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The Winter of Our Discontent

sue@keylifejourneys.com (Key Life Journey's Blog) — 2011-12-27T05:50:33Z

By Sue Ellis of key life journeys

In the early hours of Thursday morning the sun was stalled over the tropic of Capricorn, paused and then began moving north again. Light was returning for more moments, and in greater strength, to the northern hemisphere. In that more conscious light, I went back to St.James Park in Toronto. I had been there last the evening that Occupy Toronto had received its eviction notice.

As soon as the park had been vacated, the city explained that tax payers would have to shell out between $20,000 and $60,000 to replace the destroyed grass. Tax payer angst was raised. Immediately citizens donated money towards the reconstruction. I suggest that many donors were true believers that the voice of the Occupy movement should be heard; their questions should vibrate through the consciousness of our city/country/world.

However let's look at these relevant words uttered in 1822.

Today the rhetoric uses “the 99%” to mean the mass of people and the term “1%” to name those who controlled “this or that arrangement;” A situation that led ultimately to the 1837-38 Rebellions in Upper Canada. Those in charge were the elite members of parliament, business and church who embraced the “family compact.”(If you need a history lesson – as I did - click on family compact)

Let’s fast forward to December 2012 and newspapers announced that The Ontario Sod Growers Association would donate the sod for St. James Park and lay it. This was worth about $150,000.

“We can always use good news,” said McConnell, whose ward includes the park, temporary home of Occupy Toronto until the city ended their month-long stay Nov. 23.

“Volunteers and parks workers will lay the sod which is slated to arrive on 12 transport trailers, McConnell said.”

McConnell is the local city politician, she supported the Occupy Movement, she supported the community getting together to restore the park. On line comments trounce her photo ops. But it would appear that the generosity of the sod growing industry and the local businesses who provided coffee, food etc came from mixed motives. For many it was more about removing a scar of reality from the consciousness of the locals and ensuring fido had a very green place to deposit his excrement. I quote-

“Our goal was to rehabilitate the park in a horticulturally correct manner from the ground up, rather than let it fall to a lowest bid tender, have its scope reduced and have the end product only last a short while by a limited budget- In short, it was an opportunity to display the professional skills of landscapers and lawn & tree care professionals who work in a relatively unglamorous profession. ……Yes, the positive exposure can’t hurt (I guess an effective way to avoid that benefit would be to never do anything positive?)”

http://www.680news.com/news/local/article/307865--new-sod-being-laid-at-st-james-park

The sod growers actually did provide a good service. Their cost was over twice the City would have paid to re-sod the park. The quality of work done would ensure longevity and sustainability of the park. A money strapped City could never pay for the quality of work provided. Only the 1% could afford that quality workmanship. St.James Park reminds us of the generosity of some, and the quality of care that the majority can expect. The big divide.

Yes, many companies were willingly giving back both to the Occupy Movement and to those who re-sodded the grass. The sod growers had an opportunity to promote the value of cut grass to the environment. I have no problem with the sharing of wealth and the advertising that comes with it. Now the homeless can enjoy the greenery from the park benches and watch the pigeons, squirrels and sparrow as I did amid the chimes from St.James Cathedral. However while Occupy Toronto were there, the homeless had rooves, food and dignity.

Regarding cut grass, I am removing it from my garden. It requires precious water, dangerous chemicals and electricity to cut. Of course I could use a gas mower but I think the carbon monoxide produced would outweigh the oxygen released by my blades of severed grass.

On the same webpage above, I read the rant in the comment section -

“let’s see if my conservative views get screened yet again and not allowed to be posted. Ok, the losers who occupied a piece of park for their own selfish reasons should foot the bill for the park and the damage they caused. You had no cause, and no reason to do what you did! The idiots who claim to be part of the movement are stupid and losers. Get a life, get a job and please stop milking the system.”

“You have no cause, and no reason to do what you did.” I shake my head in wonder at those whose head is in the sand; who fail to hear the message that is being carried in the wind of change.

May I suggest that everyone take a walk in the park. You can’t walk on the grass yet for the city – with city logo proclaims “Keep off – new sod.”




Take a walk in the park and stand on the path near the gazebo from which much soul searching was uttered along with the drum beats. To the east is a plinth and the bronze head of  Robert Gourlay 1778 - 1863.

Below his name are written the words-

Banished from Upper Canada in 1819 on false charges of sedition brought by the Family Compact. His writings had an impact on events leading to the 1837 rebellion.

On the north side is the inscription –

Robert Gourlay championed reform ahead of his time.

In Scotland - a vote for every man who could read and write

In England - a living wage for workers

In Canada - fair land distribution

The words on the south side are those photographed at the start of this post.

Read the history of Upper Canada and the Rebellion of the 99% led by William Lyon McKenzie – A Canadian traitor in Gourlays eyes yet Gourlay had sown the seeds of discontent when fighting the power of the Family Compact. Read about the Lower Canada rebellion against the Clique du Château, a group of wealthy families in the early 19th century in Quebec. Those in control, opposed to democracy saw themselves as Tories. The term Conservative was later coined.

One of those leaders of the Lower Canada Rebellion was Louis-Joseph Papineau.

Fast forward to 1937

The Mackenzie–Papineau Battalion or Mac-Paps were a battalion of Canadians who fought as part of the XV International Brigade on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War. Except for France, no other country gave a greater proportion of its population as volunteers in Spain than Canada. By summer 1937 some 1,200 Canadians were involved in the conflict and a separate battalion was formed for them in early May. Two months later it was named for William Lyon Mackenzie and Louis-Joseph Papineau, who led the 1837 Rebellions.

…. In April 1937 the Canadian government passed the Foreign Enlistment Act, outlawing participation by Canadians in foreign wars, and the Customs Act, which provided for government control over arms exports. Thus it became illegal for Canadian citizens to serve in the Spanish Civil War.

The Canadians who died in the Spanish Civil War are not included in the Books of Remembrance in the Peace Tower and their sacrifice is not commemorated on federal war memorials or in Remembrance Day services. Those who survived the war are not entitled to veterans' benefits.

Lest we forget, they were fighting against facsism because of their own convictions, not because it was politically correct. Later a world war was fought to overthow facism. But in 1937 it was not politically correct in Canada or the US to be fighting facism – after all, war machines were good for business – and provided wealth for the 1%.

Do I sound bitter? Oh perhaps some frustration about the lack of higher consciousness shown by those who only serve their own self interest. Go to the park which lies on the east side of St.James Cathedral. Sit and ponder your contribution to the world at large. Have your Christmas presents or Channuka gifts been bought from manufacturers creating Canadian jobs or from companies making bigger profits by outsourcing to other countries?

To the ranter who said of the Occupiers of St. James Park “Get a life, get a job and please stop milking the system” – for the holiday season will your gifts take people out to dinner in local restaurants or buy gift cards to coffee shops or local health spas? Did you give a donation to a local charity in the name of a loved one? Then you did your bit. You helped to create jobs. If on the otherhand you bought a gift or received one made in China – remember the person who made it does not receive the minimum wage, lives in a dormatory and works more hours a week away from their family than you would be prepared to do.

We all have a role to play in the quality of life of our neighbour. No child should live in poverty. No person should live in fear for his/her safety. Why can we not all have a roof over our head? What price dignity?

My province of Ontario and the next door neighbour of Quebec have historic precidence for the elite being self indugent at the expense of those less fortunate. As I’ve researched this post, I have become more aware of what has brought us to where we are today.

The sun is moving closer to the northern hemisphere. The light that brings new life. Take a walk in the park. The last rose of summer is still blooming near the gazebo. Ponder Gourlay’s beliefs and think about the implications of your words and actions. Which side of the next Arab spring will you be on; will there need to be another rebellion?

Foodstock Brings People Back to the Land

sue@keylifejourneys.com (Key Life Journey's Blog) — 2011-10-27T03:06:11Z

By Susan Ellis of Key Life Journeys

Michael Stadtländer 's Letter to Ontario says it all. I quote part of it here -

“If you have ever seen the film Avatar, James Cameron’s story about the futuristic destruction of an alien planet’s environment by humans hungry for natural resources, you’ll be surprised to learn that such an exploitation has been proposed right in my backyard!

Highland Companies, funded by US hedge-fund Baupost Group, has purchased approximately 8,000 acres of prime farmland on either side of highway 124. They intend to dig a 2,300 acre limestone quarry, the 2nd largest in North America, that will extend 200 feet below the water table.

The proposed mega quarry threatens not only the watersheds of many rivers and the water supply to over one million Canadians, but also viable, high yield farmland in close proximity to Canada’s most dense population.

On October 16th, the Canadian Chefs' Congress, of which I’m the President, will present Foodstock, a once in a lifetime event where thousands of Canadian citizens will gather on 4 farms that did not sell to Highland Companies to celebrate local food and fresh water, and to voice their objections to this proposal.

I have invited over 70 Canadian chefs (from Nunavut to Nova Scotia to BC) to cook with ingredients from local farms, so that all who attend may taste the bounty of the land threatened by the proposed mega quarry. The day will also include a rich variety of programming with music, art and speakers.

