visioning 8/8/19
a grove of ghost pipe i discovered days after writing the following transmission. ghost pipe is my ally in this edge work.
A RASCAL RELISH: tools and teachings to ease the grief of living in the end times
Anthropocene - our current era; defined by the impact of our species is having on the planet and climate
Some days the end seems so close and I think the veil is always thin, how it seems so simple to shut down, to cancel plans, to close up shop to prevent more loss. I don’t believe that there is any wrong way to feel about these times. Hopelessness is reasonable. Fear is automatic. Grief is inevitable, and constant. Through all these emotions and reactions, visceral and intellectual, I still recognize the truth my body and soul have always known: this is my time and my place and it is my duty to live a life of love and grace and humor and magic. I have things to do and I want to be a mother. I have gifts to share and I want to own a business. I want to show folks my love and gain their trust.
I read a novel recently that focused on the mythological figure of elpis, hope embodied; the only thing left in Pandora’s box as told by Hesiod in Works and Days. Elpis as a myth, and also its function in this novel, resonated with me as a fitting image for our times. I want us all to remember elpis, the hope that stays with us, deep in the marrow of our bones: our grandmother’s prayers, the sacrifices our parents and teachers made to make us whole and safe in our early years.
Elpis as the belief in the next generation often feels inaccessible to me, a consummate millennial; in my last year of true childhood when the twin towers fell. My first blood came on the first anniversary of 9/11. On the tragic day itself, I remember, amongst my confusion and grief, that I felt empathy for the men responsible: “Can you imagine believing in something so deeply that you would die for it?” Now I do, though. I would die and I believe I will die for the privilege to live a whole, happy, and healthy life with my loved ones in good spirits and health. I would die, and I think I will, for the chance to know my children and to teach them all the names of all the plants in our region and how to cook an egg.
This is my life’s purpose: to live as though I don’t know that I will die from complications of climate change, or corporate greed, or perhaps the radiation that I’ve willingly, needfully beamed into my brain since I got my first cellphone at 13. I may die without getting to meet my children; I may die trying to secure them access to clean water; I may die because I will never cow to tyranny. All things are possible, and a blessing of death is that it is unknowable to the living. That’s the magic of our life and our consciousness-- we don’t know what will happen to us. That is also how hubris happens, and in my opinion, hubris is the engine driving the train that is the anthropocene era, barreling down the tracks with no regard for the life it extinguishes. Greed and hubris are killing us, but I will try to live anyway.
I would like to share with you some medicine stories, some tips & tricks, and some nourishing foods-- I want to share my work as a celebration of life and dreams. My work is a testament to hope, to elpis, to the very last thing in the box at the end of the day. I hope that we make it, that the next generation thrives and doesn’t know suffering like we did: these are our ancestors prayers, little gems buried in the rich dark dirt of our bones. We will die, eventually, all of us, and I see that only the privileged will do it with access to cool clean water, with comfort and nourishment. My hope is that the tides change and we are all privileged; my hope is that we all get to meet the children we want.
My hope is not tangible, but my medicines are, and my skills are transmittable. Let’s talk about what grieves you and where you find hope. What skills for the end-times can I help you gain? Do you need a talisman, a comfort, a flower essence, a way to can tomatoes? Let me share my hope and resources with you.