The Beautiful Things

"They're coming quietly,  not in a rush, so you have time

to put the kettle on."

I love this thought.  Sincerely wish they'd get here and stay here.

Actually, they are here.  

So many of them they cannot be counted accurately.

Some say 300 others say 500...depending on the viewer's bias.

I gather this truth around my shoulders and luxuriate in it.

As the resistance carrys on ...and carrys on...

repeating and repeating the lasting refrain...

We all deserve to be here and be exactly who we are,

without shame, without apology, without subjugation...equal in every way.

No one has the right to lord it over others. No one.

We are in this together and we are mighty and miraculous.

Namaste' 

 

There Is A Contradiction

I’m not good with contradictions. All the recent upheaval and uncertainty

 in the public arena ratchets up my feelings of discomfort. So this quote is pertinent.
As I grow closer and closer to departure from this form of existence, 

what I can rely on becomes much more precious and treasured 

even as those entities shift and change form and substance. 

I’m slowly learning to appreciate the patterns.
After the recent deluge, as I navigated my daily walk, 

I am struck by the patterns the “fluidity” of the rainwater was making on the ground.

What I think about is how fluidity is another way to say things soften and flow

and it can be something quite beautiful to behold.

 

I’ve been having a good bit of fun in my art playground with the images. 

Here are a few. 

Namaste'

 

The Sky Is Never

I find myself clinging to these words

as so much shifts and wobbles around us.

May we look to the world that was here

long before us, existing as itself without apology or fear.

This world which will continue long after we're gone.

Following the patterns, growing and evolving...continuing.

While we are here, may we bear witness to the majesty of life.

May we grow into who we are without apology or fear.

May we recognize the impermanence as we treasure the reliability.

For now, we can count on the sun and the moon.

I am in love with the wonder of blinking...

the balance of the light and the dark.

We are here together...

shifting and changing...expanding and contracting...

evolving and eroding...becoming and departing...

Namaste'

Sharing this:  

The Entropy of Empire and the Return of Kinship

SHANNON WILLIS

 

May We Learn To Love Darkness

"May we find our way back to natural darkness. . .

so that we'll be able to bear witness to night's living riches.

 "Night's living riches" conjures a treasure trove of wonders, doesn't it?

May we "relearn how to blink"...

On average, we blink 15-20 times per minute!  

We don't have to relearn.

We only have to remember.

Think how well endowed this makes us

for equal measures of dark and light.

We simply have to notice and rejoice.

Namaste'

 

Darkness Turns

"Night Magic" was an eye opening read.

I have never been a "night" person. 

I come from a family who has sibling zoom calls at 5am.

And generally, mostly all (10) of us show up for them.

Our DNA imprinted me as a morning person.

So exploring night time wonders is going to be a stretch.

Leigh Ann Henion's description of the delights to be found

in the dark, is strong enticement.

Discovering how dark is a partner to light 

has expanded my perspective away from the duality 

so often associated with them.

That's why now, when I hear or read things 

that connect dark with bad things, I get twitchy.  

They are equal opposites.  Both are necessary for health and balance.

As I write this, I'm asking myself if the same goes for good and bad?

Are both necessary? 

Are they the way things are when painful things are denied and dismissed?

Either way, equal measures of good and bad is not my idea of well being.

You can see why I get twitchy when dark/black is defined as bad.

We need better words to talk about good and bad, don't you think?

In this moment of time, I am freeing myself from 

the association of dark with bad. I welcome the wisdom of it.

I'm  hope I can stay awake long enough to encounter it!

Namaste'

 

 

A Life Cherishing Force

"a life cherishing force"

Leave it to Mary Oliver to find such a splendid description.

"fires for the cold,

ropes let down for the lost,

bread in the pockets of the hungry.

I cherish my life with the force of poetry often.

The power of the words sustains me 

when things are cruel and complicated.

They expand my vision and alter my perspective.

I am eternally grateful for the maestros of words

who give us poetry, songs and stories.

A deep bow of thanksgiving to Mary Oliver,

those who preceded her and

 those who are following.

May the Cherishing Force be with you.

Namaste'

 

Destroy The Idea

Untangling myself from the ropes of this mindset

 requires constant vigilance.

