cylume light stick
earphones
playing cards
photographs
mono filament fishing lines
diving boards
poker chips
goggles
roller-skate wheels
whistles
guitar strings
picks
rafts
ice chests
tents
sleeping bags
pole vaulting poles
motorcycle helmets
skis
rubber cement
plastic flower pots
water skis
hot tub covers
sails
snorkels
monkey bars
photo albums
wet suits
flippers
tennis balls
boats
insulated boots

INFANT/CHILDREN
Acrylic toys
baby oil
laundry basket
waterproof pants
baby aspirin
bath soap
mittens
pacifiers
baby blanket
bibs
rattles
double-knit shirts
baby bottles
disposable diapers
baby shoes
teething ring
nipples
dolls
stuffed animals
baby lotion

MEDICAL
Allergy medication
cotton-tipped swabs
inhalator liquid
Pepto-Bismol
aspirin
first aid cream
lancet for blood testing
pill case
band aids
first aid kits
latex gloves
prescription bottle
burn lotion
glycerin
mosquito spray
rubbing alcohol
chap stick
heart valve replacement
nasal decongestant
surgical tape
syringes
Vaseline
antiseptics
hearing aids
anesthetics
artificial limbs
eye glasses
antihistamines
cortisone
vaporizers
Bactine
oxygen masks
stethoscope
prescription glasses

HEALTH & BEAUTY
cologne
hair brushes
lipstick
permanent wave curlers
perfume
hair color
mascara
petroleum jelly
comb
foam rubber curlers
denture adhesives
shampoo
contact lens/case
hair spray
hand lotion
shaving foam
cough syrup
hearing aids
hair dryers
shoe inserts
dentures
Keri body lotion
face masks
skin cleanser
deodorants
laxatives
moisturizing cream
soap holder
disposable razors
leather conditioner
mouth wash
sun glasses
facial toner
lens cleanser
nail polish
sunscreen
tooth brushes
toothpaste tubes
vitamins
synthetic wigs
bubble bath
soap
capsules

KITCHEN/HOUSEHOLD
vinegar bottles
egg carton
meat trays
trash bags
bread box
freezer containers
melamine dishware
tumblers
cake decorations
jars
microwave divided dishes
utensils
candles
freezer bags
milk jugs
vacuum bottles
coasters
gelatin molds
nylon spatulas
wax paper
coffee pots
ice cream scoops
oven bags
mops
drinking cups
ice trays
plastic containers
fabric softener
detergent
liter bottles
plastic table service
drain stoppers
dish drainer
lunch boxes
pudding molds
sponges
dish scrubber brush
baggies
drinking straws
Styrofoam
paper cup dispenser
measuring cups
Teflon coated pans
table cloths
refrigerator shelves

FURNISHINGS
Carpet padding
Naugahyde
Venetian blinds
TV cabinets
extension cords
picture frames
flocked wallpaper
shower doors
Formica
refrigerator lining
vinyl-coated wallpaper
curtains
kitchen carpet
shag carpet
welcome mats
fan blades
lamps
shower curtain
patio furniture
swings
linoleum
upholstery material
rugs

BUILDING/HOME MAINTENANCE
caulking material
light switch plates
plunger
faucet washer
clothesline
measuring tape
polyurethane stain
water pipe
electric saw
paint brush
propane bottles
wood floor cleaner/wax
vinyl electrical tape
plastic pipe
shingles (asphalt)
light panels
garden hose
plastic wood
spackling paste
awnings
glazing compound
Plexiglas
spray paint
enamel
epoxy paint
artificial turf
folding doors
floor wax
glue
house paint
paint rollers
toilet seats
water pipes
putty
solvents
roofing material
plywood adhesive
sockets
propane

AUTOMOBILE
Anti-freeze
flat tire fix
street paving (asphalt)
car battery case
coolant
motor oil
tires
loud speakers
bearing grease
sports car bodies
traffic cones
car enamel
brake fluid
dash boards
windshield wipers
visors
car sound insulation
oil filters
car seats
convertible tops
fan belts
gasoline

MISCELLANEOUS
Ash trays
dog food dishes
tool boxes
cd's
balloons
dog leash
tape recorders
synthetic rubber
bubble gum
dog toys
flashlights
nylon rope
bungee strap
fertilizer
flight bags
disposable lighters
cassette player
flea collars
flutes
lighter fluid
cigarette case
electric blankets
tool racks
name tags
cigarette filters
ammonia
insecticides
newspaper tubes
calibrated container
insect repellent
food preservatives
phonograph records
crayons
ice buckets
dyes
pillows
credit cards
flashlights
fly swatter
plastic cup holder
dice
movie film
k-resin
plastic tie
polyethylene
polypropylene
rain bonnets
luggage
video cassettes
charcoal lighter
rayon
safety glasses
safety gloves
safety hats
shoe polish
signs
cassette tapes
toys
watch bands
waterproof boots
shopping bags
bed spreads
traffic cones
check books covers
tobacco pouches
clothes hangers
flea collars
flavors
masking tape
safety flares
flags
signs
butane

Wow. And the website says this is a "partial" list! So what now? How do we shift this??? Look at what you could either do without, or find an alternative that does NOT require more drilling to keep these things in our lives. If we continue to buy all these things we continue to say we want more drilling. If that is NOT what we want, then we need to be CLEAR. That means changing our lives in ways that we maybe have never considered before. We must not go back to business as usual now that this gushing oil is stopped. Let this catapult us in a new direction. It is time.

