In my sixth decade, foot pain was getting my attention and I realized wearing (any and all) shoes had taken a toll. Hesitant at first, I decided to go barefoot as often as possible. There was a need to let my feet touch the earth again. Now in my seventh decade, I’m certain that this choice among others saved my gait.
It’s never too late to heal. It’s never too late to turn the tide on bad choices or imposed circumstances. And while healing may not be curing, it’s empowering and freeing in its own right.
We are massively in need of healing these days. The imposed circumstances of our lives have made us complicit in self-destruction – much like wearing the wrong shoes. But here is the good news, you can stop; you can change. You can heal.
I’m reminded of an aunt who spent her young years in the garden. She was an awesome cook and she advanced her education as much as she was able. I owe my love of reading and inquisitiveness to her coaching. But as the years advanced, she spiraled into bitterness and eventual depression. It was hard to witness this suffering. At her end, when I visited her in a nursing home, a nun who cared for her told me she always prayed for peace. This came as a bit of a surprise because years earlier she had mocked my pursuit of peace, yet, now she was asking for that simplicity for herself. It’s our birth right, this quest for peace. It is a natural outpouring of the deepest part of our nature, whenever it surfaces.
And who is to say when it’s too late to ask? Time is not the ruler of our hearts; it’s merely a mile marker. We can all live lifetimes in moments – both joyous and painful; and the memories are ours to keep.
At this time of great uncertainty, seek the certainty that exists within the silent moments. There is a cry from the heart for peace. Let it unfold for you as it has for those before you. We honor those who lived with dignity. Let us emulate them. It’s never too late.
We lost a great example of what humanity could be this week with the passing of Dolly Parton. There are many new and old stories being told about her kindness, her fierce independence, her brilliant wit, her love of life, and of her fellow human beings and her God, but that is not my focus here. Those tellings will live on as her legend continues to grow and touch people, as it surely will.
What I want to highlight is the significance of the outpouring of love and appreciation that is being offered in her name. What I want us to consider is how the Goodness of one human being has had the capacity to touch so many of us. And most importantly how this moment of recognition can create a wave of kindness among us. The greatest reciprocity that we could offer this magnificent, bright light of a human being is to walk our own path as she did. To be valiant in the face of hardship, to be resilient before those who would diminish us and to never give up.
The greatest homage we could pay at this time would be to step fully into ourselves as she did. To embrace the gift of life with celebration and joy. If we can unleash the freedom of spirit and the unrelenting care for all people that she demonstrated; it would be the honor deserved.
A gay interviewer once asked Dolly how she felt about drag queens loving and emulating her, in so many words she told him she appreciated them, and then she said, “If I hadn’t been a girl, I would have been a drag queen.” There is an abundance of freedom in that. There is unbridled love.
Compassion was her constant companion. That compassion exists in all of us. It was not unique to her. She embodied it; she owned it. And so can we. Dolly(s) of the world arise. You are needed.
As an “endless” war carries on; a genocide continues without consequence; as we grapple with the inhumanity of ICE; and too many are going hungry or without adequate care, hopelessness and fear are palpable. But we cannot let them win. There are attributes to be cultivated, things we have not tried, that could help us. First, we must confront two realities: one is our history of violence and oppression, the other is our compliance with it.
This confrontation of our history requires us to go deeper. Our “exceptionalism”has been built on indigenous conquest and slavery. Our refusal to demand equity and human dignity is telling. We are tied to systems which do not serve all of us. In fact very few are served and the trends towards de-humanization are escalating, not abetting. By recognizing our complicity to oppressive systems, we can extract ourselves from them and bring them to their rightful end. This takes courage and clarity and heaps of determination because at every turn we’re reminded that our compliance is needed to maintain the status quo. Then I ask myself, “What exactly am I agreeing to and participating in?”
And when I stop, when I listen to the simple cries of my heart, this is when I come back to being human. We have the opportunity to choose compliance with our humanity, nothing else. As people line up behind candidates and parties looking to belong, seeking solutions and comfort in ideas that have never served us; we can choose the belonging and comfort of being human. We can let that be our starting point. Life gets much simpler. We are built for this.