We are constantly faced with environmental challenges and it is our responsibility, as ambassadors of the future, to work to protect our shared resources. We cannot afford to lose this farmland or allow the destruction of our fragile watersheds.”

According to the Toronto Star, the hoped for 22,000 people did show up -

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1070839--foodies-unite-en-masse-to-oppose-land-excavation

Organizers seem to think it was nearer 28,000. I was one of them. I was glad to be driving a hybrid car so no idling fumes filled the air as we crawled and stopped along highway 124 to reach the farm where the festivities were to take place. Some had chosen to park on the road’s shoulders and walk, but I got to a field parking lot. Then my friends and I crossed two fields of oozing mud and clover. That earth looked so; oh so good. I wished I had some of that in my garden. We had driven through rain to get there but as we walked to the wooded area having made our financial donation to the cause, the sun came out.

It was later in the afternoon by the time we got there so much of the food from around 100 chef’s booths had gone. But we lined up with 100s of others to have some Ontario morsel put on the plate we had brought with us. Much of the cooking was done over open flame with flapping tarps keeping the rain off. I tasted some fresh pork with an apple sauce; I loved some pulled pork in a BBQ sauce; a spicy tomato sauce- all that was left after the meat balls had gone and finally a delicate fish on a slice of while radish.

Artisans sold their works, promoters sold their anti quarry t-shirts. In the background was the sound of voices and music from the sound stage; all around the call of children playing in the woods.

The sum of around $86M had changed hands for the land and will it a choice. Food and water versus building materials. People had come from many places to stand on this land adjacent to the planned quarry having made their decision.

The story continues to unfold. And according to the Orangeville Banner. http://www.orangeville.com/news/local/article/1226868--protest-never-tasted-so-sweet Foodstock may return next year.

Other resources –

http://ndact.com/

http://www.citizensalliance.ca/

Change The Way We Do Things

sue@keylifejourneys.com (Key Life Journey's Blog) — 2011-08-09T14:09:37Z

By Susan Ellis of Key Life Journeys

As the world as we know it is in crisis, the first tentative breaths of the new era are being taken. After the crash of 2008 we thought everything would change - but all society wanted to do was to restore itself to the way it was, changing non of the fundamentals.

Now we get to do it all over again – will we look for a different outcome this time?

The world is demonstrating how civilization behaves when the individual or the clan thinks of her/him/itself as a separate entity. Not part of the whole. It is a world where leadership is about power and greed, not service; a world of plunderers, not sharers.

The riots in London, North Africa and the Middle East are about inequity and poverty.

The angry voices in the US are from those who are desperately trying to keep what they possess, and in their terror are willing to crush the needs of those without power - the poor and vulnerable. It’s all about the individual. And it isn’t working.

But when the world works as a team, where ego is used in the service of others and not self, the future can blossom.

Please watch the video linked below. Then let us apply its message to all our behaviours. All our actions have consequences. Everything that we do impacts on someone else. Now is the time to do things differently. We may not get another opportunity.

http://www.godvine.com/Injury-Turns-into-Inspiration-for-One-High-School-Girl-323.html

Ancient and Modern Intertwined – Reflections on Turkey

sue@keylifejourneys.com (Key Life Journey's Blog) — 2011-06-25T03:27:34Z

By Susan Ellis of Key Life Journeys

So I was out of the country for two weeks this spring, fulfilling a life long dream to wander though historic landscapes in Turkey. While there three world events occurred making me confront today’s reality. But they all became interwoven in the dream fulfilled.

Since a child, Constantinople evoked wonders and mysteries in my mind and I hoped one day I might visit the modern day Istanbul. Later in my life, once I had started traveling, I went to Greece and was enchanted by Olympia, Delphi, Mycenae, Epidaurus and Knossos. It was self evident therefore that I would be one day drawn to see Ephesus.

Sightseeing started in Ankara beginning with the delightful museum illustrating the progression of ancient Anatolian civilizations from 6,500 year BCE - Neolithic period, forward. This was followed by a visit to the Mausoleum of Ataturk, who founded the modern Republic of Turkey in 1923. For two weeks we embraced the history in between.

The next night was spent in the village of Bogazkale. Here we discovered for the first time the most common roof top item in Turkey – solar panels for heating water.

We had come to experience Hattusas, a gem on green hillsides with blossoming trees and virtually no tourists. Up until 2000 year BCE it was inhabited by the Hatti, but later merchants came and written script was created. Then it was the capital of the Hittites who were formidable conquerors through many generations.

Amid blossomed trees and wild flowers I saw the Yazılıkaya sanctuary friezes cut in the rock from around 1250 BCE. The peace, the stillness, the spirit of the place was mystical. Never again would we have ancient walls and portals to ourselves. I gazed across a hillside, an ancient world, the cradle of civilization and gave myself respite from the modern era. My travels through time had begun.

On April 29th I visited Ephesus. This city served as the Roman capital of Asia Minor, second in size only to Rome. It had been built on the site of a former Classical Greek city. Ultimately destroyed by earthquakes, its loss of commercial prowess came when the harbor silted up and once inland, had no access to the Aegean Sea.

The tourists all go to wonder at the reconstructed façade of the library of Selsus. A testament to Turkey’s strict archeological policy, no one can dig unless they also reconstruct. It is crowded in Ephesus. Most people who come to Turkey will know Istanbul and Ephesus. The cruise ships unleash thousands of tourists every day. But less visited and less dramatic are the ruins close by. The Temple of Artemis is no more than a location, a single pillar rises; a pond is close by. But it was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world as listed by Antipater of Sidon; its original for him was #1.

I have seen the great pyramid of Giza, also on his list, which was a power filled experience for me. But here at this site, the jutoposition of history that I viewed on this spring day made it magical. An expedition from the British museum in 1869 dicovered artifacts from the temple’s many incarnations, and the best reside in the British Museum in London. However some other columns are found in the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. The back drop to the remains are the grand fortress of Selçuk on Ayasoluk Hill and the İsabey Mosque completed in 1375.

On May 1st we drove north from Kusadasi to the village of Bergama where we took taxis to the hilltop ruins of Pergamon. It was the capital of an empire founded by one of Alexander the Great’s generals. After Alexander’s death, his empire was divided up between the generals.

Our Taxi driver had no English to share but having been a migrant worker in Germany for some years he did have another language. Indeed we found many small entrepreneurs had earned their start up capital in Germany. Most archaeological digs in Turkey are from Germany or Austria. Indeed the Altar from Pergamon sits in a museum in Berlin – and they won’t give it back.

On Monday 2nd May we visited Troy where 9 cities have been discovered on top of one another. The earliest, 4000BCE, with the Bronze age inhabitants ending with the most modern era - that of Roman occupation. There is much excavation going on and again the Turks are trying to get back more artifacts taken by other countries.

That morning we left Asia behind and sailed across the Dardanelles to the European part of Turkey landing on the Gallipoli Peninsula where the Turkish army destroyed the Australian and New Zealand invaders in 1915. The Ottoman Empire ultimately was on the losing side in the First World War.

Anzac Cove

But in that war and during the creation of the modern Republic, minority groups were removed forcibly from the country. These were mainly Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks. Turkey entered the modern era, like so many other emerging countries, with blood on its hands; the word genocide is often used.

From Gallipoli we headed for Istanbul and despite spring time showers of heavy rain at times, the city fulfilled all my childhood dreams.

I saw the Hagia Sophia. The first church on the site was dedicated in 360 as the Greek Orthodox Patriarchal Basilica. On the fourth Crusade, Hagia Sophia was ransacked by the Latin Christians and many materials and important relics were taken to museums in the West. With the Latin occupation of Constantinople between 1204 and 1261, the church became a Roman Catholic cathedral. In 1261, Byzantines captured Constantinople again.

The Ottoman Turks invaded in 1453 and took over the country. Christianity was out and Islam was in. The mosaics and frescoes of this amazing church were plastered over and banners declaring the words of Allah went up. In 1935 it was opened as a museum; paint and plaster had been removed so that some of the awe inspiring artwork is arrayed alongside the Islamic elements. Outside, minarets rise from the four corners and from around the world, all come to marvel.

Susan Ellis in Istanbul

But what about the interweaving of modern realities?

Following the visit to Ephesus (Greco – Roman era) we stopped by a roadside restaurant for lunch. As we sat down we noticed a large screen TV. It was just before 1pm Turkish time. In London England it is 11am and we watched Kate Middleton walk down the aisle of Westminster Abbey and walk out as the Duchess of Cambridge. The commentary was by some very excited Turks. Later at our hotel room in Kusadasi we turned on the BBC World News and with English comments watch the balcony kiss. Next day the hotel lobby had copies of three different Turkish newspapers and all have front page coverage of the Royal wedding.

Modern day Turkey is thriving. It has long wanted to be part of the EU. Major players in Europe have no interest. I should imagine that with the current state of Europe’s economy, no country in its right mind would want to get involved. I believe that Turkey’s role in world politics should be as a neutral balancer between the west and the east. Today we see Turkey is supporting pro-democracy movements in Islamic countries, treating the wounded from Libya and accepting refugees from Syria. However Turkey must tread carefully. The Ottoman Empire had periods of behaving rather badly and nations have long memories. We will leave aside the Crusades in this discussion because all sides behaved rather badly then in the name of god. Turkey should bide its time and be a welcoming safe tourist destination.

