08/21/2010 Moon in Capricorn/Aquarius
I am betting that at least a couple other people felt this one. Saturn squaring Pluto is a big deal, click on this link if you want to see Astrology way beyond what's written in the daily papers. Life gets hard during these periods of time. There's a lot of weight to them, and it's hard not to feel a little bit crushed beneath it. I know that I'm feeling it. It seems to me that we cannot continue on in the ways we've grown accustomed to. I'm seeing a lot more people in my circle really struggling to make ends meet and to set aside enough of time for family or friends.
Today Kelly starting her herbal regiment, and we hung around the house talking about what we were feeling and getting warm-hearted visitors from our circle of friends. We might have even made a new one, as our neighbor needed some people to talk to and came over to be part of our experience and part of our life. It was a good day, and a lot of illuminations sprang forth over the course of the day.
But as the day progressed and the desired effect of the herbs was not happening, we realized that it would a little more time, and we needed some patience for this endeavor. I realized fully that I probably wouldn't be able to go to the Potluck, and sent out an a.p.b. to some people that I thought might step in to take my place. I hope that some of them come through, because I'd really like to be out there participating and talking to the community. But sometimes you're caught between a rock and a hard place.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Chalk it up!
08/20/2010 Moon in Capricorn
Mercury Retrograde began today. Cyd and I got to work on getting ready for the next big step. We're having a meeting on Sunday with the community. The meeting will be a Potluck and we're hoping that some people show up even though the weather people are pretty sure it's going to rain. We've got to get together some kind of container for water, but if needs be, we can just buy a few gallons or use our Brita's. Today, by working and putting one foot in front of the other, I was able to keep my mind focused on what's in front of me rather than what's behind me.
We talked to a few people today in the Southwest quadrant of Richmond today. There was a lady that was very interesting and informative. She lived close to a new development of condo's and had worked with the Richmond Neighborhood Association to make sure the community's needs were being taken into account. She went to a lot of meetings and organized her community, but when life threw her a curveball that demanded more of her time, the energy that she helped to generate dissipated. It goes to show that leadership, and spearheading are very important aspects to community organizing. Although it didn't seem to be the case with her, it is easy for people that are involved in activism of any sort to experience activist burnout.
Also today, we talked to a couple that are expecting a baby not too long from now. They were awesome, and talked about their desire to see more gardening in their area, they were willing to give up their yard for raised garden beds, but didn't have the gardening skills to make it happen. They were both very interested in living as low of an impact life as they could, which I thought was admirable. After the conversations that we had, we realized it was important to go out into the community and advertise the Sunday meet-up.
To do this, we needed two things:
1. Sidewalk Chalk
2. Our legs
For #1 we used some given sidewalk chalk, but realized that wouldn't be enough, so we purchased some. We left the message of the coming meeting by using #2 and walking around the areas that we had organized and writing a short message in chalk on key corners that would likely have a lot of foot traffic. We're not putting any big expectation into turnout, but we're hoping to have enough neighborhood participation to get some projects and events going.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Setting Up a Potluck Meeting
08/19/2010 Moon in Capricorn
Today we worked on a community meeting coming up this Sunday. It should be a good one. It's from 2pm to 4:30 pm in the grassy area of Richmond Elementary School and there's still a lot of work to get ready for it. I'm excited for the meeting, but am wondering if my emotional state will be conducive to being a good participant. I hope that the answer is yes.
I talked to a lot of family and friends today and they gave me a lot of support. That was really nice. I think that's my post for today. I hope that tomorrow I have a little more time to write.
Today we worked on a community meeting coming up this Sunday. It should be a good one. It's from 2pm to 4:30 pm in the grassy area of Richmond Elementary School and there's still a lot of work to get ready for it. I'm excited for the meeting, but am wondering if my emotional state will be conducive to being a good participant. I hope that the answer is yes.
I talked to a lot of family and friends today and they gave me a lot of support. That was really nice. I think that's my post for today. I hope that tomorrow I have a little more time to write.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Sorrow is a Form of Grace
08/18/2010 Moon in Sagittarius
Today, I didn't do any organizing of the community. Today, I grieved. I went with my wife to the midwife today and she was unable to find our child's heartbeat. She sent us off to get an ultrasound, and the results were pretty conclusive. They were sent to the midwife who called us and let us know that the baby had stopped developing about a week ago. We laid in bed and cried together and held each other.