The beauty of living here in the Driftless is a gift. The day to day activities have challenges and rewards. Gratitude is a welcomed companion; it helps relieve the weariness of a world gone mad. Maintaining a practice of benevolence towards oneself and others is not a weakness; it is our super power.
It is a choice to live with dignity. In that choice there is little left to debate. One people, one planet, one love; and one effort to leave this beautiful earth better than we found it. That belonging is possible. We just need to go a bit deeper.
Take time for yourself. Take time to discover the best in us… This is a free ten week zoom, please register in advance.
Ten years ago, I had my first taste of militarized police. For weeks and months at Standing Rock, Natives and other citizens of this country were brutally treated. I wrote then about my concerns that this was the tip of the iceberg. That was under Obama. Since that time, more and more police are equipped and trained to protect property over people, and now with ICE they have been given permission to destroy families, communities and take lives, as we watch.
The police execution of Corey Ruiz in broad daylight in Madison on July 22 was inevitable if you follow the trajectory of permission granted to those in authority. Couple that with decades of killings by police and now ICE and you have a tinder box waiting to be ignited. And the refusal of government to uphold the law on murder by police is without conscience or compassion.
What is even more heart wrenching are the people and bots who deny the victim’s humanity with cruel accusations and chiding.
And to those who refuse to see what has always been true and is now on steroids, we are a lawless people who hide behind wealth and power. But there is hope. The marginalized and youth are not accepting our history to be our future. People are rising up, in large part due to the increased inhumanity, income disparity, and stripped safety nets. People want humanity to win. And no amount of power and arsenal will keep that tide from turning.
If you don’t like “Defund the police” or “Abolish ICE” and you’re OK with your tax dollars funding a genocide, you have betrayed yourself. It’s time to come back. Come home to your self and your humanity.
“Corey was quiet, soft-spoken, and giving. He thought about other people before he thought about himself. He had a family who loved him. He was not alone in this world, and he was not without help. We ask that he not be reduced to a label he never carried.
“To the activists who have shown up for Corey, thank you. Keep fighting for justice, peacefully and together. Our family is not affiliated with any group, and you do not need our approval to demand accountability. Please work through our liaison rather than contacting our family directly.
“Our family did not organize or authorize the encampment at Williamson and Baldwin streets. We learned of it the day after it was set up. We were never asked, and we never agreed to the statement released in our name.
“The city cleared that intersection yesterday. We ask everyone at that corner and everyone wearing a badge to keep this peaceful. No one else should be hurt in Corey’s name.
“This family has authorized one GoFundMe, and only one:https://gofund.me/1d3ee8937. Any campaign raising money for protest or advocacy work should say so plainly, and should not tell donors the money is going to Corey’s family.
“We would welcome a respectful memorial for Corey that honors the man he was.
“We are asking for privacy while we grieve. Please work through our legal representatives and liaisons on any requests for our family.”
Hummingbirds buzz me daily now. I have come to realize they are letting me know it’s time to refill their feeders. The old sheep can’t quite make it to the orchard, but they wait eagerly for the little green apples trees are letting go. Chicks follow me, expecting treats and their insistence is charming. The young saplings look weary from the heat and I feel their relief when I get to them with water. These are tiny acts of love and kindness that fill my cup and keep me human. In a world that challenges compassion and ridicules empathy, it is delicious to discover that our humanity has not been erased.
There is an opportunity that waits for us every day and really every moment, if we have the eyes for it. It’s the chance to be human. I’ve come to acknowledge that being human is not automatic. It requires something more than merely being alive. It is a conscious choice and a practice.
I have found that I am most weary, not from the labors of my day, but of the missed opportunities to share my humanity and to delight in another’s.
The shocking and horrid death of Corey Ruiz at the hands of the state brought new challenges. Accusations that this violence was inevitable and deserved played heavily and heartlessly. It was salt in our woundedness as human beings. It takes a tremendous effort to overcome the depth of sorrow that we feel and to seek the clarity needed for this moment.
