Summer Solstice 2017

Summer Solstice. The longest day and shortest night. The days all get imperceptibly shorter after this,

“Our ancestors built huge bonfires on this day to celebrate their tangible connection to the vital power of the immense burning star that keeps our planet bright, warm and alive. It’s a good time to remember that we, like the sun, contain the power to nurture and sustain, and that we have a responsibility to burn as brightly as we can.

“(It) is the time to invite fire into our lives fire to burn away all that we have outgrown and all that no longer serves us; fire that makes the wild things grow in us, for which our inner selves have longed.

“We are all connected people, planet, and sun. If we align ourselves with the power in others and in the natural forces around us, what we are unable to do with our own puny ego elves can be made to happen if it is attuned to the needs of the inner self and those upon which we are connected.”

~ Cait Johnson and Maura D. Shaw from Celebrating the Great Mother

We're burning bright, all right. In fact, each year gets hotter and hotter. This year, everything is growing faster and starting too early, and it's throwing everything off. I can't give myself any more excuses why there are no bees in my yard. "It's too early in the morning.late at night," "It's too chilly/too hot now," "It's only June."

We are not connected anymore. We are not connected to each other or to the planet and Nature. We have forgotten. And it will kill us. There are more of us than ever and we are less connected than ever. We never are without communication devices in front of us or in our hands, and we know less than ever, talk less than ever, care less than ever.

We've gotten to the point where even thinking about building a bonfire causes me to fret about the pollution it would cause, because there are oh so many of us, and if we all burned celebratory solstice fires, what bad air it would cause. That's where we are. That's the head-space I live in. That's why I don't write here anymore. All the things I used to talk about, they don't matter. We're past the tipping point. So what if I throw a plastic pen away? Use the K-cups, what does it matter?

(No, don't use the K-cups. They are ridiculous and you are a horrible person if you still use them.)

Celebrate Solstice? I'm not sure why anymore.

Now They're Just Trying to Piss Me Off

It seriously is like we're not even trying anymore. Unless the trying that we are doing is the trying to make my head explode. It's as if we have no problem whatsoever with plastic on this planet. None. Like we aren't saying anything over here about the 5 Gyres, like Dr. Marcus Eriksen isn't out there beating a drum about it. (Don't know him? Here: http://www.marcuseriksen.com/ ) It's as if we've given up completely and just announced we'll go ahead and trash the planet instead of trying to move to being better stewards of this Earth, because there is really no going back.

What now, GGW? you say with a sigh. Just this:

I almost have nothing more to say. Almost. It's from our good friends over there at Nestle, of course. Because you know how much they care about the environment. Darn it, I can't even eat one of my favorite candy bars anymore because it's made by Them. But I digress.

3 fluid ounces so as to be attractive to frequent flyers, I suppose. Easy to just toss in your purse or laptop bag. Convenient.

Look, I don't care that you are tossing it in the recycling bin. That means nothing. Nothing. The water of this planet is filled with plastic. Islands where man has never set foot are found to be covered with plastic. Birds who live their lives at sea are found with stomachs full of plastic. When is it enough? When do we get a clue? When do we get the hint? When do we stop?

Obviously  not anytime soon, because every day all I see are more new stupid products like this one coming out for purchase. We do not need these things. We need a healthy environment. The two are not compatible.

Just. Stop.

Doggie-Bag Dilemma

We eat out. It happens. Portions are very generous these days. Remember back in the '80s when it was all the rage to have stupidly tiny portions for insane prices? That sure went away. I can rarely finish my meal when I go out to eat. If it's a sandwich then I ask for a piece of foil rather than a container which is inevitably and will for some future time in my area be Styrofoam.

That leaves the other times when I have something slightly messier. You'd think that I - of all people - could remember to bring something from home to take my food home, instead of using that offensive piece of garbage they bring out to me.  Why can't I remember this one simple thing? 

Styrofoam is getting banned in a lot of towns and will be in more to come. I should not be waiting for that. Tossing them in the recycling bin isn't a solution. Not using them in the first place is. It's mind-blowing to me to think how much garbage we would save if everyone refused this stuff for just a week. But we don't even think about it. I think about it and still forget when it comes down to it. Would restaurants frown upon the practice of our bringing our own containers? I get weird reactions when I ask for foil, but they come around quickly enough. We can point out that by bringing our own containers, we are saving them money.

It's not like I'm talking about bringing them to a buffet. But for a meal for which we have paid, this shouldn't be questionable at all. Is it inconvenient? Probably to those who refuse to bring reusable bags to the grocery store. If you take food home you will be carrying a bag anyway. Why not carry one in? 

And while on that point, you can refuse that plastic bag they give you, as well. If it's something that's going to spill, either be careful or make sure you have something in the car for such an occurrence. It's not difficult, once you get in the habit. 

Let's all start this habit. We'll save a ton of trash. Literally. I promise, next time I go out, to friggin' remember this at last! Embarrassing? Hell no! What's embarrassing about trying to save this place for the next generation? We can at least try.