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| New Connexions Magazine. Ganesha ©Amy Livingstone, 2014 |
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| Show at the Doll Gardner Gallery. West Hills UU Portland |
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| Opening at the Doll Gardner Gallery. West Hills UU Portland |
The Journey
One
day you finally knew
what
you had to do, and began,
though
the voices around you
kept
shouting
their
bad advice-
though
the whole house
began
to tremble
and
you felt the old tug
at
your ankles.
"Mend
my life!"
each
voice cried.
But
you didn't stop.
You
knew what you had to do,
though
the wind pried
with
its stiff fingers
at
the very foundations,
though
their melancholy
was
terrible.
It
was already late
enough,
and a wild night,
and
the road full of fallen
branches
and stones.
But
little by little,
as
you left their voices behind,
the
stars began to burn
through
the sheets of clouds,
and
there was a new voice
which
you slowly
recognized
as your own,
that
kept you company
as
you strode deeper and deeper
into
the world
determined
to do
the
only thing you could do-
determined
to save
the only life you could save.
-Mary
Oliver
My intention around expansion for the new year seems to be manifesting these days. (See previous post). I am having a show of my artwork at the Doll Gardner Gallery inside the West Hills Unitarian during the month of March, my 'Ganesha' is the featured artwork on the cover of New Connexions magazine, and I also had a wonderful interview recently with Robyn Purchia at EdenKeeper.org. You can read her article here. We share a similar passion and mission around the connection between religion and the environment.
We all know the power of intention
and holding a vision even when it's not quite clear where it will lead. This is
the path of radical trust and faith. I appreciated revisiting this poem from
Mary Oliver that speaks to that calling we each have inside us to follow our
heart in spite of the voices, or culture, shouting their bad advice. I believe
deeply that we each have a gift to bring forward in service to what the late
eco-theologian Thomas Berry called the Great Work of our time. We need all hands on
deck if we want to ensure a liveable planet for future generations. When I
spoke aloud my vows at the end of a ten-day training with environmentalist
Joanna Macy in 2002, I committed my life to serving the healing of the earth
and the welfare of all beings--human and non-human. That has seemed
overwhelming at times but it remains the underlying intention for my life and
work in whatever form that takes. Will you join me?
Macy speaks to three areas of engagement during this era of transformation, or the Great Turning. Perhaps one of them will speak to you. Holding actions (boycotts, civil disobedience); creating new (sustainable) structures and institutions; and shifting consciousness around the reality of our collective interconnectedness in the web of life which has been my primary focus though I have also participated in numerous events and demonstrations around social/ecological justice over the years including the current campaign to stop the Keystone XL pipeline. This year, I plan to share more about ways you might be inspired to get involved though I know so many of you are already doing such great work on behalf of our world.
Always, it is my love of the earth, beauty, and
the intersection where art, spirit, and earth healing meet that feeds my soul. What
feeds yours?
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