"But I am Here " A Startling, Lovely Daffodil

Daffodil in Vase
Thursday morning in May

Green blades, with knife edged precision,
sliced early through frozen earth
while winter's cold hung round,
like the pale moon's face scolding,
staring down spring.

Hardy, the daffodils tried
to brave face it, bloom despite,
but only one succeeded,
dawning yellow like the absent sun.

The rain today is light, the air mild.
The sort of day that in other springs
would encourage a burgeoning of delight-
instead brings only dampness, misery
and one lone, nodding yellow head
in a vase upon my table.
Jill MacCormack

Yesterday my son Lucas picked the only daffodil to bloom in any of the three locales they're planted here in our small yard. They tried to come up during that last blizzard of early April (you know the one) and failed to develop beyond their green blades. He put the flower in a single stem vase he and his two sisters gave me a year ago for Mother's day. The vase is quite old and gilded in gold and worth money, or so the kids say. I love it because its from them. And because today it holds my little survivor.

I awoke early this morning to go to the doctors. Bad throat again.  When I walked into the dining room feeling altogether miserable and far too sorry for myself, a light fragrance wafting through our strictly scent free home caught me off guard. Wondering a moment what it was, I had forgotten the daffodil was there. Noticing it, I leaned in to the vase and was softly struck by the gentle scent of the single flower.  There is nothing like the remembrance that arises from the scent of a beloved flower. It was as though it humbly offered "But I am here...".

It is so easy amidst the desperate loneliness of being human, amidst the busyness, upstream in the incessant motion of time, to forget the power of connection with all living things and the wonderful centering of the present moment.


(Notably, the little purple woodland violets
peppering our back yard aren't bothered by late winters or the moodiness of people.)

Creating A New Story Reflecting A Spirit of Connection---Smelt Fishing in Cow River

This Island you see
is more than a place
it's an act of imagination
a story
a song
deep yearning expressed
in a work
of ongoing creation
You see...the Island is in RED

David Weale...RED magazine

Environmentally, economically, socially, Islanders and people the world over are in desperate need of a new story, a story in which spirit infuses the choices we make. Island historian, gatherer of tales, editor of RED magazine, storyteller David Weale has said this a thousand times in a thousand different ways, but I think he said it best in his book Chasing the Shore.

  "we need to bring forth from deep within ourselves, a new, or greatly revised, mythology, that transcends tribal consciousness; one that honors the entire earth and expands the concept of holy land in such a way that every square foot of landscape, every drop in the ocean, and every creature (including ourselves) is regarded as sacred - something to be treated gently and reverently, and experienced as a source of wisdom and communion. That is our challenge."

Chasing The Shore: Little Stories About Spirit And Landscape   by David Weale

Disconnected from our natural sources of wisdom (nature and each other) we have become a culture of consumers and perpetrators of a story that leaves us feeling dis-enfranchised, alienated, and wondering where to turn and how to make choices that will stem the tide that's drowning us in toxic inaction.

Re- igniting within ourselves a renewed sense of connection with all and re-establishing a sense of place and history can be a deeply rewarding experience. Entering into a relationship with the natural world on a sensory level is a fantastic way of deepening our sense of reverence for and connection with the natural world and each other.

Fostering a deep love of nature in our youth is a wonderful place to start. Allowing their natural curiosity and enthusiasms for the outdoors to re-establish itself necessitates re-envisioning the natural world as classroom and the whole child as intrinsically connected to the world they inhabit.

Thanks in no small part to my nature-loving parents, I was raised with a love of the woods, the fields, the capes and shores of our fair Isle. My husband and I have tried to keep our three kids innate connection to nature intact. We are grateful to all in our lives who help foster the natural enthusiasms of our children.

Smelt Fishing in Cow River

Thanks to a willing and enthusiastic  young aunt (my dear youngest sister Janeen) the past two weekends our two older children had the fantastic experience of going smelt fishing in the very Northside river that their great- grandfather smelted in. In fact, that river has been smelted in for several hundred years by people of the  community. Much and not much has changed over the course of time in that river. Sure, my kids had battery operated flash lights instead of cattail torches or the kerosene lanterns of days gone by, and the rubber boots may be of a better quality, but they still stood in the river under the darkened night sky, and dipped their bare hands into the cool, rushing waters in attempts to capture the fleeting silvery flashes as the smelts made their way upstream. And as we discussed before they left, this was done with a spirit of reverence for the life giving qualities of the fish they were attempting to catch (along with a spirit of wildness...another very wonderful spirit to retain connection with!!)

Tired, cold and wet but highly enthused, the three of them along with other family and friends who were out in the river, made their way back to my beloved Uncle Gerald's old Northside house to further the tradition of "having a feed" of the newly caught fish accompanied by some storytelling and imbibing on the part of some. As Gerald said to my guys, well after midnight and just as they headed off for the hour long trip back to town..."Let's make this an annual tradition for you two kids!!"

It's that spirit of history and deep connection with the natural world which fuels us to create a new story reflecting a spirit of connection with Earth. A new (and not so new) story which demonstrates respect and caring for the natural world and re-acquaints us with our sense of wonder in nature.

