"Look what they did to my boy."

"Look what they did to my boy,” a voice filled with sorrow and tears, Marlon Brandon lamented over the body of James Caan in The Godfather. As I laid my heavy head down in the eastern corner of my Brookland basement, the coolest spot in the house, these words would not leave me. I watched them butcher my friend this morning y’all. It wasn’t just a tree. Another guardian has been taken from me.
This week was a good one. Not without it’s conflicts and perils, there was resistance on several fronts, but my strength is returning and Chakras 5 is spinning rapidly, the ability to speak my truth in a timely fashion with compassion. My abilities to remain calm and steadfast served me well. Clairvoyance and synchronicity are my running mates once again. Thursday and Friday were particularly prosperous and auspicious days. This morning, Sat July 24,2010 was promising to be the hottest day in July, at least 100 degrees w/ the usual high humidity. There were many social options at my fingertips to choose from. Oh how nice, this would be.
5:45am- yes I was awake somewhere near the realm of Theta -Crash, POP, BOOM…the 4 level house shook, my bedroom ceiling fan slowed down, digital clock and cable box went dark, the A/C become silent. Thought it was another earthquake so I lay still, but only for a minute. I could hear my neighbors to the left making their way thru their backyard towards the main street along our common fence. My guardian to the West had succumbed to disease; a large portion of a 100+-year-old tree across the street from my house came down, bowing at the foot of my porch. Not the entire structure, two of the largest branches that have provided shade and protection from the searing soliel, as the front of my home faces west. His beautiful leaves waved to us each morning and hung over the street providing wonderful shaded on-street parking for our guests, as well as beauty and oxygen to our environment. He’s one of the trees that called me here to this neighborhood, one of the guardians that make the fight alright.
Here in Brookland/CUA, there is a spiritual battle being waged. Being the land of the Jesuits, home of Catholic University of America, one might think it’s religious in nature, no, development Mother Nature and Pepco. The two immense branches that peeled away from the hearty trunk on this lovely breezy morning took down two power lines that were tangled up in his loveliness. Those lines fed my home directly and a two mile radius of homes and businesses. The green leaves and branches that filled 13th St in front of my home blocking all passage of automobiles in either direction were diseased from an earlier assault by Pepco. Lower branches had been cut in years gone by, yet not properly tended to in order to keep the archaic ABOVE ground power lines free from interference. Unlike Europe or the western United states, the nations capital can’t seem to justify placing the power lines underground. Unsightly and dangerous, yet cheap and profitable- Go America!
My heart was heavy y’all! My house was hot and my children were without electronic entertainment. We got creative and turned the lemons into lemonaide as the fire, police, utility and arboretum groups went about their work in our front yard and street. The number of man-hours inefficiently allocated year after, and this, I am sure is a regular occurrence after reoccurring winter storms- such lack of vision and defiance of logic.
My babies and I planted a few new plants in the front yard and spread around the mulch that, out of the blue, my sprit led me to purchase on Thursday morning. With, less western protection from my guardian, the sun would sear down on our front yard and our beautiful little plants and flora friends would require extra insulation to keep their roots cool and productive. We watered ( a bit of reclaimed rain water too) our grasses early before the earth revolved around to the full western sun exposure on this hot and humid day. We leisurely enjoyed a front porch lunch of fresh fruits and foods that required no heat, but needed to be eaten before spoil set in.
I tried to keep busy. My energy weaned from household and yard chores so I gave in and sat still in my anarondock rocker on the front porch watching the last bits of the butcher. The nuns, kiddy corner of me, graciously brought the workers Gatorade and snacks to fuel their efforts. My mind drifted to the movie Avatar and the importance of Eywah (sp?) the spiritual leader and magnificent tree that held Pandora society together, then to my recent visit to the Big Island of Hawaii and Maui and their visionary and necessary uses of wind turbine’s and solar power. Like the cutting away of diseased limbs of a diabetic, it was necessary, but oh so sad. For me to have electricity the majesty of this mighty and peaceful warrior, this ancient guardian and wise one was sacrificed, because it is ESIEAR and CHEAPER this way. The resentment swelled in me. So many C+ efforts looking for A+ applause “look what they did to my boy.”

The Yoga of Giving Thanks....

Today I am thankful to have enough. Thankful to be full in spirit and mentally satisfied and balanced. Yesterday was spent by many speaking the words of gratitude and thanks, but I find it curious that the following day, today Black Friday, is spent by many of the same people who were so grateful and thankful in theory on Thursday, yet are now acting out scenes of desperation at shopping malls around the country. The actions that say, "I need, I don't have enough, I desire, I want." Really? What don't the Majority of us American consumers have that we desperately need? More toys, another cashmere sweater or flat screen with the latest DVD's. These are but physical, temporary and in most cases, poorly made import products designed to keep us reaching and repurchasing on a regular schedule- the corporate conglomerate schedule. Why not rest, rejuvenate and volunteer Friday? I love high quality uniquely beautiful things and have no issue saving and spending for them- for those of you who don't know me personally :o).We can agree that consuming goods is a necessary part of life, however I ask at what rate do we move from filling needs to following unconscious programming that heightens the collective spirit of greed, desperation, gluttony and ungratefulness. How much appreciation does one have for something that is easily acquired, used and discarded- ask your children.This inevitably leads to the crash of depression and perpetuation of materialism for the sake of filling empty spaces in our souls.

Sitting here on my "lucky" red chase lounge typing this blog and sorting thru clothes for donation (ShaktMama Rule #1: although anti Yogic, multi-tasking is a required skill), I'm observing the crisp rays of light shimmering off the neighbors windows and the wind completing it's task of clearing the final leaves from the neighborhood trees. I am grateful for each tree in my line of sight. It was the majestic mature trees nestling this neighborhood of Brookland that drew me here. Trees maintain a special place in the life of man in my opinion. Our little willow tree, planted in our front yard last fall, is still hanging on to life. She makes make my heart smile on even the most hellacious of days. Moving to Brookland, I realized two of my tree fetishes at once, Japanese Maple and Willow trees, one of each resides in our yard. I am grateful for their presence. I am appreciative of their education on how to weather life's storms, standing tall dignified and regale.

Today as I continue to mull over the infinite conditions and situations for which I am grateful, like these Thanksgiving left-overs including King Crab legs! I'm happy to have this laptop to communicate with you and pleased to know my children are cloaked in love all the way across the country and everyone is o.k. with the life we are carving out for ourselves. I'm honored to be a part of the solution as an employer of American "go getters" and have the privilege to be of service to my community and neighbors. I am thankful that although 2009 has seen my head bloodied quite a bit, I have remained unbowed- with a smile.