And what is this needed clarity? It is the ability to walk in pain, sorrow and anger and not be swallowed by the abyss of hatred. It is the courage to find within us the determination to rise again. It is the choice to be human.
There is an outpouring of love and concern for the family and the community in Madison at this time of grief. The vigil continues there and the demands remain. From Wisconsin Bailout the People Movement.
Echo Valley Hope Board’s response to the killing of Corey Ruiz by Madison police on July 22. Echo Valley Hope will continue to support efforts to eradicate racism and violence in the systems that were created for our protection. The execution of Corey Ruiz, a Black man, by Madison police and witnessed by bystanders demands our united voices for change. We support voices demanding the abolishment of deadly force. We demand an independent investigation into this murder. We will continue to work to restore human dignity. Racism and violence must be abolished from our systems. No more excuses
For more statements from member groups of WNPJ on the killing of Corey Ruiz, visit the Facebook page.
This week has been a roller coaster with extreme temps and choking smoke dulling the senses and dimming the mind. But even in these wicked days every moment counts. Every drop of Good matters. Every step toward Clarity brings us closer to our home and to ourselves.
This photo is from a post by Gregory LaForme on the fires in Canada. Read his post below.
The week began with an interview with Francesca Hong for my podcast Changing the Narrative. I was and remain in respect of the humanity she brings to her campaign for Governor of Wisconsin. She has risen against tremendous odds to bring a sense of hope and dignity to our state. I welcome you to listen to our conversation.
If you have been reading my work over the years you probably know I have little faith in systems, and even less in politics. But my faith in the human spirit never waivers. Not in our ignorance, but in the wisdom that shines through when we take time to cultivate it.
The powers that be are throwing curve balls into this election. Both parties are sure they can sway the outcome, and perhaps they will. But that is still up to us. And the question will remain: Who do we want to be? Team Hong’s slogan, “We Make Better Possible” is not empty rhetoric. It engages and empowers We the People. And rise we must, while we still have choice.
*******************************
I also invite you to check out our nonprofit Echo Valley Hope e-news Revolution of Understanding. It is full of hope and actions of wonderful people striving to make a difference.
As Indigenous people endure the fires, with lives and communities upended and little help extended to them, let us remember: What happens to one, happens to all. Let us continue to find ways to lessen the suffering of all people and the earth. We can. These are matters of priority and choice.
CORPORATE PROFIT, GOVERNMENT NEGLECT: HOW FIRST NATIONS ARE BEING LEFT TO BURN IN ONTARIO
While northern Ontario communities breathe toxic smoke and face emergency evacuations, we need to talk about the man-made choices driving this crisis. This isn’t just a natural disaster. It is the direct result of corporate greed and severe government negligence.
Look at Namaygoosisagagun First Nation, also known as Collins First Nation, located northwest of Thunder Bay. Earlier this week, a fast-moving, massive wildfire completely consumed and destroyed the entire community in less than an hour.
Because it is a remote, fly-in community with no road access, residents were left with zero emergency government help as the flames advanced. Families, children, and elders had to drop everything, run to the beach, and pile into a handful of boats to watch their entire community burn to the ground from across the water.
Chief Helen Paavola stated that they survived it, but now they have absolutely nothing.
This tragedy was entirely preventable. The truth behind what led to this begins with spraying for profit, which creates the ultimate tinderbox. For decades, the province has permitted big forestry companies to aerially spray chemical herbicides, like glyphosate, over public Crown lands. They do this to kill off deciduous trees like trembling aspen, birch, and maple. They want to eliminate competition so profitable cash-crop conifers, like pine and spruce, grow faster for timber harvest.
But nature designed deciduous trees to act as natural firebreaks because they do not burn easily. By wiping them out to build single-species plantations, the government has created high-risk monoculture forests that burn far faster, leaving dead, chemically withered wood to serve as kindling.