On Sunday May 1st we were visiting ruins of Pergamon from which site relics have been removed and live in Germany.

That evening we were on the Asian shore of the Dardanelles looking across at Gallipoli. The Allies underestimated the Turks. The Ottoman army did not have the numbers, training, firepower and Winston Churchill thought capturing Constantinople would be a piece of cake. The cemeteries there attest to the fact that to people in power, life is cheap. With no questions asked you should be expected to sacrifice your life for someone else’s dream.

In Pakistan that day, 1st May 2011, Osama Bin Ladin was assassinated. A man driven by bitterness and anger for the way those in power treat other people. First it was towards the people in power in his native Saudi Arabia and then the Americans and the West. As part of the War on Terror the Americans and British occupied Baghdad. A city of history, a city of priceless artifacts, perhaps 100km from the site of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, another of the seven wonders of the ancient world. During the bombing of Iraq, UNESCO informed the powers of the location of heritage sites and asked for protection for the treasures in the Museum in Baghdad. Workers at the museum pleaded with the soldiers on the ground to protect the artifacts from looting. History repeats itself. And would you believe that some of the priceless treasures from that museum have found their way into American Museums?

On Monday 2nd we drove to Istanbul. The next day we visited the Hagia Sophia, Sultanahmet Mosque (the Blue mosque) and the Grand Bazaar. It was all a dream come true. Our wonderful, Turkish guide traveled with us for the whole two weeks had indicated that it would be a sign of respect if we women would put on a head scarf while inside mosques. We did. But so many other tourists didn’t. How can we ever expect others to respect us and our customs if we refuse to reciprocate? Are we so ethnocentric that we have to prove our differences and assumed superiority? Get over it, life is too short. I didn’t have a choice in 1977 when in Iran. I had to rent a full length black chador outside the mosque or shrine, or I couldn’t enter. There is no way we can negotiate respect for western traditions if we flaunt some sense of grandeur when we are in the countries of others.

But before heading out to see Istanbul that day I turned on my computer. It was around midnight of the preceding night, Toronto time. I read the news. Harper had won the election. The Canadian Conservatives had won a majority. Life in Canada would never be the same again. The balance of power had shifted. Hard fought ideological rights would be in jeopardy. A compassionate Canada would be firmly in the hands of corporate power.

Between leaving Canada on 22nd April and returning on 5th May, the world has shifted and I have shifted. I had walked through 6,000 years of civilization. In Turkey I had left a country that was building a future; a country that had made many enemies but was trying to reconcile with its neighbors. I would like to think we learn from the past; that we can live in the present and not keep regurgitating yesterday’s drama.

But my idealism always gets smacked down. On my return to Canada I visited my accountant to pick up my income tax forms. I told him I’d just come back from Turkey and had had an amazing experience. "I shall never go there." He said. "I’m Greek."

Turn the Lights Out and Think About Tomorrow

sue@keylifejourneys.com (Key Life Journey's Blog) — 2011-03-19T19:23:00Z

By
Susan Ellis of Key Life Journeys

It has been many months since I last recorded on this blog. Oh I have written in my caregiver blog the story of my friend dying of cancer who wished to stay at home till the end. But my last entry here was a story of crisis of faith and trust; A facing of truth about our democracy and freedom. My innocence destroyed when confronted by police during a peaceful rally at the time, in Toronto, of the G20 gathering. Since then many have clamored around the Middle East and North Africa for democracy and freedom and have faced the might of those in power. That power with an agenda and no ear for the proletariat.

I write now because we are approaching Earth Hour on 26 March . Maybe this year it truly is the time for us to take an hour without the comforts electricity supplies and ponder what is really important. With Libya and Japan so much in our minds we must pause and look at the consequences of our behavior; The fall out from our greed and selfishness. But before I talk about Earth Hour let me present you part of this week’s blog by Lynn McTaggart. She is the author of "The Field" and "The Intention Experiment" – two books which opened my eyes to so much. It would appear I have a new book to read as she has now completed "The Bond."

Survival of the fairest
By Lynn McTaggart
Friday, 18 March, 2011

As most of you know, for two years, I have been holed away, writing a new book, The Bond. Now that it’s done, I want to tell you a little about this project and why I wrote this book.　　

All of us now sense that we have reached the end of something. Since the millennium, commentators of every variety have been trying to get a handle on the collective significance of the continuous crises besetting us in modern times: banking crises, terrorist crises, sovereign-debt crises, climate-change crises, energy crises, food crises, ecological crises, manmade and otherwise.

"The world as we know it is going down," a Wall Street broker told reporters in September 2008, after Lehman Brothers collapsed and Morgan Stanley threatened to follow suit. It is the "end of capitalism as we know it," declared filmmaker Michael Moore, when American auto giants General Motors filed for bankruptcy.　　

It is the end of our dependence on fossil fuel, announced President Barack Obama, about the Deepwater Horizon oil-rig explosion. It is the end of nature, wrote Bill McKibbin in his book of the same name. It is the end of oil, wrote journalist Paul Roberts in his book of the same names. It is the end of food because it is the end of oil, declared Roberts in his follow-up book. With various Japanese reactors poised for a meltdown, it is the end of nuclear power.

For those who take stock in the Mayan Long Count calendar and the apocalyptic significance of 2012, it is the beginning of the end of the world.　

The beginning in the ending
But the crises we face on many fronts are symptomatic of a deeper problem, with more potential repercussions than those of any single cataclysmic event. They are simply a measure of the vast disparity between our definition of ourselves and our truest essence.

For hundreds of years we have acted against nature by ignoring our essential connectedness and defining ourselves as separate from our world. We’ve reached the point where we can no longer live according to this false view of who we really are.　

What’s ending the story we’ve been told up until now about who we are and how we’re supposed to live — and in this ending lies the only path to a better future.

Living a lie
As I began researching and studying the latest discoveries in a vast array of disciplines—general biology, physics, zoology, psychology, botany, anthropology, astronomy, chronobiology, and cultural history—the more it became clear to me that the lives we’ve chosen to lead are not consistent with who we really are.

A new understanding is emerging from the laboratories of the most cutting-edge physicists, biologists, and psychologists that challenges the very way we conceive of ourselves. Frontier scientists in every field have all found evidence that individuals are far less individual than we thought they were.

The space between things
Between the smallest particles of our being, between our body and our environment, between ourselves and all of the people with whom we are in contact, between every member of every societal cluster, there is a Bond — a connection so integral and profound that there is no longer a clear demarcation between the end of one thing and the beginning of another.

The world essentially operates, not through the activity of individual things, but in the connection between them — in a sense, in the space between things.

What’s more, these new discoveries in physics and biology demonstrate that we are in crises because we are living a lie. All living things succeed and prosper not through competition, but only when they see themselves as part of a greater whole.

We succeed only because we share, we care and we’re fair.

Rather than a will to dominate, the essential impulse of all of life is a will to connect.

The competitive paradigm
Nevertheless, our paradigm for living has been built upon the premise that competition is the essential calling card of existence. Every modern recipe in our lives has been drawn from our interpretation of life as individual and solitary struggle, with every-man-for-himself competition an inherent part of the business of living.　

Our entire Western economic model is built on the notion that competition in a free-market economy is essential to drive excellence and prosperity.

In our relationships, we extol our inherent right to individual happiness and self-expression above all else. We educate our young by encouraging them to compete and excel over their peers. The currency of most modern two-cars-in-every-garage neighborhoods is comparison and one-ups-manship.　

The world, as Woody Allen once put it, "is one big cafeteria."

Outdated rules
The crises we have faced on every front have occurred precisely because we are operating according to an outdated set of rules.

The competitive impulse that is now a major part of our self-definition and that forms the undercurrent of all our lives is the same mindset that has created every one of the large global crises now threatening to destroy us. If we can recover wholeness in our lives – in our relationships, our neighborhoods, our societies, in my view, we will begin to heal our world.

In writing this book, I had an audacious mission: to rewrite the scientific story you’ve been told about who you are plus offer you detailed blueprint of how to live in harmony with it.

I wanted to help establish a very different set of rules from the ones we currently live by.

In fact, the only truth is the space between us—the Bond — which means that we must share and recover wholeness in our lives if we are to survive and flourish.　

A new blueprint
It was clear to me that need to perceive the world differently, relate to others differently, organize ourselves — our friendships and neighborhoods, our towns and cities — differently. We need to change our fundamental purpose on earth as something more than one based on struggle and domination.　

We must look at our lives from an entirely different perspective, a larger vantage point, to notice the connections that tie us all together.
continued at http://www.theintentionexperiment.com/survival-of-the-fairest.htm

When the astronauts first saw the blue planet from outer space they were changed and the way they perceived Earth in all its fragility was changed forever. What will it take for us all to change directions? What must happen for us to understand that earth is not a stockpile of stuff for us to plunder, but part of the ecosystem that gives us life? Earth will adapt and change and will go on providing a habitat for living organisms but it may not be an environment conducive to the continued reproduction of our species. Lynn McTaggart has started the dialogue, not to save the planet, but to save us from extinction.

