My Rights

• Excitement and fun without harming the natural world humans are a part of.

• A life where media, art, literature and music inspire me

• Clean water

• Clean air

• quality shelter

• natural things in my everyday life

• quality products at good prices, not junk at cheap prices

• to work hard for fair compensation

• good public places to meet and discuss issues and ideas with other citizens

• to know that my future and the future of my children is bright and prosperous not dark and depleted

• low impact technology

• good food produced without stress on the land, animals or farmers involved in the process

• to live in a world where economic growth is only a by-product of a civil and just world

• A world where I know my life is not harming others.

What else? Let me know.

Trees

What is the value of a tree?

• provider of oxygen
• carbon capture (no new technology needed)
• stores sunlight for later use (lumber, energy from limb wood, leaves enrich soil)
• provides shade (less air conditioning)
• provides wind protection (less heating costs)
• purifies water (trees constantly cycle water, cleaning it)
• trees and green spaces lower stress and have a net result of increasing good health and lowering the strain on our health care system.

What is the monetary value of a single tree if it is allowed in an urban setting to grow to maturity? 

Trees are beautiful and that is reason enough to develop a conscious policy or a urban forest management plan, but we can get a real financial and health benefit from our trees.

Snow Day

No script

No map

Time without commitment

Toil in pursuit of fun

The Boys in the backyard

The Gift of leisure

Parasite

I suffer from the affliction of having too much. Poor Steve his biggest health problem is he eats too much food. Imagine I am unhealthy due to an abundance of good quality nutritious food. One of the flash points of in my marriage for arguments is the need to clean up because there is too much stuff lying around.



Now I am aware that it is not the abundance of food that is my issue but the ingestion of this food beyond what is strictly needed for me to survive. I am aware I have too much stuff because I bought it and left it lying around. I am a user of resources I am a consumer of goods and services, I am a parasite!



There is more, I understand the need for political action in our society, I understand that if we do not ask for a voice that we will not have one. I complain about the corporate takeover of our government, our culture, our very lives, but I do very little. I seek the spiritual awareness but do not actively seek this wisdom. I understand the need for action in a bruised and nearly broken world but do not take action. I am a parasite.

So what makes me a parasite:

• consumption of goods and services without thought for the quality
• consumption without thought of where it came from an who it is affecting
• consumption without thought of the need for disposal
• allowing systems and machines in my life to run less efficiently than they could
• not standing for something (putting action where our beliefs project)

So how to be less of a parasite? Well this is the question, first let me say that I am weak, very weak, I succumb to temptation very easily. Then I am also lazy and the easy way especially under stress is my MO in many situations. So how do I a lazy week pampered human change from being a parasite on this earth. I suck!

How the heck do I know, how the heck can I change when I am battling me and I have no more strength of resolve than myself. Well I have several ideas that I am going to develop as I move forward.

• small changes only (no huge goals that will overwhelm my spirit)
• quality (at all points consider the quality of the goods and services I am purchasing and there long term value)
• action (take the knowledge I have and convert it to actions not words)
• go outside (simply go outside as much as possible and enjoy or fine earth)
• in the three Rs of environmental protection employ reduce as much as is possible and use reuse and recycle as last ditch efforts

So what first, what will I do? What small changes can I set up and then accomplish? Well I am going to set 4 right now:

• litter-less lunch (buy some containers and user them daily)
• never turn on the TV (not sure how this will go but it is a simple restriction that does not require a schedule and may reduce my overall time watching)
• grazing (one sit down meal a day and the rest of the time small bits one hour or more apart)

OK there is no rocket science and more to come I hope.

I Will Get By

Zoom. How long have I gone what have I seen? This is it seems impossible for me to keep up. Why can't I write every day here why can't my writings be poignant and full of the Hope that I feel. Father, Husband, Brother, Freind, what is my role how can I contribute. I care not for my simple views but do not have the nerve to cut deep in this forum.

6:30

The land of ice and snow may be finally giving itself to spring. I anticipate the end of cold, the smell of the earth and the feeling of outer and inner warmth afforded by the end of winter. I give myself to the idea of new green, the new start. Oh Canada you are glorious in your glaring coat of winter white, but give me the joy of your green and your praise I will sing to the top of the world. Corny but nonetheless, This is a time of rebirth for all of nature and for my spirit. Our backyard is my utopia and is not far from perfect.

In Our Own Water

My Dad came out of the bathroom magazine in hand, "can you believe this, these people shit in there own drinking water" he said with dismayed disgust. As I recall it was a third world country that was embattled by an ever growing population and Dad was not getting the sympathy part. The society in question used the same river to wash, drink and excrete and of course the village upstream did the same. My question was innocent and poignant in the discussion, "Dad where does the water we drink come from?" Dad was quick to respond that our water comes from some of the best deep wells around and we enjoy delicious safe water. He had some civic pride in his voice and I felt good myself listening to his voice. "Where does our toilet water come from then Dad" I said with eager anticipation of an equally prideful response. This question of course stopped poor Dad dead in his tracks he hesitated for more then a second then in a low voice said, "we have a system" and left the room.
The real answer of course is that we shit in our drinking water.

Beauty

The snow covers everything and life slows down to look it over, and judge it to be beautiful. We are buried in snow, but in reality we are buried in our own rush. Lets take it down a notch and see the world as it is not as we perceive it to be. Drive yourself to complete abandon of process not to work! allow yourself the right o relax and enjoy life if only for a day. It is Saturday, let it be Saturday. Let beauty invade you let it take over your mind.

Dream

Of Community
Of Peace
Of Hardwork
Of Equality
Of Strength
Of Sunshine
Of Clean Air
Of Front Porch
Of no taking
Of giving without strings
Of death
Of birth

Lets take the best part of ourselves and add it as ingredients to ourselves and others. Lets see community as the next building block to family.

Disappointing

Why are we so great?
Why are we so bad?
Why are we so disappointing
Why are we human?
Why is humanity so disappointing?
Can we grow?
I hope so.