While our forests became tinderboxes, the Ford government systematically stripped away the resources needed to fight the flames. Premier Doug Ford gutted the emergency forest firefighting budget, introducing deep permanent cuts. Years later, despite worsening climate risks, his administration quietly slashed tens of millions more from wildland firefighting and emergency preparedness. Because of these choices, Ontario’s frontline wildland firefighting force has shrunk year after year, leaving remote northern communities chronically short on emergency crews, pilots, and critical response capacity.
First Nations bear the brunt of these political and corporate calculations. Indigenous people make up only a small fraction of the population, but they account for the vast majority of all wildfire evacuations. Because many reserves are located in these targeted, fire-prone regions, these communities are on the front lines. Not only are they facing terrifying, long-term displacements from their homes, but the aerial spraying itself poisons their traditional territories. It obliterates native berry patches, destroys sacred medicinal plants, drives away moose populations, and risks local water contamination.
The bottom line is clear. We are sacrificing ecosystems, human health, and Indigenous treaty rights to protect corporate timber bottom lines and balance reckless provincial budgets. We cannot allow the government to underfund emergency services while actively making the landscape more dangerous.
Wake up and share this message. Talk to your local representatives and demand accountability for northern communities. Support the Traditional Ecological Knowledge Elders and organizations like Stop the Spray Canada who are actively fighting to end chemical forestry management.
It’s hot. People are being stretched to their limits. If not from the radical swings of Nature, from the ignorance of human beings. The earthquake calamity in Venezuela is exacerbated by international corporate theft of oil revenues. The people impacted are receiving little help. Hunger is taking hold, bodies remain trapped and hope is dissipating.
From all accounts, Sudan is bracing for another wave of violence. Amnesty International and others point to a war that would end if outside forces stopped weaponizing both sides. This is a battle for the control of resources. It shows no mercy on innocent lives. And let us not forget the human slaughter that Israel continues in Palestine and now in Lebanon as the world watches in real time.
We’re in crisis that most media and elected officials refuse to acknowledge in any meaningful way. One has to dig deep to uncover the inhumanity. Here in Wisconsin, masked ICE agents are targeting people who are in full compliance with immigration laws. In Milwaukee, police are allowing ICE to override laws created to curtail their violent operations. Families are disrupted and dreams are crushed as deaths in ICE custody rise in the inhuman, for-profit facilities we have allowed.
But if you dig deep, you will learn that Native tribes fought for the closure of Alligator Alcatraz with the Miccosukee Tribe and environmental groups winning the case to end the detention center. You will hear of countries sending aid to Venezuela, and NGO’s risking all to help those in need. But you have to dig. Because those in power know that if the full picture of system collapse and human misery is shown, people will rise.
And People are rising. Despite the lies and the corruption. Despite the obscene wealth that knows no compassion, People are rising. Community action groups are springing up to fight data centers, transmission and pipelines, and to protect their immigrant neighbors. And people are voting. This battle to save our souls is not over.
Those who recognize we share the same watering hole are asserting their humanity. And we will win.
Life sometimes takes turns that require decisive attention and action. When you have chickens, you can count on it.
We have free range chickens, really free range. They lay eggs in the darndest places and then the game of hide and seek is on. Because if we don’t find them, a predator will. And of course, there are hens who trick us and find a way to sit on five to fifteen eggs that we hadn’t found. We figure this out when the hen doesn’t make it back to the coop at night. And then the hunt is on, this time with a dog kennel in tow.
One hen had been sitting on eggs inside a kennel for way too long, but she wouldn’t give up. We knew the eggs could not be viable, but her insistence made us slip another few eggs under her. One determined fellow finally made it out of the shell, which, from what I can tell, is no easy feat. The mama is completely devoted to its presence and it is a delight to watch.
And of course, there was the hen who decided to roost inside the coop high on the rafters. Every day we looked for a chick that might have fallen, but this mom was on it. Two chicks hatched and somehow landed softly. Mama hen took them outside and with little coaching walked them into a tiny coop set up for them. A couple eggs that had been left behind in the rafter were put near her. One never knows if the hen will accept an egg, but this mama ever so gently used her beak to pull them under her belly and into the warmth required to hatch. And voila, by morning there were four little chicks parading in the coop.