"This isn't any good" is replaced with 

"did you learn anything?" or

"did you enjoy what you were doing?"

Losing the idea of an exhibit in some swank gallery

isn't easy to let go of but at this stage of my growth,

it's necessary and life enhancing.

Think about the positive energy added to the universe.

Be grateful for the good mood it enlivens

and how that affects the air molecules around you.

Do I like this?  Is the best question of all.

Most often, the answer is yes.

If it's not yes, the response is,

"let it go for now and come back to it."

I'm often surprised by how much better it looks with time.

It all matters.

Namaste'

 

Two Aspects of Awareness

I'm finding that becoming "aware of mortality and unknowing"

 is a prime factor in this waning time of my growing days.

I'm actually relishing the unknowing part because when things are

looking especially grim, it is reassuring to know 

I don't know how things will unfold. 

It keeps faith and hope alive and vibrant.

"Seeing our lives, and the lives of those around us,

through different lenses opens our heart and minds to the 

possibilities that surround us."

It's hard when things aren't going the way I hope for

and rely on.  But that doesn't mean they won't.

I remind myself I "haven't exhausted all the possibilities."*

We're in this together and we will prevail.

Namaste'

*Thomas Edison

 

There Are Times

This feels so poignant right now.

I'm not sure we need "the hardness

of an old cold place against which 

you can measure yourself."

Haven't we been holding ourselves there

for way too long?  

This is not to say, we shouldn't be aware of the

dangers of denial to what is happening.

Today, we have hard things to face.

Truth has been and is being corrupted.  

Some of our kin have been and are being groomed with falsehoods.

It is a malevalent force undermining our trust in each other

and in the institutions intended to provide equality and justice.

Yes, there are times "when we need the subtle flow of a river,

the song of a waterfall and the deep, slow presence of trees."

However, we have to braid them into the reality of our times.

There's something counterintuitive about how truth

has been and is being twisted.

Those infected with the malevalent virus hurl accusations

of the very things they are perpetrating.

It would be comical if it wasn't so deadly.

Fortunately, we are not alone...we are in this together.

We are creating new and better tools to alter this trajectory.

We can right what is wrong.

This is where we need the rock and the river and the trees to guide us.

Namaste'

 

When You Have Exhausted All Possibilities

This is balm for my soul when it feels like things are completely insane.
When it feels like half the country has lost their minds.
When it feels like things are beyond stabilizing.

Remember! We haven't "exhausted all possibilities"!

Keep believing and keep conducting soft rebellion.
We're in this together and we are mighty in our softness.
We are a vast and unstoppable army of dandelions.
We will prevail.
Namaste'

 

It is Not Soft--The Most Dangerous Form of Insurgency

"You write of the Soft Rebellion—and I tell you, it is not soft at all. It is the most dangerous form of insurgency, the kind that cannot be captured, cannot be crushed, cannot be bought or barricaded, because it does not stand in one place long enough to be targeted. 

It moves beneath, between, through.

It does not break—it bends. It does not shout—it hums, low and insistent, vibrating in the bones of the earth until the structures above it shudder.

And it does not burn itself out. That is the old way. The martyr’s way. The way of those 

who set themselves alight for a cause, only to leave behind nothing but ash.

No. This rebellion roots.

This rebellion spores.

This rebellion reclaims.

You speak of wintering, of returning to the surface only to find that the land you knew has been sold to those who see the world as a balance sheet. But listen—land is never truly owned. The title may change hands, but the mycelium remembers. The roots remain. The ghost of your footsteps lingers in the soil. And hedge funders, for all their wealth, do not know how to listen to the land. They cannot hear its grievances. But you can.

The greatest mistake they make is believing that they can own what was never theirs to claim.

So what do we do, those of us who have been turned into kindling? We do not run ourselves to embers. We do not play the game of the brittle and the blind. 

We become what cannot be removed.

Soft rebellion is not submission—it is subversion.

Soft rebellion does not seek to win the battle—it erodes the need for the battlefield itself.

Soft rebellion is not a retreat—it is a redirection. A rewilding of what was meant to be domesticated. A remembering that power is not held in the cold, inhuman towers of finance, but in the unbroken, unwritten, uncontrollable networks 

of those who refuse to be turned into machines.