I remember when I was young, reading the novel by Nevil Shute. It was called "On the Beach." Set in Australia, the inhabitants waited as a cloud of radioactivity from nuclear bombs glided over the Pacific to kills the world’s last inhabitants. Published in 1957 it was a futuristic apocalyptic novel. Is the future now? If we had a measured time left on this earth, would we change our behaviour?

This is why Earth day is so important this year. We have some decisions to make. Do we continue with the concept that it is "every person for him/herself" and "top dog" has the right to privilege? Or do we answer a yearning inside of us to be part of the whole? Do we long for the fall of the tyrant Gadhafi without the loss of any more blood or do we continue to support dictators because it is good for business? But are we celebrating the desire of Egypt and Tunisia to experience democracy and freedom yet failing to notice that the leaders of democratic free countries are looking somewhat more like tyrants? Leading a minority government in Canada our Prime Minister closes the door to debate, turns a deaf ear to opposition. The opposition party in the US is advocating the same behaviour - every person for him/herself" and "top dog" has the right to privilege.

There are many of us who know we are part of the whole. We feel in our cells our connectedness to all things, visible and invisible. We are conscious that all our actions will have an effect on something else. Those of us who try to be responsible, conscious and compassionate also know our strength comes from being in community. We are part of Lynn McTaggart’s "bond."

I now quote from the Canadian World Wildlife Fund website. But if you come from a different country why not Google Earth Hour 2011 and you can look at 8,380,000 different references. This is what belonging to a community is all about.

Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia when 2.2 million individuals and more than 2,000 businesses turned their lights off for one hour to take a stand against climate change.

Only a year later on March 29, 2008 and Earth Hour had become a global sustainability movement with more than 50 million people across 35 countries participating. Global landmarks such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, CN Tower in Toronto, Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and Rome's Colosseum, all stood in darkness, as symbols of hope for a cause that grows more urgent by the hour. Canada shone above the rest with almost half the adult population participating. About 10 million people in more than 150 cities from coast-to-coast switched off their lights. People in cities across Canada held candlelight dinners, enjoyed time with friends and family or went on walks.

On March 28, 2009, hundreds of millions of people took part in the third Earth Hour. Over 4000 cities in 88 countries officially switched off to pledge their support for the planet, making Earth Hour 2009 the world's largest global climate change initiative.

Earth Hour 2010 became the biggest Earth Hour ever reaching 1.3 billion people. On March 27, 2010, a record 128 countries and territories united across the globe making it the largest voluntary action ever witnessed. Iconic buildings and landmarks from Asia Pacific to Europe and Africa to the Americas switched off. People across the world from all walks of life turned off their lights and came together in celebration and contemplation of the one thing we all have in common - our planet. Once again, over 10 million of Canadians took part in all provinces and territories, turning out the lights in over 300 cities and towns.

Earth Hour 2011 will take place on Saturday, March 26 at 8:30PM (local time). It will continue to be a call to action to every individual, every business and every community throughout the world. A call to stand up, to take responsibility, to get involved and lead the global journey to a sustainable future.

Turn your lights out on Saturday March 26 at 8:30PM (local time) and join in community. Consciously become part of the whole. Don’t compete with it, don’t dominate it – share it, honour it, love it. Let’s create a different tomorrow.

G8/G20 I Did My Bit

sue@keylifejourneys.com (Key Life Journey's Blog) — 2010-07-09T17:49:00Z

By Susan Ellis of KeyLifeJourneys

In so much as anything belongs to me, this is my city and my country and I vote and therefore have a right to express my opinions, values and beliefs. This I can do so long as they are not considered hateful by the law of the land. I attended the Friday Protest March against the G8/G20 on 25th June 2010. I object to people in power flaunting their entitlement by spending copious amounts of money to have a party. What ever "work" was done could have been done by teleconference and Skype and the group could have met for a day somewhere to have a signature signing, photo op, press conference and a couple of meals. They don't need more time. For after all some filled it by watching a soccer match. We know from past experience that less than the cost of the conference will ever be seen to improve maternal health in the third world. Why, we still haven't paid up our past promises.

We all know that Stephen Harper's demands that 50% of national debt be paid down by 2013 was a smack in the face to all who champion the cause of equality. How does Harper propose to do it? He will cut payments to the provinces which will impact the amount spent on affordable housing, dietary supplements for the poor, employment programs, woman's shelters etc. I am sure he will stall funding potable water projects for Native communities. I'm sure he will fight crime with incarceration not rehabilitation.

Therefore this 64 year old lady with the grand stature of 4ft 10 inches decided to march. I was the youngest of three of us who met up in Allen Gardens to picnic, make placards and join the women and Trans who would lead the march. Two of us arrived early when there were more media than protesters. Gradually the number of Police surrounding the park grew. The third member of our group was searched when she left the park temporarily and told she would not have been allowed to return with wooden stakes for placards.

From my photographs you can see how idyllic the venue was. The beautiful trees of Allen gardens provided shade and an oasis of green. Constantly reporters wanted to interview us, photographs were taken. "Why were little old ladies here?" The Police presence grew.

At one point an SUV carrying two Police offices drove over the grass. There was a path wide enough, but they drove instead close to people sitting on the grass. The path was in the sun, the spot they picked to observe from was in the shade. What was that all about?

We laid our materials on the grass and made our placards. One friend and I who had got in before the Police, had wooden poles. Mine came from the one I had carried at the No Prorogue rally earlier this year. I sat in contemplation for a while before writing "Food, water, shelter, dignity for all -why not?" on one side and "Give equality a chance" on the other. How could the meeting of the G8 or G20 address anything that was important to me? I had to protest their corporate self serving agendas.

Of course I feel blessed to live in a wealthy country like Canada. I am lucky enough to be one who was free to choose to live here. I have more than enough to satisfy my basic needs in life. But I am not greedy. I do not want more. But I live in a world where those in power take from those who have less power. Corporations by their very nature have been set up to make money for their shareholders. More money means cutting costs and service, eliminating competition by destroying it. Yes many of the rich become philanthropic - Bill and Melinda Gates are an excellent example. But how many people tithe 10% of their income on the way up, not just when they have got more than enough?

I love my city of Toronto; I am excited by its ethnic diversity. I love to see the flags of all the nations participating in the World Cup flying on cars. But I would love my city more if everyone was adequately housed, fed and safe.

Finally the march began moving west on Carlton to University. Placards for Gender Justice led the way. Brightly coloured coffins, with coat hangers attached, were carried by women protesting the need for backstreet abortions which kill so many women each year. The Raging Grannies were there with their floppy hats, flowers and shawls. Placards asking for basic rights be available to all. Yet either side of us we were hemmed in by Police pushing bicycles. When we reached Yonge Street one of our friends had to leave. A Police officer made a gap and she disappeared into the rushhour crowd.

We had reached Bay Street when the march was stopped. We at the front knew nothing of skirmishes that were taking place back at College Park. I talked with one of the marshals and she said she had heard a man who was deaf had been taken into custody. The Police with their bicycles were putting on their helmets with face shields. I went up to one asking "why are you putting your helmet on?" He stared right above my head. "You are making me feel scared." I said as I went back to the middle of the road. Now the crowd had changed.

Men were circulating amongst us. Some with distinctive black boots. The mood had changed. We were moving again. Then we stopped for a long time. I had promised friends who knew I was coming to the march, that I would not put myself at risk. I knew it was time to leave. Violent protest, either provoked or not provoked, is not my bag.

We headed to the Police cordon. I addressed a plexiglass masked officer. "We would like to leave the march now. Will you please let us through?" Luckily there was no silent glare from this one. "Madam, my orders are to let no one pass." I was stunned. I was scared. I had waited too long. I remember my other friend getting out at Yonge Street. All had changed. Then he continued. "The march will be allowed to proceed in a few moments. You will be able to get out at the next intersection."

We were at the front of the march. College street was blocked off by a line of Riot Police. We were fence in. We walked slowly towards the line. After what seemed to be hours, they let us through. We left the march at the next street. We stopped and watched the protesters roll by. The Police with bicycles were now stationed further back where people waving red flags were marching. Police with bicycles and horses brought up the rear.

We walked to University Avenue and watched them turn south. Later we would find out that further south on University Avenue the Riot Police would hold the barricade and the protesters would retrace their steps up University back to Allan Gardens.

In retrospect I realize I had not anticipated such a police presence. I found it both intimidating and oppressive. Did it provoke or did it protect? I believe those who would wear black and masked faces on Saturday, marched with us on Friday and their violent intent was further inflamed. For those of us who walked with peaceful intent to express our disatisfaction with government policy, it reminded us that the government is willing to use extreme measures to further its agenda.

I watched the march on the Saturday from the comfort and safety of my living room. The Police tactics were completely different. It would appear that their orders for Saturday were to protect the fence and the dignitaries, not shop keepers. I will offer only one opinion on the Sunday evening events. If it was the government's message to us that it will crush all dissent, legally or illegally, then we have heard it loudly and clearly. When it suits the Prime Minister, democracy will be suspended.

