Dena Eakles

Here Comes the Sun

If you’re thinking of putting up a home solar array in 2022 you will qualify for the 26% federal solar tax credit. That credit will drop to 22% in 2023 and will conclude in 2024.

For those tempted to take the solar plunge, learning about your energy use and your energy waste are perhaps the most important considerations. Reading your monthly statements, understanding your peak times of use, changing to LED bulbs and using energy efficient appliances will dramatically reduce your electric bill.

It’s an exercise in conscious living and it’s very satisfying to your pocketbook.

Most rural people have forgotten the history of how electricity came to the countryside. It was the establishment of cooperatives that allowed the forgotten regions of this country to obtain electricity.

Today most are cooperative members, but seldom understand our roles as co-owners. Happy for the lights to go on, we have entrusted the financial workings of the energy cooperatives to boards and stakeholders. As we move to renewable energy, this may be a moment to reconsider inaction and become involved.

If you’re holding out hope that your energy provider will increase their use of solar and that it will decrease your costs, it’s time to think again. Out of state third party developers are taking advantage of this leap towards solar and are investing in local solar systems. What you aren’t being told is how much you will be paying for this “service” as our cooperatives sign on to contracts that in many cases will outlast our lifetimes. It’s estimated that Vernon County ratepayers export $76 million yearly in energy costs.

So on top of your conscientious reduction of energy waste, it’s time to let your coop board know that you would prefer to keep our dollars local.

For a great presentation by Vernon County Energy District members Samantha Laskowski, Kaila Wilson and independent solar enthusiast, Rob Danilelson, click here.

Make It Count

Today is my birthday and with it the recognition that I’m inching ever closer to the finish line. People want to celebrate birthdays and thoughts of the finality of life are not usually mentioned, but I’ve always been the sort to take life seriously. Not gloomily, but in full recognition of life’s finite nature. These sobering thoughts may lead one to a lifetime filled with choice and I am fond of the saying, “Choice not chance makes destiny.”

Some people invest in the after life. I’m not one of those people. I love living and I’m quite content with heaven on earth, regardless of the hardships that may come.

Some people invest in material gain; I’m not one of those either, as I have seen enough burials to know you don’t take it with you.

For me, I thrill at the possibility of filling my days with gratitude and I’ve found that with a bit of practice one can get very good at it. It’s the same with kindness.

And when we refuse to drink of the cup of fear, it’s amazing what beauty and sweetness awaits.

I have lived long enough to know that I am unique but not special. Unique we all are, individually wrapped by the hand of the Creator. Our specialness is in that and it holds what we all share: the gift of life, and the opportunity to love and to be loved.

In the stillness of our hearts we know that we are loved. And that knowing is the sweetest birthday gift.

When this magnificent ride comes to its end, I want to be able to say, “Thank you”.

And if the chance should be offered to come again, I want to say, “Put me in coach. I’m ready to play.”

photo: Creative Commons

The Will of Life

I found a pile of feathers and straw in the barn. It was a barn swallow nest that had fallen from the rafter. When I moved the fluffy haven three fledgling birds were struggling underneath. Instincts kicked in to save them and I found a basket to hold them in hopes that their mother would hear their cries. A closer look on the ground showed another seemingly lifeless sibling. I decided to hold it; in case it was not dead and in hopes that the warmth from my hand would ignite its will to live. Within moments it was squirming and I delighted in the will of Life to live.

This on the morning I learned of the massacre of nineteen children and two adults at the hand of an eighteen year old. And I wondered what experiences had ripped compassion out of that eighteen year old heart? What twisted mindset had found a home in this unfortunate that had him ignore the will of Life?

Gratitude kicked in for all that has been given and for the choices I have made. I have learned to choose compassion over inhumanity, and I have allowed myself to hold kindness over hopelessness. It appears that many are struggling in an abyss of darkness, letting the will of Life pass them by. We have all participated in this growth of despair. It is a choice to belong to the voices that champion our goodness over our evil. And to still believe there is a way out.

We are born with a will to live, to thrive and to flourish. Circumstances will come and go, but the key remains. The will to love life is ours to protect, to learn from and to share.

We cannot let fear destroy it.

The photo is not a barn swallow, but another fledgling that found its will to live.

What Part Do I Play?

Many are weary of hearing the phrase “systemic racism”. They don’t want to think about racial inequity. They’re sorry for the loss of life brought on by white supremacists but are not ready to call them domestic terrorists. Ok, you can keep playing your word game, but I’m more than ready to call out the disease for what it is: white christian nationalism.

What is christian nationalism? It’s the twisted ideology that arrived on these shores and allowed the attempted genocide of Native people and the enrichment of capital through slavery. It gave wealthy men like Carnegie and Mellon king-like status and continues to glorify extreme wealth even as many suffer. It was and is used to promote imperialistic wars with the claims of American exceptionalism.