Thanks for listening and making new choices.

AMPLIFY THIS!

There is magic in the air. Friends of mine have a magnificent property that is several acres nestled in the bend of a river, so they have water on 3 sides and the entire thing is forest. Once a month they invite whoever wants to come, to spend an afternoon swimming in the river, eating, singing, communing. This past week they added something powerful, a Sacred Council. It is a practice they have been doing with a core group for several years, and they decided to host one for a wider community to "seed" it and start other Councils on the island. It was so beautiful. We gathered in a circle and had a few minutes of silent meditation, and then a question was introduced and each person around the circle had a chance to speak their thoughts on that question. It was done with a "talking stick", so when you are holding the stick you are the only one speaking, and everyone else is invited to listen. Powerful. It creates so much focus. The woman introducing the question spoke of this current time being one where things are greatly amplified, and her question was this:

What would you choose to be amplified at this time?

WOW. The answers that came were so moving. Clean water, sharing community, caring for children, sacred touch, awareness of the Earth, and many more. As I listened I felt like all the things people want amplified would happen if only we could bring back a sense of the Sacredness of these things. Sacredness of water, of community, of children, of touch, of the Earth. And so when my turn came I asked that Sacredness be amplified.

How would it change our lives if we actually considered things Sacred?

If you consider the water running through your home to be Sacred, would it change what you pour down the drain?

If you consider the air you breathe to be Sacred, would it change how you pollute it?

If you consider the soil beneath your home to be Sacred, would it change what you throw into the trash bin?

If you consider other people to be Sacred, would it change the way you speak to them?

If you consider touch to be Sacred, would it change the way you touch others?

Yes. Yes it would. All of us have things we consider Sacred. But what if we began to view EVERYTHING around us as Sacred? I ask you all to stop for a moment when you are about to do something, and ask yourself if what you are about to do honors the Sacredness of whatever you are facing. That one question would transform our lives and the damaging effect we have on many things. I believe the more we treat as Sacred the more that ripples out into the rest of the world. People see us treating things as Sacred and they are inspired to do that in their own life.

Bring back the Sacred. I choose to Amplify This! YES!

What would you choose to amplify right now?

Thanks for listening.

BEST AND WORST

I GOT MY WISH!!! When I first began growing my own food a year and 1/2 ago one of my dreams was to grow more food than I can eat so I could give food to others. That dream just came true! For more than a year I was struggling to get things to grow after learning how depleted and poisoned the soil was from a century of being pineapple lands. Adding compost and fertilizer helped a little but the plants would remain stunted. I longed for a boisterous garden. So I finally gave up and bought a truckload of soil from an organic permaculture farm near here,and after transplanting the struggling plants into the new soil, in just 3 WEEKS they were so HUGE that I couldn't eat all that was coming out every day. Anyone who knows me knows how much I can eat! My new and improved garden with plenty to share. YAHOOO! Come by and get some, organic, hand grown by me from seed.

Normally I write about what we humans are doing to the planet we live on and the creatures around us, but perhaps it is time to look at what we are doing directly to ourselves. Lately I've been reading more and more on the effects of pesticides on our amazing bodies. These bodies survive so much! As we dump poisons on the plants and soil they also are creeping into our cells, and are now linked with cancer, nervous system disorders, and hormone problems among other things. In one study I read, a particular chemical pesticide caused frogs to change gender!!!! Yikes. So what is it doing in us? In our children?

The Environmental Working Group is an independent agency that analyzes about 100,000 reports from the USDA and FDA on pesticides each year. How fun! Better them than me. They then put the info into user-friendly lists for those of us that DON'T want to read all those reports. Thank you EWG! Here are some amazing and scary tidbits: the top 12 pesticide-contaminated fruits and vegetables contain 47 to 67 different pesticides per serving. This year celery is the number 1 most contaminated, up from number 4 last year, so pesticide use is apparently not consistent.

Below are some lists of what fruits and vegetables contain the highest and lowest amounts of chemical residue. By avoiding the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables, you can apparently lower your pesticide consumption by close to 80 percent!!!! And these tests were done AFTER the produce was power-washed by the USDA, so washing does not remove all these scary things from our food. Again, YIKES! Organic looks better and better.

This first list is the top 12 most important to avoid or buy organic, in order of most pesticides to least:

Celery
Peaches
Strawberries
Apples
Blueberries
Nectarines
Sweet bell peppers
Spinach,Kale and Collard Greens
Cherries
Potatoes
Grapes
Lettuce

Now we get a friendlier list. The ones that have the LEAST amount of pesticides, starting with the best and going down from there:

Onions
Avocados
Sweet corn
Pineapples
Mango
Sweet peas
Asparagus
Kiwi fruit
Cabbage
Eggplant
Cantaloupe
Watermelon
Grapefruit
Sweet potatoes
Sweet onions

So besides having compassion for the soil and water, I ask you to have compassion for your very own body, and CHANGE this onslaught of chemical poisons in your bloodstream. Better for you AND the planet. Win, win. YES!

Thanks for listening, and making new choices.