I think time will tell that justice was not served, democracy is being eroded by those in power and the G8/G20 gathering did not provide the world with anything to make it more stable, humane and safe. I did my bit.

Margaret Mead wrote
"A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." Which group?

The march I was in was about Gender Justice. Margaret Mead also wrote
"Every time we liberate a woman, we liberate a man."

We Can't Have It All

sue@keylifejourneys.com (Key Life Journey's Blog) — 2010-06-27T04:07:00Z

By Susan Ellis of Keylifejourneys

Since reading her books "The Field" and "The Intention Experiment," I have enjoyed Lynn McTaggart's blogs. I have included her latest below. With the Gulf oil disaster still at crisis level we continue to see human reaction as one of laying blame. We all distance ourselves from the cause of the problem. This is the behavior of those who believe in separateness; the mindset of those who have not grasped the fact that we are all one and that what one person does impacts on the rest of the whole.

Thought is energy. Whatever we create within us becomes part of the whole. If our thoughts and intentions are honorable, then we can contribute to the well being of the planet. If our thoughts and intentions are negative and/or self serving, we contribute to the communal cesspool.

To digress for a moment - I have recently watched a delightful underwater meditation YouTube movie about the positive energy of dolphins spreading out to impact on all our lives. It was created for 21st June, the summer solstice. Do take the link when your blog reading is complete.

We have been led by the nose into the den of consumerism. We believe that we can have it all. We are learning the cost of that belief system. Our lifestyle is not sustainable. There have always been more people in the "have not" category that the have. But now more of those whom were once in the "have" group have been pushed out. Only so many can have it all and unless we learn to share, more will go without.

Let us remember every time we buy/use toilet seats, balloons, shower curtains, crayons, golf balls, dental floss, toothbrushes, sunglasses and condoms we contributed to the cutthroat business of oil and for cheaper prices, we condone the short cuts to safely. When safety is compromised, when caring and compassion is lost, we all lose.

Read Lynn's blog then turn to the YouTube movie and listen to haunting music and stunning images of dolphins. They may not be with us for ever.

Well, after all, it was you and me
June 25th, 2010

Last week I watched the spectacle of US Senators behaving very righteously, as they scrambled over each other to shoot BP chief executive Tony Hayward, with Hayward clumsily dodging their bullets.
The culpability for the Gulf Oil spill is being laid at Hayward’s door, as an example of individual corporate irresponsibility in the drive for ever increasing profits.
There is some truth to that, of course. Cutting corners on safety for profit is essentially the daily bread of corporate life. The banking industry and ongoing world financial crisis immediately come to mind.
Nevertheless, to believe that the entire problem stems from a single corporation’s negligence is to miss the entire lesson of this experience and its important role in our evolution.

AN OILY WORLD
BP is being demonized at the sole villain of the piece here, but the fact is that BP, like every other petroleum company, is simply doing what any corporation does, which is responding to demand.
The modern industrial world is created from oil. Oil doesn’t just power our automobiles and heat our houses. Most everything manufactured these days, in some way, derives from oil. Virtually all plastics are made from petroleum. Most prescription and over-the-counter drugs have some form of petroleum at their base, as do most cosmetics.
As I write this, the lipstick and mascara I’m wearing contain petroleum. The Apple computer I’m writing on is made of petroleum-based plastic. Even if I were to leave my car at home and bike to my office, I’d I’ll be driving over petroleum-based asphalt. I could try to save oil by eating by candlelight tonight, but I’d still be using a petroleum product. If I need to call my husband or children later I’ll be speaking to them via an instrument made of petroleum. We eat organic food and use eco-products in this house, but we, like everyone else, are drowning in petroleum.
Detergents, soaps, rubber bands, almost all cosmetics, perfumes, most of what we clean our houses with, flooring, sports equipment, contact lenses, disposable diapers, paints and paint thinners, garden hoses, many components of automobiles like batteries, most modern boats, virtually every toilet seat, balloons, shower curtains, crayons, golf balls, dental floss and toothbrushes, sunglasses, condoms — all this and much more are made of oil.
Every aspect of our modern-day food production and consumption requires petroleum, from the fertilizer used to grow it, to the mechanized processing used to produce it, the trucks used to distribute it, the refrigerators and plastic packaging required to keep it fresh, and the ovens used to cook it.
Given the fact that oil has been so interwoven with modern mod-con life, it is not surprising that the earth is running out of it. All Western petroleum companies know this. Big Oil only owns some 10 per cent of global oil and gas reserves. All the rest is in the hands of the state-owned oil companies of Saudi Arabia, Russia, Venezuela and Iran. That is why they are having to look deeper and deeper into the earth to find whatever stores are left.
All the petroleum companies are moving out further into the sea and drilling deeper to get oil. There are 12 deepwater oil fields in the Gulf of Mexico deeper than 40m, and 15 off the coast of Brazil. Besides BP’s Deepwater Horizon, 31 other rigs drill in deep water in the Gulf, seven of them just set up in 2008. About a third of our oil is now being obtained offshore, with a marginal amount from shallow waters.

RISKY BUSINESS
Deep water drilling is inherently risky. The difference in temperature between the water (at 41 degrees Fahrenheit) and the boiling oil puts enormous stress on all equipment used. The platform itself is unstable. But the biggest problem of all is the extraordinary pressure in the underground reservoirs, in which every square centimeter contains the weight of an ordinary-sized car.
Every time you drill into the rock layers of the seabed you risk a Deepwater Horizon type explosion, in which the fuel shoots out of the ground and cannot be contained. Deepwater drilling is an accident waiting to happen.
No matter how careful an individual company, there is no plan B if something goes wrong. Containment of an explosion requires cutting-edge measures that essentially haven’t been invented yet.

EVOLUTIONARY EVENT
The point here is that as tragic as this explosion was, for the animals, for the Gulf residents whose livelihood is destroyed, and for all of us watching helplessly as the oil slick grows the size of a small country, it was necessary and important to our evolution. Giant ecological disaster seems to be the only way to wake up human beings to the need to do things differently.
In a sense, it was also necessary that it happen in America — and I say this as an American myself. The world consumes 85 million barrels of oil per day, and America consumes nearly one-quarter of that. America is the sole country in the world that refused to sign the Kyoto Agreement. It is one of the few developed countries to spend almost none of its public money on alternatives to the automobile, such as high rail travel. Unlike Europe, the US continues to eschew high taxes on gasoline as a disincentive to drive.
Many of the Senators who were so highhanded about Tony Hayward have consistently opposed a Clean Energy Bill and attempted to pass a bill preventing the Environmental Protection Agency from enforcing pollution standards against greenhouse emissions. In fact, the petroleum industry oils a fair portion of their campaigns.

BIGGER THAN SUV’S
Lately, we Americans have cut back on their reliance on big SUVs and cars in general, but the problem is far greater than driving a little less.
We must all realize that this is no one company’s or country’s problem. We don’t just have to drive differently. The Gulf disaster signals the end of a petroleum-based world. What this requires is that we come to terms with the fact that that we have to live differently, produce things differently, consume things differently.
It’s time for us all to take responsibility for Deepwater Horizons by doing whatever we can, individually and collectively, to evolve a society that does not depend on oil at every turn.
Since the Gulf of Mexico explosion, words from an old Rolling Stone song keep rattling around in my head. The song is Sympathy for the Devil, and the line goes like this:
I shouted out, ‘Who killed the Kennedys?’
Well, after all, it was you and me.
I have an intention that we heal the area, but mostly that we heal ourselves and our division from the natural world. It is important to view the Gulf disaster, however painful, as something positive — nature’s early warning signal to make changes in our lives now before it is too late.

Now go to the dolphins . Around the 4 minute mark of the movie are the words "Today we feel the call of Mother Earth…to honor the water as the fundamental basis of our existence…"
"Let's set our intention and cooperate in unity."

Water Hour

sue@keylifejourneys.com (Key Life Journey's Blog) — 2010-06-02T04:00:00Z

Slowly ponder these facts about water.
How do you as an individual or community or town or country figure into these statistics?
If you have abundant water in your life - how do you show your gratitude?
You have a chance to on June 11th at 8pm local time.
That will be WATER HOUR when it's about falling in love with water…all over again.
Learn more at www.waterhour.org

Now, the facts-

It takes 39,000 gallons of water to manufacture one new car.

In the US, 40% of all rivers, lakes and streams are too dangerous for swimming, fishing or drinking because of toxic runoff

Your body is 66% water.

The Earth is a closed system, which means that the same water that we use today has been here for more than 2 billion years.

In developing countries, 90% of sewage and 70% of industrial wastes are discharged directly into water courses without treatment.

Each day 10,000 kids younger than 5 die from water-related diseases.

In Canada, ninety three First Nation communities were under “Boil Water” orders in 2008.

One drop of oil can pollute 25 litres of water.

It takes 150 gallons of water to produce one loaf of bread.

80% of China’s rivers are too polluted to support aquatic life.

The world’s largest garbage dump is floating in the Pacific Ocean – the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is 90 feet deep with accumulated plastic trash, spanning twice the size of Texas!

If the world’s water fit into a one gallon bucket, the amount of fresh water available to us all would equal only one tablespoon.

