A breathtaking look at love. And an awesome take on today’s prompt. Enjoy, I definitely did.

Earth/bound

She is our Mother.  Like disobedient children we are ignoring her pleadings.  We ignore her lessons in pursuit of the shiny man-made items that the TV tells us we all need. In pursuit of greed, we have become disconnected from her.  We no longer dance or sing her praises. We no longer treat her children kindly.  We no longer seek her wisdom. We feel that she has to keep providing for our own selfish desires.  We are clogging her arteries.  We are gouging scars into her skin. We are darkening her lungs with our exhaust. We throw our trash all over her.  We have divided and subdivided her so that we no longer have communities. We constantly harangue and molest her but expect her to stand strong in support of us. I mean that is what a mother is supposed to do, right?

Well, her anger is becoming quite evident.  She is shaking, quaking, blowing hot, blowing cold, and dousing us with water. She is trying to scratch us off her back like a dog scratches away fleas. (I mean honestly, we have stopped being her loving children and become parasites.) Her love now has conditions placed upon it. Heed her warnings or be left floundering when she finally takes away her love.

This is the truth that I have learned as I get ready to enter my fourth decade.  It is only by trying to learn about my ancestors and how they lived that I have realized how far from the path we have strayed.  I know that it is time to lessen my impact on the matrix. While I’ll never give up all of my modern conveniences I can figure out ways to keep them from hurting the Mother.

My dream is to live as far off the grid as possible. I see that my solution is nature.  The first step would be to find a plot of land that I could “borrow”. (The idea of land ownership needs to be given up. I believe that concept is part of the reason we are disconnected from nature.  Land ownership gives a false sense of being apart from nature.)  I would build a subterranean home or one made from the materials indigenous to the area in which I would reside. An underground home has been proven to reduce heating and cooling costs in the desert metropolis I live in. A home from indigenous materials would do the same if it was built with the natural world in mind.  Adobe homes maintain their temperatures by adding breezeways, ceiling vents, natural insulation, and other features.  Either of these homes would contain solar panels, windmills, and gardens. Just like plants, solar panels transform the sun into energy. The windmill would be backup on those rare cloudy days. I would try to achieve 100% electric independence.  The gardens would be provide food and medicine.  This would reduce my dependency upon gasoline by lessening the items needing to be purchased from the store. In order to irrigate my gardens, I would use recycled water and rain water caught in an underground tank. I hope I can find a natural aquifer to tap for a well, otherwise I will have to depend on the matrix to provide that need. (Gotta have a reliable water source, especially if you live in the desert.) Once my home was sustainable, I would open it to others seeking communion with the Mother.

Each morning would begin by greeting Brother Sun and singing his praises.  For without him we would be lost in darkness. We would spend our days learning the lessons of the Mother.  We could observe how her other children lived in harmony with her and emulate them. We could remember our ancestors and how they lived on the land before they became civilized. We would be able to remember when we were children and had a sense of wonder.  We could become who we truly are meant to be.

At the very least I would be able to heed the lessons and admonitions of the Mother. I believe that the biggest one is to live in love with the natural world and all things in it. I think that she wants us to understand that we can never truly own her because she is the one who sustains us.  All we can do is try to honor her gifts.

If I ever get a chance to “borrow” a piece of her I will love her as I love myself. I will use what she teaches me to teach others.  Maybe in that way I can help end her frustration. And without the frustration, she may fully embrace us once again.

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/02/20/daily-prompt-land/

When my youngest son was born I heard the words “Amniotic Band Syndrome” for the first time. There was an indication in the ultrasound that he may have an issue with his left hand but his birth made it definite. The 3 days I spent in the hospital were spent vacillating between worry about his future and determination that he would not think of his self as less than. When I finally went home and could do the research on this syndrome I realized that he was blessed by the universe. He had all of the parts he was supposed to have. Some of them just looked and worked differently than most people. Only the 4 fingers of his left hand were affected whereas other children have had limbs severed from the bands. Some parents have lost the little ones they dreamed of due to Amniotic Band Syndrome. My guy is now a rambunctious two-year old. While he has some dexterity issues due to fused fingers, a sideways joint in his ring finger, and no joints at all in his middle finger he is able to use his hand. And with some minor surgery his dexterity can improve. (The surgery would separate the skin between his pinky and ring finger, also the skin between his middle and pointer finger. The doctor does not see any remedy for the sideways joint or the finger with no joints. My husband and I have not yet agreed to go forward with the surgery because we are not convinced that it is necessary other than for cosmetic purposes.) Some children are not as blessed. Some are missing digits. They need prosthetics. For many families prosthetics are cost prohibitive. Do you feed and house your child or do you buy him a hand. A hand can cost as much as a new car. And every time your child grows substantially, they will need a new hand. That is where people like the guys at Coming Up Shorthanded step in. They have developed a design that they have made available for free to the world. It is made on a 3D printer. They aren’t looking to get rich, just to fill a need for others. They have made an adult version for one if the blog authors. They have made a child sized hand for a little boy named Liam. Now they will begin work for another little boy. Check them out. Share the stories. And if you can donate, donate, Donate!

Do you agree with the sentiment expressed in this post? Do we share the same roots? I think we do share the same roots even if we have been transplanted into different soil. We have adapted to the nutrients and moisture content of our soil but we all came from the same plot of land originally. Revel in that understanding and we can love each other without reservations.

Travelmaker Kai

We are all chocolate!

Sweet and divine we are,

descending from the dirt of the earth,

the fruit of life given by Theobroma,

food worthy of the gods themselves,

our roots in Africa and its vast diaspora,

cocooned by a protective shell,

our seeds cultivated to be roasted until ‘blackened’,

how our darkness has pathed way for a melting pot of shades,

enough variety to suit ones preference and palette,

white chocolate, milk chocolate, dark chocolate…

adaptable in any way, texture and taste,

yet still as attractive to the eye,

because no chocolate can deny itself of its ancestry…

what would chocolate be without a trace of the cocoa bean?

simply a lost soul of artificial sweetness with no substance.

so lets celebrate life together!

For the earth gave us this gift so we can understand the meaning of indulgence!

savour the moments as a piece melts on your tongue…

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