Ravens in the distance. Probably our winged neighbors dipping down into the canyon. Soon they will return to their perch in the great Pine just here overlooking the patio from which they can oversee the entire canyon. Gentle Boy, (and he is) the Husky is at my feet and the Bees, Yellow Jackets and Goldfinches are on the Buddha fountain before the heat which is coming, the late summer guest who demands so much of us and will overstay his welcome.
I am in tears reading what you have written and the necessity to continue to bear witness to these creatures and our planet home who desperately need us to tend to this crisis. Thank you for allowing your heart to break and for bringing such searing clarity and language to this dire situation.
"To be truthful—and the Literature of Restoration demands truthfulness—I have no patience for those who say, they can’t face it all because they get too depressed and then they can’t function. To them, I say, tell that to Polar Bear mother whose ice, the land she needs to survive, is melting because of how we live and she and her cubs are starving. Tell that to Elephant mother, to the Matriarch. who is responsible for the entire herd but can’t find water or food and if/when she does, finally, the poachers descend and cut off her tusks while she is still alive and her calves are watching. Tell that to the Wolf pack which is running from the helicopters with marksmen shooting AK47s at them allegedly to protect the cows which members of our species will eat instead of the wolf pups who are now writhing in pain from bullets or dying without a pack to sustain them. Their situation is grim and they are helpless before us. We are not helpless; we must not look away."
I am right beside you in this Deena. It does not seem to be a popular point of view, but I can see nothing more relevant than being willing to bear witness in these devastating times. It is quite a lonely place to be, which leads me to deep gratitude for your presence and your voice here on Earth.
I love you so much, Deena, and I am so filled with overwhelming gratitude for you, for how you've taught me to think and to live. Thank you. Sending an ocean of love and blessings to you and the Trees and all the great beings on your sacred land in Topanga. Sending hugs, tears of gratefulness, and a deep bow. My heart swells with courage to read your words. ❤️🙏🏽❤️
Thank you Deena, so poignant and fierce. You are one of our Hags, uncompromising truth speakers.
Witnessing and changing our lives. I've been hearing these teachings from you for years and when I can incorporate your definition of magic you spoke many, many years ago now, I can see additional possibilities. Magic, to paraphrase you, is making an action in one realm with an effect in another. As in Lise's witness ripples the pool. I cannot stand seeing the Wolf Mother and Elephant Matriarch, can we bear the helplessness or does our heart being broken ripple the shape of things. Love to you. Nora
“I don’t know if it is choice or happenstance that I eschew depression in response to our situation and become energized by the call to meet these circumstances.”
You have taught all of us so much about the kind of energy that is required. Thank you Deena for this powerful and timely reminder. As I face a new group of students this week in my university classes, a majority of whom are in treatment for anxiety and / or depression, I take inspiration from your words and teaching, which guide me in helping these young people to find the healing energy inherent in bearing witness, to see what is true, and fall in love with an earth that needs them.
I am in tears reading what you have written and the necessity to continue to bear witness to these creatures and our planet home who desperately need us to tend to this crisis. Thank you for allowing your heart to break and for bringing such searing clarity and language to this dire situation.
"To be truthful—and the Literature of Restoration demands truthfulness—I have no patience for those who say, they can’t face it all because they get too depressed and then they can’t function. To them, I say, tell that to Polar Bear mother whose ice, the land she needs to survive, is melting because of how we live and she and her cubs are starving. Tell that to Elephant mother, to the Matriarch. who is responsible for the entire herd but can’t find water or food and if/when she does, finally, the poachers descend and cut off her tusks while she is still alive and her calves are watching. Tell that to the Wolf pack which is running from the helicopters with marksmen shooting AK47s at them allegedly to protect the cows which members of our species will eat instead of the wolf pups who are now writhing in pain from bullets or dying without a pack to sustain them. Their situation is grim and they are helpless before us. We are not helpless; we must not look away."
I am right beside you in this Deena. It does not seem to be a popular point of view, but I can see nothing more relevant than being willing to bear witness in these devastating times. It is quite a lonely place to be, which leads me to deep gratitude for your presence and your voice here on Earth.
I love you so much, Deena, and I am so filled with overwhelming gratitude for you, for how you've taught me to think and to live. Thank you. Sending an ocean of love and blessings to you and the Trees and all the great beings on your sacred land in Topanga. Sending hugs, tears of gratefulness, and a deep bow. My heart swells with courage to read your words. ❤️🙏🏽❤️
Thank you Deena, so poignant and fierce. You are one of our Hags, uncompromising truth speakers.
Witnessing and changing our lives. I've been hearing these teachings from you for years and when I can incorporate your definition of magic you spoke many, many years ago now, I can see additional possibilities. Magic, to paraphrase you, is making an action in one realm with an effect in another. As in Lise's witness ripples the pool. I cannot stand seeing the Wolf Mother and Elephant Matriarch, can we bear the helplessness or does our heart being broken ripple the shape of things. Love to you. Nora
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“I don’t know if it is choice or happenstance that I eschew depression in response to our situation and become energized by the call to meet these circumstances.”
You have taught all of us so much about the kind of energy that is required. Thank you Deena for this powerful and timely reminder. As I face a new group of students this week in my university classes, a majority of whom are in treatment for anxiety and / or depression, I take inspiration from your words and teaching, which guide me in helping these young people to find the healing energy inherent in bearing witness, to see what is true, and fall in love with an earth that needs them.