To hopefully get clear on the panaply of interactive subjects, I’m leading a book study group on Climate, A New Story, by Charles Eisenstein, helping us delve deeper into the huge patches of information that compose the CLIMATE CATASTROPHE we are already in, pointing the way for a needed transformation of our culture away from consumerism – a HUGE LEAP.

Climate, A New Story is a marvelous book that brings Pachamama (Gaia, Mother Earth) alive for us as we face off with likely the most terrible disaster to happen humankind, the destruction of our whole planet and every living thing on it in the balance.

Interbeing, a term coined by revered Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hahn, is pretty much the core concept: WE ARE ONE and if you don’t treat all living creatures with respect nature’s balance becomes unbalanced and we got trouble! Boy Howdy!

Funny how I sometimes agreed cockroaches would outlive humans due to their adaptability,
but Eisenstein tells us we have nearly 80% LESS bugs now than when I was a kid. That means a lot of our crops aren’t getting pollinated. It looks like a fantastic Spring coming on just now – but – but – but if we don’t change our ways DRASTICALLY – well, really can’t afford to look that in the face. It’s too terrible. Fewer apples last year; fewer bees!

Eisenstein (and Pachamama and so many other great observers) show us that we have to keep coming back to the whole catastrope (phrase from Zorba the Greek) to get it that all living things depend on all living things. Cut trees in rainforest? Less oxygen for US to breathe! Not just the polar bears suffer from lack of ice. SOOOO much to learn and we needed to learn it decades ago.

We previously hippies got that with acid and transendental mediation, but within our consumer culture we didn’t REALLY get it and now we have to – or ELSE and we don’t want to contemplate that or else…not really. Like thinking what a heart attack feels like, I’d rather not!

All that and we’re part of bringing a Resolution Declaring Climage Emergency to Petaluma along with a great team from many groups. We join in this action along with London, Melbourne, Hoboken, Oakland, Berkeley, Santa Cruz, Fremont, Alameda and more cities! I love the language from Berkeley – but I would. You can support this action on Facebook by finding John Crowley, always a core mover and shaker in our little city, and signing the petition he and others launched there yesterday, Wed. March 27th…more to come! Stay tuned – or DON’T LISTEN TO THE NEWS TOO MUCH OR YOU’LL EVAPORATE OR HAVE NASTY DREAMS. Seems the antidote for
the hatred that soaks our news is from Scoop Niscar, KSAN Radio host then, now Wes Niskar the Buddhist, who I quote from time to time: “If you don’t like the news, go out and make some of your own!”