But wait, there’s more in this busy week. Another hen didn’t come home and a storm was on the way. We had scoped out a nest of eggs and sure enough she was there, stone faced and determined. Luckily, we have many dog kennels. She was scooped up along with her fifteen eggs just before the all-night rain. In a few weeks, another brood will be enjoying their freedom.
There is joy in witnessing their effort, determination, and caring. They are brilliantly who they are meant to be and when permitted they teach us compassion and resourcefulness. So we’ll keep learning from and with them; staying sane and being human.
Enjoy the miracles that aren’t really miracles, my friends. It is simply life unfolding.
Let’s celebrate that which is worthy of celebration!
Some things never took on me. As a teen I had a fierce reaction against the Vietnam war when most people were blindly in support, before the narratives changed and the body count rose. I remember at even younger years, I was not willing to mistreat or even speak poorly of children less advantaged. And I never understood the disregard and dehumanization of Black children who I counted as friends. I hated the stigmas on diversity or anything that smacked of difference issued by “God fearing, church goers”. Their hypocrisy was repugnant to me. It chased me from religion, but not from my Creator.
A favored aunt tried to help me “see the plight of white people”, offering books that spoke of being outnumbered and more. I felt sorry for her. I didn’t realize at the time she was unwittingly warning me of what was yet to come. That those Sunday worshiping, people of God were about to unleash hatred so vile as to make me want to withdraw from society as a whole.
But that’s not my fate. I choose instead to champion the truly Good in all of us. And however desperate the times appear; I’m committed to fulfilling my life’s purpose: to be fully human, fully alive. I’ve lived a life of questioning and choosing. And my choices, while not easily executed, have allowed a love of humanity and of the earth that I cherish.
Baraboo, Wiscsonsin will be celebrating Juneteenth for the third year. It’s a community refusing to surrender to the racism that has haunted it. Haunted all of us. I’ll be there again. This is what we need. To celebrate our stories of victory, to revel in the colors of the rainbow and to delight in our diversity which is our strength.
It’s time for the silent to waken. The line is drawn. We are either human or we are not. There is no other choice. Time to dance.
Abolish ICE. End racism. Choose humanity. Celebrate Juneteenth.
As the swirl of BS continues and it seems harder to find hints of humanity, compassion and kindness, remember this: The United States was born as a republic led by an aristocracy of white men. Yet the Declaration of Independence offered some of the highest human ideals ever written: All men are created equal and the right to the pursuit of happiness – unless of course you were Indigenous, a Slave, or a Woman. For these lofty ideals to become true for all required that equality, equity and the pursuit of justice would become a relentless effort. Two hundred and fifty years of blood, sweat and tears from some of the most courageous and passionate people brought us tremendous victories.
This struggle made by (primarily) marginalized Peoples must be the pride of this nation, not its castaways. And while the arrogant attempt to erase our history and whitewash our struggles, it’s incumbent upon us to celebrate the 250 years of valiant courage and unbridled wisdom of those who resisted injustice.
The stories of persistent valor that are handed down, whether written or verbal, in song or in art, must be held as sacred and continue to be shared. Teach our children the legacy of which they can be proud. Remind them that our Native siblings are still here despite attempted genocide. Remind them of the resiliency of all who were brought here against their will to be enslaved. Help them understand that socialism, feared by the elites, gave us fire departments, the post office, public schools, unions, better working conditions and so much more.
Let’s stop wasting time on the small minded, the greedy and the power hungry. They have risen from time to time, but have never triumphed. We know their history intimately. We carry the scars. It is time to uplift and honor those who never allowed ignorance to win. However daunting the challenge, we cannot sacrifice the gains that humanity has made. We must persevere.
Let’s come together to celebrate the true victors. The ones who never surrendered their love or their humanity. Let’s begin again. And all that is now being done to destroy human dignity can be undone. Do not despair. We will rise stronger; our light will be brighter.
And let us acknowledge that this country was and remains imperfect, and rather, see it as a work of art, perhaps never to be finished but always available for our love and corrections. We are living in a time of correction. Your voice and your clarity are needed.
let kindness win 