It is the thought process that disavows anyone who is different. It is the steadfast belief that white ethnocentrism is superior and “others” may harm their “way of life”.

It has reduced a gospel of Love to a gospel of abundance and power. Perhaps the most deplorable of all, it has people believing there is nothing to be done, just sit back and wait for your heavenly reward.

But christian nationalism has nothing to do with Christianity.

When an 18 year old walks into a grocery store and kills ten people because of the color of their skin, it’s time we ask ourselves: What part did I play in this? Is my silence worth the suffering of those victimized families? Does sheltering myself from hate fulfill my divine destiny? Or more importantly, how can I help my human family end this division we call race?

Christianity taught me about Love, not fear. It was hopeful and inclusive. Anything else, my friends, is illusion.

Wake up and call it out.

The photo is public domain from the Library of Congress.It is entitled Cross Burning, KKK from 1925.

How far have we come? Where are we going? And while the 18 year old killer proclaimed he is not a Christian one only needs to look at the beliefs that radicalized him to see the root of the disease. White christian nationalism. Hopefully White Christians will stand firm against this ignorance instead of turning away and ignoring it. Call out your pastors who preach hate. Stop supporting the fear mongering on your radio stations and virtual forums. Stop voting for racists. End this human betrayal.

Love’s Need

Sometimes you hear a song and its full value and timeliness hits home. That happened as I listened to Stevie Wonder singing, “Love’s in Need of Love Today”.

What kind of empathy drives those words? What kind of passion? What arises in us as we contemplate his question, “Did you ever think that love would be in need of love?”

We’re all capable of the compassion expressed in those words and the hope…but we have to wonder what makes a person raise their voice for the only cure that humankind requires, while another will do all that they can to fuel hate?

What is it? What makes a person bitter and cynical and another resolute for change?

I am of the firm belief that it is not a question of experience, nor is it the coincidence of birth, nor the spin of the wheel of fortune. I believe that for those who can Love, even in life’s hardest moments, it is a choice.

Hatred and confusion are human defaults. They are throwbacks we cling to when we have not yet learned of our capacity to Love. In the song there is a plea for everyone to give Love, because it is possible, and because it is needed.

People, who have cultivated seeds of empathy, and compassion, can give love. They have turned their backs on fear. And when the purveyors of love pray, sing and dance they open a door for all hearts to enter. When the purveyors of love plant and tend their gardens it is in full knowing that the earth can feed all of us. That the sun shines for all of us. That Love awaits all of us.

Here’s hoping the passionate voices of Lovers continue to call us home and that we open to it.

And for a special treat here is Billy Porter and Michaela Jae singing Stevie Wonder’s, “Love’s in Need of Love Today”

Find Better Ways

The world has been upended again. This time by a leak of something that has not and may not happen. Reactionaries on both sides are swift to lay blame, while caring people are scrambling to salvage what bit of sanity may still prevail.

The issue is abortion. It’s successfully divided people for fifty years. And while nearly 60 % of us favor legality, those of religious dogma and political control use it as a power grab. And people who oppose making abortion illegal have yet to garner the clarity, unity and focus to make the issue go away.

Abortions will happen. Safely and legally or unsafely and illegally should be the most important consideration. Women suffer through patriarchal dominance and prohibitive laws will add to the suffering.

What is needed is not a battle. What is needed is a change in behavior and a revival of consciousness. Ensuring human rights would be a good starting point.

There are doctors, social workers, ministers and the like scrambling to find ways to help women who are caught in states criminalizing abortion and removing health-care facilities. These state laws are creating a health crisis that is unnecessary and inhuman.

Women with difficult pregnancies; ones who miscarry and are held suspect; those raped by family or friend; and those who did not know the rapist will all be harmed. Mothers who cannot afford to have another child will suffer, as will their families.

We need to stop the battle and deal with reality. Abortion may again become illegal in some states. Abusing women with antiquated laws is not the solution. Teaching respect and providing adequate free health care including birth control would be a better way. Caring for one another might actually be the key.

Image is Creative Commons. Author is Becharaia.

The Human Potential

Another Earth Day has past. Outside the green of spring finally emerges from winter despite the cold winds still ripping through. Broken branches and downed trees tell their story, as do the streams, which are strikingly low. And while this drama is playing out there is the slowly creeping reality of food shortages setting in. Our usual fifty-pound bag of oats is back ordered and feed prices are going up. One has to wonder if this is the moment we realize the folly of mono crops and dependence on grains from far away. We can hope to return the bounty lost from the advent of industrial agriculture. We can grow food for people.

And then there is the war. One of many waging on the earth, but this one is a triumph for profiteers. The same failed tactics and worn storylines are telling us what to fear. Women and children suffer, and men become robotic killing machines in the name of patriotism. Governments lie and people accept.

