The World Will Not Be Destroyed
There will always be those who do evil. We need to increase the number of people who recognise it, call it for what it is and fight back,. That is, after all, the price of freedom. Constant alertness, constant willingness to fight back.
If You Know The Truth
There was a person on Facebook who commented the following under this post, “I speak it and nobody I speak it to wants to hear it. I post it and I’m censored and shadow banned.”
I replied, “Keep speaking your truth Eileen, you do not always know who reads your posts then goes away and thinks about them or who sees another post corroborating it and changes their view based on multiple exposures.
I read many years ago from marketing materials that it took 6 exposures of a message to get through to people.
In the intervening 50 years I cannot imagine it now takes fewer, probably many more.”
Into The Weeds – Sponsored Showing
From our Founder
Mackenzie Feldman
Project Director of Re:wild Your Campus
If you don’t know Lee Johnson’s story, I want to take a minute to explain how important this hero is to our organization.
Back in 2018, Lee Johnson took Monsanto (now Bayer) to court, claiming that his non-Hodgkin lymphoma cancer was caused by Monsanto’s herbicide, Ranger® Pro (containing the active ingredient glyphosate) during his time as a groundskeeper when he used the herbicide daily.
I attended many days of the trial, and on the day of the closing arguments, I was moved to tears, and wrote Lee a letter, telling him what an inspiration he is, and how Bridget Gustafson and I were trying to ban herbicides at UC Berkeley. I also told him that many people in my home state of Hawai’i were watching this trial, as Hawai’i is ground zero for pesticide-use and if he wins, there is hope that we can change regulations back home. I handed the note to one of the lawyers sitting in front of me (thanks Michael!) and asked if he could pass it to Lee. On the day of the verdict, after the judge announced that Lee had won the case, I introduced myself to Lee and congratulated him. He said he got my note and he was going to write me back, and that he wanted to get involved in what we were doing. Fast forward to today, and as I write this, I can’t stop smiling about all we have done together to advocate for change, and all we will continue to do.
Bridget and I brought Lee to UC Berkeley for a panel shortly after the trial for his first public appearance in the U.S. We worked with the Protect Our Keiki Coalition to bring Lee and his family to Hawai’i, and we got all herbicides banned from every public school in the state! This trial put the issue of pesticides in the public eye, and together we have catalyzed a movement of students and community members wanting to end the spraying of herbicides so that no other groundskeeper, landscaper, or agricultural worker has to go through what Lee Johnson continues to go through.
Lee, you have made a profound impact on my life, and all of our lives at Re:wild Your Campus. With this film, your story will get to impact countless others.
I really hope everyone reading this will join us in seeing the film on Tuesday.
Get tickets to a theater near you!
Give Life
The Departed
Expected Death ~ When someone dies, the first thing to do is nothing. Don’t run out and call the nurse. Don’t pick up the phone. Take a deep breath and be present to the magnitude of the moment.
There’s a grace to being at the bedside of someone you love as they make their transition out of this world. At the moment they take their last breath, there’s an incredible sacredness in the space. The veil between the worlds opens.
We’re so unprepared and untrained in how to deal with death that sometimes a kind of panic response kicks in. “They’re dead!”
We knew they were going to die, so their being dead is not a surprise. It’s not a problem to be solved. It’s very sad, but it’s not cause to panic.
If anything, their death is cause to take a deep breath, to stop, and be really present to what’s happening. If you’re at home, maybe put on the kettle and make a cup of tea.
Sit at the bedside and just be present to the experience in the room. What’s happening for you? What might be happening for them? What other presences are here that might be supporting them on their way? Tune into all the beauty and magic.
Pausing gives your soul a chance to adjust, because no matter how prepared we are, a death is still a shock. If we kick right into “do” mode, and call 911, or call the hospice, we never get a chance to absorb the enormity of the event.
Give yourself five minutes or 10 minutes, or 15 minutes just to be. You’ll never get that time back again if you don’t take it now.
After that, do the smallest thing you can. Call the one person who needs to be called. Engage whatever systems need to be engaged, but engage them at the very most minimal level. Move really, really, really, slowly, because this is a period where it’s easy for body and soul to get separated.
Our bodies can gallop forwards, but sometimes our souls haven’t caught up. If you have an opportunity to be quiet and be present, take it. Accept and acclimatize and adjust to what’s happening. Then, as the train starts rolling, and all the things that happen after a death kick in, you’ll be better prepared.
You won’t get a chance to catch your breath later on. You need to do it now.
Being present in the moments after death is an incredible gift to yourself, it’s a gift to the people you’re with, and it’s a gift to the person who’s just died.
They’re just a hair’s breath away. They’re just starting their new journey in the world without a body. If you keep a calm space around their body, and in the room, they’re launched in a more beautiful way. It’s a service to both sides of the veil.
Credit for the beautiful words ~ Sarah Kerr, Ritual Healing Practitioner and Death Doula
Beautiful art by Columbus Community Deathcare
The Candy Man – Bob Williams
Every weekend, 93-year-old Bob Williams walks into his local dollar store in Long Grove, Iowa, and buys a box of Herseys. Not those small, regular-sized candy bars… but the really big ones.
Bob, however, typically doesn’t enjoy them himself. He gives one to the cashier, and then to the person waiting behind him in line. And then he walks the downtown area handing them out to everyone he sees… …young, old, men, women, happy, sad… …everyone. He has been doing this for the past 11 years and he’s known as “The Candy Bar guy.”
It’s estimated that over the years, Bob has handed out about 6,000 chocolate bars.
So why does Bob do it? Because it puts a smile on everyone’s face. And THAT’S always worth it.
(Tom: Here’s a man making a positive difference in people’s lives!
Not many of us cannot do something this simple.
Doesn’t take an iron will, superhuman strength or millions of dollars. Just a bit of money, time, care and the intention to make the world a better place.
And if you want to start with zero dollars down, here’s a great quote I saw yesterday:
“You cannot add to the peace and goodwill of the world if you fail to create an atmosphere of harmony and love right where you live and work.” – Thomas Dreier
So, on your list of things to do today, what are you going to add that makes the world better than it was yesterday? Here are some suggestions.
Smile more. Especially when you first make eye contact and answering the phone.
Compliment people.
Hold a door open.
Let someone merge into your lane when driving.
Smile and wave or say thank you when someone lets you cut in or is otherwise polite to you.
Pay more attention when someone is talking to you.
Let’s make a game of this.
The More We…
Raise Kids Who Can Name More Plants and Animals
Reading Teaches…