Worldwide, we withdraw 1000 trillion gallons of water from lakes, rivers and aquifers each year.

One fifth of the world’s freshwater fish are endangered or extinct.

One billion people do not have safe water to drink.

In Africa or Asia, many women walk an average of 6 km to fetch water.

Half the world’s hospital beds are occupied by people ill from water-borne illnesses.

50% of the world’s wetlands have been lost since 1900.

Floods and droughts affect one in three people worldwide.

Five big food and beverage companies consume 575 billion litres of water a year - enough to supply every person on the planet with their daily water needs.

We use 23,000 different chemicals in our daily lives and in industrial processes.

There are hundreds of “dead zones” in the oceans where no life can exist, thanks to pollution from fertilizers and sewage.

Life on land depends on the oxygen generated by life in the global ocean.

Now some images of what water should always look like -

Remember Life in the Gulf of Mexico

sue@keylifejourneys.com (Key Life Journey's Blog) — 2010-05-12T02:25:00Z

By Susan Ellis of Keylifejourneys

The fishing industry, the tourist industry and the oil industry have all talked about the crisis in the Gulf of Mexico as gallons of oil spew forth and test our ability to undo the damage and recompense those who have suffered loss.The essay below was written by Carol Watson of Toronto who speaks for the lives that will never receive compensation. I do not have any photos of the US Gulf Coast, but at the end of this post are some reminders for me of its beauty as seen in Mexico and Honduras

I Read the News Today and Oh Boy
By Carol Watson

At 10 p.m. in New Orleans, the wind was traveling from the east and there would been no rain all day. It was slightly humid. It was the 20th of April.

New Orleans was closer to the actual site, but distance means nothing. We all heard the news at the same time, the morning of the 21st. A Tampa Florida newspaper carried a recipe for New Orleans style shrimp. Maybe they hadn’t heard about the accident at that point.

But, we all heard the news that morning. There’d been an explosion. It was in the Gulf of Mexico. On an oil drilling rig. 11 people dead, 17 more injured. British Petroleum was the company in charge of the rig.

At first the coast guard said, no problem, no spill. It’ll be ok, but only a couple days later, it was bad and getting worse. The rig had sunk altogether.

5,000 barrels of crude oil a day was leaking out. It was spreading and there were no real answers. The wind. You can’t contain the wind. Water, it gets choppy with wind. You can’t contain the water.

Booms, barricades, burning.
Lots of action…
… thousands of volunteers, cleaning beaches, building sand barricades to stop the oil from flooding into sensitive coastal areas.
… National Guard all decked out in white uniforms with goggles and ear protectors and head gear getting into airplanes that would aerial spray the surface of the water with chemicals to coagulate the oil and make it easier to pick up.
… Fishermen taking off in their boats trying to set booms to stop the drift of the fat rainbow slick into the Gulf’s fertile crescent.
… some kind of containment structure for the leak but it had never been used before in water 5,000 feet deep.
… a test burn but winds and choppy water prevented any more burns until the next week, and the stink and mess from the burning was almost as bad as the slick.
… subsea applications of chemical dispersants at the wellhead…..
…officials, engineers, fishers, Coast Guard, biologists, tour operators, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
It was a disaster, no question.

There was lots of talk too.
Texas Governor Rick Perry speculated that the spill may have just been God's doing: “From time to time there are going to be things that occur that are acts of God that cannot be prevented."

Michael Brown, former director of Federal Emergency Management Agency said: "This is exactly what they want… This president has never supported big oil, he's never supported offshore drilling, and now he has an excuse to shut it back down."

Tony Hayward, CEO of BP, the company that was running the oil rig told the BBC that it wasn't their mess, but they’d go ahead and clean it up anyway: “This was not our accident … This was not our drilling rig. This was not our equipment. It was not our people, our systems or our processes. This was Transocean’s rig. Their systems. Their people. Their equipment.”

Florida oil industry folk worried aloud about the future: “We as an industry know the reality is that we have to supply Florida with 25 million gallons of gasoline and 9.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas every day for the foreseeable future. Large amounts of that resource come off of Florida’s coast, in the Gulf of Mexico, and we’re going to need to explore, develop and produce oil and gas for Florida.”

Index fingers shot out to establish who was to blame… the oil companies that wanted to make as much profit as they could so preferred to argue as far back as ten years ago that additional safety systems in deep sea drilling were unnecessary… law makers who pushed the companies but then gave up after awhile… all of us and our oil habit.
A senator said: “I know there will be environmental challenges but we believe we have the technology to clean it up to compensate for people.”
The papers, online news, Youtube, blogs, television and radio were chock full of technological solutions that were being tried. We were encouraged to move our thoughts into the practical “fix it” zone.
Ah yes, technology will save the world, not beauty. We forgot.
BP said they’d pick up the tab for compensation for legitimate claims.

And our minds pondered the meaning of “legitimate claims”.
Lightning Whelk, Blue Crab, Stone Crab, Fiddler Crab, American Alligator…What are your claims?

Estuaries and shallow waters, home of Green Sea Turtle, Hawksbill Sea Turtle, Leatherback Sea Turtle, Loggerhead Sea Turtle, Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle, Southern Flounder, Eastern Brown Pelican, Pinfish, Pigfish, Gaff-topsail Catfish, Hardhead Catfish, Atlantic Cutlass fish, Atlantic Croaker…What are your claims? How much would you like to claim from BP?

Open water, home of Striped Mullet, American Eel, Black Drum, Red Drum, Spotted Sea trout, Tarpon, Greater Amberjack, Florida Pompano, Common Snook, Crevalle Jack, Tripletail, Cobia… Tell us how we can compensate you….Red Snapper, Vermilion Snapper, Sheepshead, Lane Snapper… Seagrasses, oyster reefs, salt marshes, barrier islands, coastal wetlands, muddy estuarine bottoms, reefs and open water…

…This is your story too.

Today, we write you into our story. We do not blink back our tears, but with love, with grief, we let them fall onto the tapestry of beauty that we live within.

Salt water tears. Salt water of the Gulf of Mexico.
Wine as blood. Blood for the love and the pain.

The waters of the Gulf of Mexico were the colour of frothy creme de menthe at
Cancun in 2004

A beach on the island of Roatan, Honduras 2006. Here I was able to walk into the water and
then snorkel over a living coral reef sheltering hundreds of brightly coloured tropical fish.

The cliffs at the end of the Roatan beach were made of coral.

The clean white soft sand below the coral cliffs.

The underwater reef a few feet offshore is the second largest coral reef in the world, second
to Australia's Great Barrier Reef. It is beautiful, it is fragile, it is living. It is at risk.

Earth Day 2010

sue@keylifejourneys.com (Key Life Journey's Blog) — 2010-04-24T04:09:00Z

By Susan Ellis of keylifejourneys

Although there was a cool edge to the wind, the sun shone in Toronto this week. Spring has been evident by the bursting forth of blooms. What a joy it was to walk through High Park on Monday and share with many others the rapture of cherry blossom and the first out door ice cream of the season. The most mature trees were planted in 1959 as a gift from Tokyo to Toronto.
So many babies in strollers, adults with fancy cameras and people looking up at pink hued white petals superimposed on a clear blue sky. Even the noisy ducks and geese on the Grenadier Pond seemed to be responding to all the human activity.

Earth Day was on Thursday and I happened to have a meeting in one of the financial towers on Bay Street in the Brookfield Place. Towering glass cathedrals cover the walkways between the office towers, polished marble and sunshine prevails. But there, in a commercial world, was a moment of peace in the Allen Lambert Galleria.. Set in the middle of a walkway on the shining marble was a reflective pond with live foliage around it. Over it a wooden frame from which hung strings with cylindrical brass bases. When at rest the brass rested below the surface of the water. But activated by sound, the strings were set in motion. The twisting helix drew the cylinder out of the water. The kinetic machine was called VOTA: Meniscus created by Mitchell F. Chan and Brad Hindson of Studio -F Minus of Toronto and Chicago.

Commemorating Earth Day reminds us of the interconnectedness of humanity and the natural environment. For every action there is a reaction. Many people reacted to the structure. I watched those rushing business people who paused and became still. They allowed themselves to be mesmerized by the twisting strings and lifting and falling weights. They could see the reflections of those stilled persons at the other side of the pond. They stopped to listen to the unobtrusive vocals and music being played which stimulated the movements. They knew their own voices would cause the instillation to react. Maybe it is in these still moments of heightened consciousness that we can learn to take responsibility for the role we play in the song and dance of the universe. We are not observers, but co-creators.

Celebrate the Earth Today As Earth Hour Has Begun

sue@keylifejourneys.com (Key Life Journey's Blog) — 2010-03-27T16:31:00Z

By Susan Ellis of keylifejourneys.com

Today is the day to celebrate the Earth by turning out your lights for WWF’s Earth Hour! Whether it’s by having an intimate dinner at home, a family games night, dancing under the stars at a neighbourhood party or enjoying some music at an Earth Hour concert, make Earth Hour your own. Take pride in the fact that you are standing up against climate change and that you are doing it with up to a billion people worldwide in over 120 countries!