There’s no escaping the intersection of violence against people and violence against the Earth. But the spin-doctors are good at smoke and mirrors and we’re good at keeping truths from our self.

If ever there was a moment for the human race to snap out of it, it’s now. If ever there was a time for kindness to win it’s now. Now we need the singular voice for peace.

And how will it look, this divergence from violence? Respect will be the dominant force and it will be guided by common sense. We’ll stop destroying the only home we have and begin to care for one another. And when and if calamity should come, we’ll meet our challenges with courage, not fear.

This is the human potential; a worthy goal.

Worthy Truths

I’m weary of unending wars and war profiteers, of the bleak reality of those who have lost the ability to care and those who care but are trapped into helplessness.

So this is my way out of weariness:

To the Old: do not give up on your hopes for better humankind. Do not give up on your youthful dreams of peace. Do not let inhumanity become normal to you. Do not let your finite nature keep you from cutting a path towards Freedom that others may find shelter long after you are gone. With every breath there is hope. As long as we dream, we can also manifest. Don’t worry that you cannot do what you did before, what you can do now is as great. Hold onto the best of what can be and melt your will into the Greater Will. Then marvel at how magnificently strong you still are and will always be.

And to Youth: keep pushing. But as you push do not make the mistake of following those to your left or to your right. There is only one avenue worthy of your footsteps and that is found within. The significant voice capable of guiding you is also within. It won’t be found in abstract thought. It resides in heartfelt clarity. There you will find your way home. Do not let your impatience turn to cynicism. Life is an ongoing experiment and an experience for the living. Do everything you can to be as fully conscious as you can be. Pundits, who warn of human ignorance and human folly, and are only half right. If you must listen, find those who exalt in the gratitude of being alive. Find those who have not lost their innocence. They are ageless. Their truths are worthy.

Socrates and Spring

Just when you think Spring isn’t coming, up pokes the proof that you were wrong again. Nettles, Angelica, Motherwort and Daffodils are poking out of the ground and even though temperatures are far from inviting, they are ruthless in their desire to emerge.

I’ve given up on facts when it comes to knowing. Facts and reason, as our old friend Socrates told us, are slightly above belief and opinion, but still don’t cut it if what you really want is to Know.

We live in an era of facts. We beat each other up with facts, because we have not understood that facts change. Politicians are very good at manipulating and dividing people through facts. And science, well, a good scientist will tell you as science learns, facts change. The use of facts in day-to-day living may serve as a guide to mundane choices. How much water should I consume in a day? How much alcohol, how much fiber? If you live more than three decades, I can assure you these kinds of facts will change.

These are harmless facts. But there are the not so harmless facts that govern war, economics, health and environmental destruction or protection – take your pick. How do we gauge what is fact, or what is truth in this sea of duality?

I have only found one way to arrive at my knowing. I have to stop thinking and feel. Sure I can take in the news and all the facts thrown at me in a day, but at the end of it, when I must chose, when I must decide what will provide the best outcome, the only certainty I have is what I feel. Not emotion; not thought; but a bit of a deeper dive.

Socrates called it “Know thyself”. I call it “Being human”.

If you want encouragement to take a deeper dive I suggest reading Prem Rawat‘s book, “Hear Yourself”.

Enjoy Spring as it comes!

A Singular Choice

The victors of war are those who manufacture war machines, those with financial gain from doing so and those who will rebuild cities after the dust settles. Arbitrary boundaries are established to benefit profiteers. And those boundaries will change with the will of the powerful who are never quite satisfied with what they have. The earth becomes a pawn in humankind’s reckless extraction and human beings are sacrificed at the altar of greed.

The cycle of violence is encouraged. Our need to belong is manipulated into what we have termed “nationalism”. Those without deep roots in their humanity succumb to the acts of brutality that nationalistic thinking allows. The genocides that we are witnessing in Ukraine, in Mali, in Yemen, in Somalia…and so many more, are not new. Our inability to stop them is also not new.

We need to come back. As individuals, we need to discover and replenish our love of life and of living. We need to feel our humanity, not simply talk of it. It’s not impossible. But it requires that we become abolitionists.

Abolition is defined as the action or act of abolishing a system, practice, or institution. To end our addiction to the violence of war is an act of abolition.

It is a defiant and determined act to think and live differently than we have been taught.

We have been taught to take sides. We have been taught there are winners and losers. We have been taught consumption and competition and we have been indoctrinated into systems where violence is the default.

Yet we will always have the singular choice to say, “Unhand me, I chose peace. I belong to the human family. The earth is my home, and its inhabitants are my relatives.”

We have choice. We need will.

In light of all the lies that are told, for more on genocides past and present: https://www.genocidewatch.com

The photo is a Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum sp.) Mokke is the photographer, licensed under Creative Commons share alike

Author: Dena Eakles