Let them build their glass-and-steel fortresses. Let them erect their soulless grids. We will weave between them. We will reclaim time, space, self.

We will speak in stories that spread like seeds. We will craft beauty that interrupts the grind. We will choose rest as resistance, joy as insurrection, slowness as defiance.

And we will never again let them trick us into thinking that to be effective, 

we must be exhausted.

No empire has ever survived the ones who refuse to be coerced.

And so the question is not how do we fight?—but where do we plant the next seed? "

JEN CHANTRESS

Soft Rebellion Action Steps 7 and 8

 Red Earth Healing

"Disrupting the Spectacle

Authoritarianism is theater."

Even though I knew this,

it was striking to read the words.

It brought home the truth and horror of it.

That's why I love

"soft rebellion learns when to look away,

when to starve the beast."

It's vital to put it in its place,

aware of its dangers, while not being consumed by it.

"Turning my gaze toward the work of 

healing, building, dreaming,

is nourishing and life enhancing.

"Turning disinformation into openings."

This is the most difficult part of this nightmare.

Witnessing good people brainwashed 

with the theatrics of a dangerous fictional narrative;

getting the opportunity to "gently reroute

conversations toward truth, planting quiet

seeds of doubt in a false narrative."

I give a standing ovation to anyone who can pull this off.

My wish is for us to find simple ways to

"give people the tools to unspin their own illusions."

We're in this together and we will prevail.

Namaste'

Soft Rebellion Action Steps 5 and 6

Red Earth Healing

"Soft rebellion is fungal--it spreads,

untraceable, leaderless."

It seems there is no ego, only heart in soft rebellion.

Heart and a certain kind of cunning,

except fungus is not cunning, it's organic, it's natural. 

"It remembers that resistance is not just about destruction,

but about growing something back."

Growing something back makes me think of

Mainspring and other entities working to conserve natural resources.

Coincidentally, this is Rosemerry W. Trommer's poem

 that came through today as I was writing this.

One Persistence

March 26, 2025 by Rosemerry

these dreams of peace

fistfuls of tiny seeds

I toss every day to the wind

Isn't this the way fungal network works?  

Let's continue to plant trees and toss out seeds of peace.

Namaste'

 

Soft Rebellion Action Step 3 and 4

 Red Earth Healing

"Laugh in it's face."

Thanks to the Borowitz report, John Stewart,

Stephen Colbert, John Oliver and many other for 

giving us opportunities to do this.

"Gather in parks, sing, dance and make art that

mocks the strongman and his fragile grip on power."

I know you are doing this in your own particular way

and I appreciate you for doing so.

"Joy is not a distraction. . .we are more than the violence done to us."

It's deeply sobering to realize how much violence is being done to us.

Slowing the machine.

I fall more and more in love with this

the more I grow into adulthood.  

I'm learning to redirect energy into resistance,

into community, into slowness.

I catch myself rushing and it feels

so good when I remember to slow down.

It is changing my life in positive ways.

We're in this together and we will prevail.

Namaste'

Soft Rebellion In Action 1 of 4 Who Can Be Counted On?

Red Earth Healing

 "Instead it whispers: We are vast. We are unruly.

We are not so easily governed."

Meditate on how vast we are.

Not just in numbers but in potential and possibility.

We are not helpless and subdued.

Far, far, far from powerless.

Our sanctuary networks are strong

and getting stronger.

We are looking out for each other as best we can. 

We are "weaving safety where the state

seeks to unravel it."

Fear is always near

but we overcome it

and keep going with care and concern.

Together, we are mighty.

Namaste'

Soft Rebellion Four--Builds Toward

Red Earth Healing

 "the mycelial antidote"

This brings to mind the book

Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake.

Reading about the mycelial network was fascinating.

I was unaware of the power and creativity contained in fungi.

How to apply those two elements in this situation intrigues me.

"It moves beneath, between, beyond.

It resists not with brute force, but with the cunning of ecosystems.

the resilience of roots breaking through concrete."

This image and action is what I'm fixating on

as we endure this current state of things.

I'm keeping my focus on what we're "building towards". 