Remember, Earth Hour takes place at 8:30 p.m. local time so the official global kickoff has already started! Beginning in Fiji, the lights went out and the Earth Hour wave has begun.

Check out the World Wildlife Fund's Earth Hour blog for the latest details, view images and videos from around the globe and watch as Canada gets ready to show the rest of the world how to celebrate!

Update: More than 4000 cities, towns and municipalities have now confirmed their participation in Earth Hour 2010, across 125 countries and territories. Fiji, New Zealand and Australia are some of the countries who’ve already celebrated!

So as the big event makes its way across time zones and continents to reach us in Canada, stay tuned for photos, videos and stories from some of the millions of people who are participating.

The Health of America

sue@keylifejourneys.com (Key Life Journey's Blog) — 2010-03-26T02:33:00Z

By Susan Ellis of Keylifejourneys

A photograph in the Toronto Star on 23nd March by Harry Hamburg/AP filled me with disgust. It was a picture of elitist self interest, corrosive entitlement and arrogant primitive social behavior. The title is "View from Washington" and it shows angry middle class Americans - all looking healthy and well nourished - expressing contempt for the passage of Obama's health care reform bill. This bill would provide some inalienable rights to 32 million of their country men women and children. I don't get it. What am I missing?

This is the attitude that plays out on the world stage when we make decisions about the worth of different people; Whom we should "save" from starvation or violence. The decision is based purely on self interest. If by our saving lives we get access to their oil, diamonds or what ever, we will invade countries, send relief and even help governments stand. But only when there is something material in it for us.

So what I am to read into the Tea Party manifesto of the Christian right? The picture in the newspaper is from their gathering on Capitol Hill to protest the health care reform bill. I read greed and self indulgence. That is the image that the US is presenting to the world. The world reacts with disgust and amazement that people so educated could be so selfish. Americans cannot understand why the rest of the world feels contempt for their values, ethnocentricity and self righteousness. Can they not see themselves or are they so indoctrinated with entitlement, compassion for their countrymen and women is not on their radar?

However, just as there are many Canadians who feel saddened by the image the world is getting from our leadership (or lack thereof), there are many Americans who feel shame at how they are being seen abroad. Some years ago there was genocide in Rwanda. Since there was nothing to be politically and financially gained by intervening, those who could, didn't. The way I see it at the moment in the U.S.A. is that the Republicans want to sacrifice 32 million Americans who are unable to afford any health care, in order to maintain the standard of living and access to medicine for those fortunate enough to be able to afford insurance.

Investing in the poor by making them healthy enough to work builds a strong community. Indeed some might then be able to do the menial jobs that the middle class refuses to do. Jobs now held by the "illegal immigrants" they so despise. You can't hold down a job if you are sick and can't pay for the treatment.

Many religious and philosophical masters have taught that we should not do unto others that which you would not want to have done to us. Maybe some of the religious right who are members of the Tea Party do believe that but know that their status protects them from having to live by it. Others have said that you judge the maturity of a country by the way it looks after its least strong members. The picture in the newspaper tells me all I need to know. I've got the message.

If you have 9 minutes and 51 seconds, watch this YouTube video where protesters were interviewed. It is a little scary. Most don't really know why they are protesting, many were there because people they trust thought it a good idea, and some believe that since everyone gets health care opportunities why should the government get involved? Some dispute the figures that state that 30-32 million Americans cannot afford health care insurance. Even if there was only one…

The interviewer was knowledgeable and probing. One Media outlet seemed to be providing the protesters with all the "facts." What is scary is that political polarization makes vulnerable people pawns in a game.

Maybe I don't understand. Maybe I am crazy to believe that all people are created equal and some basic human rights seem to not matter. But all I have to go on are photographs in a newspaper and the words of average Americans being interviewed before movie cameras. They seemed to hate.

I've just spent the day in one of Toronto's major cancer treatment centres. My friend was having chemotherapy following surgery for pancreatic cancer. All who presented a health card were treated. No one was turned away because they did not have enough money. Perhaps a few miles away in Buffalo New York someone is dying alone with pancreatic cancer never having had the chance of chemo. The photograph in the newspaper haunts me. What don't I see?

We Are One

sue@keylifejourneys.com (Key Life Journey's Blog) — 2010-03-23T21:45:00Z

By Susan Ellis of Keylifejourneys

I have often talked of people power and grass roots involvement to bring about change. Earth Hour is one such initiative. It started out in Sydney Australia in 2007 and has developed into a world affair. This article from the World Wildlife Federation/Canada website shows a world shift in consciousness. If I show my cynical side I may suggest the involvement of some countries is, may I say, political. But in the end it is the people who take responsibility for their actions on the day. It is we who turn off the light and take time to appreciate what we normally take for granted.

Earth Hour heads into record territory

March 17, 2010 - A record Earth Hour is looming with more countries now signed up for the event than for last year’s globe circling lights out for climate action.

Just over a week out from the event, timed for 8.30 pm on March 27, organisers are now active in 110 countries, compared to a final participation figure of 88 countries in 2009 which saw hundreds of millions participating.

With confirmation that the Tokyo Tower in Tokyo and Brandenburg Gate in Berlin will both turn off their lights for Earth Hour, all members of the G20 are now taking part in the event.

“Earth Hour demonstrates the determination of the world’s citizens for a better healthier world,” said Earth Hour Executive Director, Andy Ridley.

“It brings together cities, communities, businesses and individuals on the journey to positive action on climate change,”

As a co-founder of the event, Ridley has seen it boom from a one city, one country event in 2007 to the levels where nearly half the world’s nations, and many of its largest cities and iconic landmarks make a statement for a more secure and safer future.

Countries and regions involved for the first time include Kosovo, the remote island nation of Madagascar, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Mongolia, Cambodia, Czech Republic, Paraguay, Ecuador and the US Commonwealth of the Northern Marina Islands in the Pacific Ocean amongst others.

Honduras became the latest nation to have official Earth Hour recognition and Earth Hour global organisers confirm that there are currently more than 1,100 cities and towns signed up to switch their lights off at 8.30pm on 27 March - 100 more than at the same time last year.

“Typically we see a big jump in the number of cities and towns taking part in the last few days before the lights go out, but to see such strong support already is fantastic,” said Ridley.

“Earth Hour is an opportunity for the global community to speak in one voice on the issue of climate change, while at the same time coming together in celebration of the one thing every single person on the planet has in common – the planet,” he said.

“Whether it’s joining your community in a town square to watch the city lights go dark or hosting a lights out party in your own home, I encourage everybody across the world to be a part of this important and historic occasion. Turn off your lights, celebrate the planet, enjoy the moment and think about the future of our living planet.”

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The earthhour.org website shows a Google Map on which one can locate the places where individuals who have signed up, live. The Google map allowed me to zoom in on the Isle of Man where I was born and determine that 3 people had signed up and 15 signed a petition.   A total of 5639955 have signed up from around the world on this map

At http://wwf.ca/earthhour 66444 Canadians have signed up pledging to participate. But for many it has become an annual social ritual so signing up is not part of the routine.

I plan to spend the evening by candle light with friends at my home. Maybe we will play Scrabble, maybe we will just talk. But during that hour a great sense of gratitude will be experienced. I am a part of this planet. My actions for good or ill will have an impact. I have influence. I can bring about change. I am not powerless. Mahatma Ghandi encouraged us to be the change we want to see in the world. The shift is in attitude, the effect life saving.

Only 1 in 5 Canadians give themselves an “A” when it comes to their personal environmental efforts

WWF-Canada survey shows Canadians believe they can be doing more for the environment
As a kick-off to Earth Hour 2010 (March 27, 8:30 – 9:30 p.m. local time), WWF-Canada released the results of a national survey that asked Canadians to grade their environmental efforts. Only 1 in 5 (18 per cent) Canadians gave themselves an “A” saying they’re doing as much as they can to reduce their impact on climate change. However, 80 per cent say they are motivated to do more to reduce their personal and household impact.

“Earth Hour is a global celebration of our commitment to help fight climate change and reduce our individual footprint on the planet,” says Gerald Butts, President and CEO, WWF-Canada. “The survey results clearly show that Canadians are motivated to do much more than the status quo. They are looking for ways to make every hour Earth Hour and WWF-Canada can help them.”

Make Every Hour Earth Hour

Earth Hour serves as an annual reminder of what Canadians can do in their personal lives to help fight climate change. “Small actions have a big impact,” says Butts. “From leaving the car at home, to washing clothes in cold water, to shopping with reusable shopping bags, there are many simple things Canadians can do.”

Five easy things you can do to reduce your impact on the climate:

1.       Leave the car at home. If you have an errand to run close by or need to take the kids to school, consider walking instead of driving. You'll get more exercise and help the environment by reducing your carbon footprint. If walking is not an option, take public transit. Driving just 10 per cent less will save almost 600 kilograms in CO2 emissions over a year.

2.       Eat local. In Canada, almost 60 per cent of our food is imported and the average food product travels 2,000 km before it reaches your plate so next time you buy look for food grown close to home. It will be fresher and save harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

3.       Fly less. The next time you plan a trip, save the emissions associated with flying and have a fun, local vacation. Canada is a huge tourist destination so enjoy the nature and attractions right here at home. Cutting out just one overseas flight this year can save 2,600 kilograms of CO2 emissions.