Jill

Images--wikipedia

Plastic Waters...Contaminating our Oceans with Plastic Waste...Time to Think Twice and REALLY LOVE the Sea

Garbage In, Garbage Out

 

The Conservation Magazine article from 2010 by Susan Casey entitled Garbage In, Garbage Out is easily one of the most distressing ecology essays I've read on the impact of plastics on Earth. This read is not for the faint of heart, but I would argue, is imperative for any modern consumer to read and have an awareness of. As a civilization of rampant, thoughtless consumers, we allow the continuation of contamination of plastics to enter into the biology of all living things through our mindless purchasing and disposal practices.

According to this story, 40percent of the ocean's surfaces are now covered in waste. There are gyres in each of the oceans which are huge, swirling plastic waste pools where plastic outnumbers plankton at an alarming rate.

 "...the North Pacific gyre is only one of five such high-pressure zones in the oceans. There are similar areas in the South Pacific, the North and South Atlantic, and the Indian Ocean. Each of these gyres has its own version of the garbage patch as plastic gathers in the currents. Together, these areas cover 40 percent of the sea. “That corresponds to a quarter of the earth’s surface,” Moore says. “So 25 percent of our planet is a toilet that never flushes.”

 The notion that plastic makes life easier and better is one we urgently need to reconsider. Plastic, like many other modern conveniences, may make things simpler in the short term, but the long term consequences are far too dire to any longer believe that it is only a good thing in our lives.
Life beyond plastics will require a large scale change in how we purchase and consume everything-- from our food, pharmaceuticals, toys, household items, electronics (such as the laptop I'm typing this on) to medical equipment, including the production and disposal waste from it all.

We rationalize the plastics in our lives in a myriad of ways, recycling being the greatest pacifier of guilt for the thoughtful, yet only 3-5 percent of recyclables are ever actually recycled. A massive reduction in the production of plastic, and re-use of that which is already generated is a first step in the right direction. Educating everyone you know and love is an important second. There are no easy solutions, but awareness trumps ignorance on every front. Our time of being blissfully unaware  needs to be over for the sake of our children's children and for all living things on our planet.

What we can do...from Green Sangha... How to reduce plastics in your life
and another great resource...  my plastic free life

Jill MacCormack

A Province Hungry for Change: Food Security on PEI--- 2014, The International Year of Family Farming

Hungry for Change

Undoubtedly there are a great many thoughtful people living in our little province who are hungry for change. They are labouring towards an elevation of understanding of how the choices we make daily  affect our lives and the lives of those around us.

 Living in a small place it is easy for us to be dismissive of those who speak out regarding long held ways of doing things but it might be wise to consider that there is not something always inherently wrong with change. Something very good just may come of it.

 Just recently I was involved in some projects my eight year old daughter undertook for social studies, and science. We discussed some basic concepts regarding the needs of living things. Clean air, clean water, both drinkable and life supporting as well as healthy, living soil in which to grow our food were some of the things we discussed. Basic needs for living things, but are these basic life support systems being respected for the wondrous and diverse life giving qualities they contain? I love this little province we call home, and wish only wellness for it but am confused at times by the ways we allow destructive practices to impact the well being of the land, waters and air. 

We know that continuous application of  agri-chemicals contaminate our air, soil and waterways. We know that there are still many unknowns when it comes to the use of cosmetic pesticides and human health, yet we as an Island community have not yet come around full-scale to the notion that we need to change how we think about and care for these basic life support systems for the health and well being of all. 

I am  very encouraged by the rising tide of young farmers with an interest in practicing more sustainable, organic methods of farming. A friend of my sisters just recently purchased a 98 foot greenhouse to add to her organic farm and, as she said in a note she wrote me last fall, it was thanks in no small part to the people who supported her weekly veggie delivery over the past several years. This is exciting news to me! Each time we make a choice towards better informing ourselves and our families about the real sources of our food, each time we pause mindfully and consider how we prepare and consume the foods in our pantries and our refrigerators, we give those basic support systems (air, soil, and water) the respect they deserve and improve our connection to the land and the sea we live and work and play on.

How we choose to grow our food, how we care for ourselves and our homes, how we purchase goods and services all impact the air we breathe, as well as the health of the land and the waters of this finite piece of land we've put our roots down into. We all need to take responsibility for the choices we make.

Feeding seven billion people on a warming planet is a concern leading scientists are considering. The troubling fact that more than one in four children living in PEI are food insecure means that how to healthfully, and economically feed ourselves and our families is a growing concern of many Islanders. Understanding that there is a connection between both concerns and that there are  common solutions beyond large scale conventional agriculture is something everyone should be thinking and talking about. Reconsidering how we purchase, and consume food requires of us a willingness to think about our connection to the natural environment and to every other living thing on this Island and the planet as a whole. 

"The United Nations, for its part, has designated 2014 as the International Year of Family Farming to raise the profile of these unsung agricultural workers and spotlight the roles they could play in the face of challenges like climate change, malnutrition, and poverty."   

Andrea Stone National Geographic May 2014 

Many Prince Edward Islanders are celebrating 2014 for the historic role it played in the formation of our country. Perhaps we would do well to consider 2014 as an opportunity to celebrate small scale agriculture in our home province. By getting to know and supporting local, small scale farmers whose aim is to nurture the land they farm, we are taking an important step towards improving food security and healthfulness for all.

Many of us do know that the time for change is at hand. All that we require is a community of understanding and personal commitment as well as the political will to make viable change a reality.

Sincerely,
Jill MacCormack