Instead of outrage, I'm going for quiet, thoughtful,

cunning ways to create and maintain ecosystems.

There's a lot to learn in the days ahead.

Namaste'

Soft Rebellion Three --A Walking Away

Red Earth Healing

"To rebel softly is to refuse to be reduced.

It is to remain tender in a world that would harden you,

to insist on connection where division is sown."

This is where we are--in the midst of division

that has grown strong; fertilized by untruths

and slanted perspectives...casting innocent "others" as enemies.

Where fists are taking the place of welcoming arms.

"Soft rebellion doesn't look like a war cry.

It looks like a walking away."

This line echoes in every cell within me.

I'm "choosing to move at a different rhythm than the one demanded."

For me, this is a radical slowing down.

This means conscious breathing.

It means turning away from the tyranny of the clock.

Reminding myself I have the time I need to do what's necessary.

I'm "choosing to be present" to the now moment 

where I'm living in my skin and bones rather

than in the imagined consequences of cruelty and greed.

I'm giving witness without becoming a victim.

The river of goodness flows through the ruins...

carrying much of the debris along the way.

We are in this together and we will prevail.

Namaste'

 

Soft Rebellion Two

Red Earth Healing

 "It listens before it moves, feeling into the hidden weaknesses

of the oppressive systems, understanding that no empire. . .

is without its fractures."

So where are the fractures?  It's requires listening

beyond and below the headlines, the sound bites,

the party lines, the talking points.  

"It knows that control is a brittle thing,

and that softness--fluid, adaptable,

decentralized--is far harder to extinguish than steel."

This makes me wonder if Gavin Newsome isn't on to something

despite all the vitriol against him? 

I haven't listened to any of the videos because I am repulsed

 by the idea of him having "them" on as guests. But what if that is the soft way?

"Soft rebellion moves through stories, 

through the slow embroidery of alternative worlds

into the fabric of the present."

What alternative worlds can we embroider into the fabric of our present? 

What if there is a way for all of us, "them" included,

to live together in dignity and peace?

Haven't we been doing this for almost two centuries?

Not without flaws and injustices, of course...the work is ongoing.

I'm now asking myself how I can

"weave small sanctuaries of aliveness

that offer refuge and reimagine what is possible."

Together, I know we can

"shift the ground beneath their feet."

NOT by responding in kind,

but showing them (and ourselves) 

a different way...a better way.

Namaste'

PS:  This is a conversation I'm having with myself.  Thank you for listening.

Soft Rebellion One

Red Earth Healing

You know how it feels when you hear or read words

that express something you've been feeling 

that you can't articulate properly?

These are those words for me.

They pierce me to the core of my being.

I've been thinking how we need a different strategy

in the quest for true equality and justice,

especially now when both are under extreme threat.

This is the first of a series I am going to share

in the upcoming days.

If you want to read them yourself

without waiting for excerpts...

Here is the link. 

Bravo to Shannon Willis for writing them

and to Tina Newberry for 'introducing them to me.

My gratitude runs as deep as a river.

Namaste'

 

If Were The Supreme Being

Namaste'

 

It's Ok That You Don't Know

This brought me back to a favorite author, Victoria Erickson.

"The momentum is in place."

In small ways from countless people paying attention

and discerning what they can do to resist what is happening.

In large ways like Bernie Sanders, AOC, numerous judges, etc.

"The river is moving."

Oh marvelous, mighty, mystical river of goodness...

you continue to renew my spirit.

When despair shows up, 

it is gently washed away

by some unexpected, often tiny, delight.

A carpet of bluets, the smallest of buds,

or a significant conversation with someone dear.

"The charge is alive."

At times, it requires a pause

and a steady focus to feel it.

Sometimes it's arrives by surprise.

For me, its a subtle chill

rising up my spine 

 prickling the back of my neck.

There is certainly a "constant unfolding" happening.

When I consider unfolding, I think about

opening up and stretching out, 

spaciously and generously.

Parts that were covered up, are revealed;

now visible and transformable.

An offering of different perspectives.

It is most uncomfortable.

It requires recalibration.

It needs strong, meaningful responses.

"Stay with it. Stay in it."

We're not alone.  We're in this together.

Namaste'