4.       Be energy efficient. If you are buying a new appliance look for one with a high energy efficiency or retire the beer fridge. Refrigerators are one of the top energy guzzling appliances in the home. Updating your old model will save you about $120 a year on your energy bill and prevent about 240 kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions.

5.       Become a role model and share your tips: From March 1 to 25, Canadians are invited to enter a national online contest by submitting a photo or video essay showing how they make Every Hour, Earth Hour. The grand prize winner will receive a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Churchill, Manitoba to first-hand how climate change is impacting people and species, like the polar bear. Complete rules and contest guidelines can be found at www.EarthHourCanada.org.

Corporate Leadership
While Earth Hour focuses on personal efforts to help fight climate change, it wouldn’t be possible without corporate leadership. Some of the world’s best known brands are switching off their lights and spreading the word in the business community.

”Business leaders such as Coca-Cola, Sears Canada, and the Toronto Star are helping to mobilize individuals and raise awareness about the need for personal action,” says Butts. “As lead sponsors for Earth Hour, they have an incredible ability to engage employees, and reach customers and suppliers to help create a sustainable future for our planet.”

About Earth Hour
Earth Hour is a global WWF initiative. Individuals, businesses, governments and communities are invited to turn out their lights for one hour on Saturday March 27, 2010 at 8:30 PM to show their support for action on climate change. The event began in Sydney in 2007, and has since grown into a global movement reaching more than one billion. In Canada, Coca-Cola, Sears Canada, and the Toronto Star are the lead sponsors. www.EarthHourCanada.org

About WWF-Canada
WWF-Canada (World Wildlife Fund Canada) is a member of WWF, one of the world's largest independent conservation organizations, active in more than 100 countries. WWF is creating solutions to the most serious conservation challenges facing our planet, helping people and nature to thrive. In Canada, we create solutions to conservation issues important to Canadians and the world. WWF-Canada works collaboratively with governments, businesses and the public to help fight climate change, the single biggest environmental threat to our planet; conserve our oceans and freshwater resources; and educate and mobilize people to build a conservation culture. WWF-Canada's main office is in Toronto, with regional offices located in Vancouver, Prince Rupert, St. Albert, Ottawa, Halifax and St. John's. For more information, visit wwf.ca.

Butterfly Effect

sue@keylifejourneys.com (Key Life Journey's Blog) — 2010-03-13T20:34:00Z

By Susan Ellis of Keylifejouenys

I've just got back from a trip to Puerto Vallarta Mexico, a favorite winter destination for me. What was a new experience was changing planes in Houston. I haven't been to the States for a while. It doesn't feel the same. When an action in one part of the world has an impact on events in another part of the world, they call it the butterfly effect.

Since we were changing planes in Houston on the outward journey, we went through American customs etc in Toronto. Traditionally I have always gone to ticket desks, immigration, customs, whatever, with my traveling companion. The world has changed. The American, now holding our passports, towered over us - two grey haired 60+ ladies - and demanded to know how we were related. "Oh we are just friends traveling together." We were then read the riot act about needing to come one at a time. I asked if he wanted me to go back to the line. He'd had his moment of power tripping and must have felt better as he let me stay. Hey, welcome to the US of A. I did not feel welcome as we walked past a mock up of the Statue of Liberty and an American flag in the middle of Toronto's airport.

At one point during security procedures, I was made to put my hands in my pockets and then have them tested for explosives residue. In days gone by it was our luggage which was inspected this way. Now I was wearing Tilley pants for heaven's sake - I had 4 pockets plus a secret one to choose from…not counting the ones at the back. Would the test recognize explosives on my hands if I had put my hands in two "clean" pockets?" I hope so; otherwise Mr. Tilley will do a roaring trade in terrorist apparel.

Having cleared security before leaving Canada it meant that our plane transfer in Houston just entailed getting from one terminal to another via a monorail train. But my brief in transit visit to the US had already been tarnished by one "little" man in big shoes. When one does not feel welcomed, why would one ever want to go back? Somewhere in the US a shop keeper, restaurateur or hotelier is going bankrupt for lack of business. This is the butterfly effect.

The sun and friendly people of Mexico soon made the stress of getting there disappear.

Mara is a young articulate Mexican woman working at the concierge desk in our resort in Puerto Vallarta. I have met her before on past visits and she is gracious and fully conversant in the English language.

Since I was on holiday it is natural to ask her where she planned to spend hers.
“I wanted to go to Canada again” she said. “I have been on vacation in Vancouver and loved it there. But now there is the visa problem so I don’t think I will try. So I will go to Cancun instead.”

I don’t know how much money she would have spend on hotels, restaurants and gifts in Canada on her holiday. Maybe more than I am spending in her country. I don’t suppose any Canadian company will be recompensed for lost business just as I see empty shops in Puerto Vallarta that thrived before Swine Flu closed down the tourist traffic here last year. I’ve been told 30,000 workers lost their jobs that day.

Meanwhile our Canadian Government no doubt is congratulating itself for stopping all those illegal immigrants from entering Canada from Mexico. Before returning to Mexico this year I was apprehensive that the Mexicans may have changed their friendly approach to Canadians. But they don’t seem to hold grudges. They are happy to see us spending money in their country again and not staying at home. I was aware nothing had changed, bless them. I’m not so sure I would have been so tolerant if the shoe had been on the other foot.

So Mira will vacation in her own country of Mexico this year although she would have loved to be a tourist in Canada. And in some slightly related story a Canadian shop keeper, restaurateur or hotelier is going bankrupt for lack of business. This is the butterfly effect.

The homeward journey again meant changing planes in Houston. I have decided America can do without me in the future. We were in-transit passengers after all, having got through one security check before getting on a plane and now were inside an American Airport. Our path took us to the great hall of all fear and suspicion. The words Homeland Security were printed in big letters. There were two streams of traffic - US citizens and residents and the rest. We started our snails paced zig zag journey. As our numbers increased they kept changing the flow of traffic and it seemed that we were always at the end of the line. After 45 minutes I saw a Stetson donned official and told her we were in-transit we had a plane to catch. A couple of others heard my statement and crowded over. Houston, we have a problem.

Many planes must have all arrived at the same time and no one had thought to open up a line for in-transit passengers. Or maybe they presumed all passengers would try to use this faster line. Everyone was moving so slowly and there were many idle staff, they could easily have checked all those with boarding passes and funneled us into another line. Our pleas were rewarded and we were successfully moved to the American Citizen line which was shorter but still requiring a long wait. Once our passports were checked we were on the run.

It was after 4pm. We were supposed to be at our next departure gate at 4pm. From then on every time we had to deal with a white male we were either ignored, patronized or purposely slowed down when seeking directions or going through more security checks. Every time we dealt with a black male we were shown respect, concern and helpfulness. Most of the smiling black men told us not to worry; all would be well, take a deep breath etc. We got the monorail from Terminal E to B and tried to hop on a golf cart - "my battery is dead." We started running. We had a gate number printed on our boarding cards - it had been changed - to the opposite end of Terminal B. We jumped on another golf cart. The young black driver happily transported us with relaxed smile, just knowing it would all be fine. We got to the gate. Another young black man was standing there, looked at our boarding cards and told us not to worry; they hadn't even called the flight yet. It had been delayed 20 minutes. We would never have got there in time otherwise. The two hours - a legal transfer time - would not have been enough. The officials in the hall of the Homeland Security wore Stetsons and I truly got the feeling that I was cattle being lined up for branding.

What is being gained by treating all people as if they are untrustworthy and definitely not welcomed? Why instill fear which contaminates the whole atmosphere? What don't I get? Will an American ask me do I personally know what the threat of terror feels like? Indeed I do. Not only have I seen a flattened Liverpool after German bombings but have been evacuated from railway stations and airports while officials searched for IRA bombs.

If I was entering the US for the first time as a tourist I might well learn that you stay away from white men and get your help from women and those with black skins. I might learn that Americans are not happy people. I might feel they are afraid of everything and everyone is potentially out to get them. I might get the impression that I am the problem for wanting to come to their country in the first place. I don't think I would want to go back. I wonder how many tourist dollars are being lost in the US at a time when jobs need to be created. The butterfly is certainly effected.

Finally we arrived in Toronto to a virtually empty immigration hall. A smiling young man looks at my custom declaration form.
"Where have you been?"
"Puerto Vallarta."
"And what did you spend your $4 on?"
"A fridge magnet."
"How many?"
"Just one." I added that since I had been to Puerto Vallarta before I didn't need to buy everything each time.
"No," he said "but one always has room for one more fridge magnet."
We both laughed. I was home. I felt safe and there was no tension in the air.

I only wish that Mara from the concierge desk at my resort in Puerto Vallarta felt free enough to fight for a visa and risk being welcomed into Canada as a tourist. Here are three countries with a free trade agreement. The Canadian Government does not want Mexicans, the Americans don't want anybody and the Mexicans are happy to say hola all round. Consequently Mexico will get my tourist dollar in the future. It’s the butterfly effect.