The reality of the situation is staggering and raises a lot of questions. The first question is always "why?" Unfortunately, this question is a hard one to answer, because it's one of the mysteries of life. But knowing that this particular kind of sorrow has been shared by millions of people throughout history gives me strength. The hardest part for us as a couple is that we've told lots of people, including our parents about it, so now, each conversation with our circle is like picking open a fresh emotional wound.
Tomorrow, I will be back out in the community because the only way to go is forward, with one foot in front of the other. I do recognize that the sorrow that I feel at this point in life is a form of grace. By allowing the pain of this experience to be fully felt, I know that we'll be able to experience a deeper sense of joy in the good moments of our life. I will see you all on the streets of Portland, and I look forward to healing amongst my fellow human beings.
Today, I didn't do any organizing of the community. Today, I grieved. I went with my wife to the midwife today and she was unable to find our child's heartbeat. She sent us off to get an ultrasound, and the results were pretty conclusive. They were sent to the midwife who called us and let us know that the baby had stopped developing about a week ago. We laid in bed and cried together and held each other.
The reality of the situation is staggering and raises a lot of questions. The first question is always "why?" Unfortunately, this question is a hard one to answer, because it's one of the mysteries of life. But knowing that this particular kind of sorrow has been shared by millions of people throughout history gives me strength. The hardest part for us as a couple is that we've told lots of people, including our parents about it, so now, each conversation with our circle is like picking open a fresh emotional wound.
Tomorrow, I will be back out in the community because the only way to go is forward, with one foot in front of the other. I do recognize that the sorrow that I feel at this point in life is a form of grace. By allowing the pain of this experience to be fully felt, I know that we'll be able to experience a deeper sense of joy in the good moments of our life. I will see you all on the streets of Portland, and I look forward to healing amongst my fellow human beings.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Partnership and Progress
08/17/2010 Moon in Sagittarius
Today was pretty good. I spent quite a bit of time working on putting this blog together in the morning, and linking some funny and random things to it for the unadulterated joy of it. There were some text conversations and some huge postings from Dwayne that I haven't had much of a chance to get into. I heard from Cyd that our wiki is up which is very exciting and there will definitely be some work put into that soon. Other than that, I ate food and drank coffee while putting stuff together.
Then, after Cyd got home from getting some awesome chairs, I went over to his house and kept listening to the same song over and over again. It was Bassnectar, and the song was called Boombox. It was great. Then Cyd and I prepared for our day of grassroots organizing by admiring his new outdoor reclining chairs. They were pretty amazing, I didn't get in because I didn't want to put them through a weight test too early.
Then it was out to Clinton Street with a side of SE 43rd to go talk to people and have good conversations. They were very good conversations too. One of the first people that we talked to was getting very excited about industrial hemp and its' potential uses as a replacement for a lot of the things that we use petroleum for at this point. We also talked about community coming together, the party Beloved, and the way that the financial system has brought our country to some really interesting times.
Then it was down the road to more exciting conversations, including a person on the street that had a great idea of starting progressive dinners in the neighborhood. Plus, I met lots of really cute dogs. But I have to say something. I was in a coffee shop in the neighborhood, and the barista said something that made me laugh and wince at the same time. She was getting a new car, and I asked what kind she was going to get. She said she wanted to get an SUV, because "she was a bad driver", her quote. I was a bit boggled, I asked "But what if the person you hit is in a smaller car?" She implied that at least she would be ok. Good for her I guess...
Today was pretty good. I spent quite a bit of time working on putting this blog together in the morning, and linking some funny and random things to it for the unadulterated joy of it. There were some text conversations and some huge postings from Dwayne that I haven't had much of a chance to get into. I heard from Cyd that our wiki is up which is very exciting and there will definitely be some work put into that soon. Other than that, I ate food and drank coffee while putting stuff together.
Then, after Cyd got home from getting some awesome chairs, I went over to his house and kept listening to the same song over and over again. It was Bassnectar, and the song was called Boombox. It was great. Then Cyd and I prepared for our day of grassroots organizing by admiring his new outdoor reclining chairs. They were pretty amazing, I didn't get in because I didn't want to put them through a weight test too early.
Then it was out to Clinton Street with a side of SE 43rd to go talk to people and have good conversations. They were very good conversations too. One of the first people that we talked to was getting very excited about industrial hemp and its' potential uses as a replacement for a lot of the things that we use petroleum for at this point. We also talked about community coming together, the party Beloved, and the way that the financial system has brought our country to some really interesting times.
Then it was down the road to more exciting conversations, including a person on the street that had a great idea of starting progressive dinners in the neighborhood. Plus, I met lots of really cute dogs. But I have to say something. I was in a coffee shop in the neighborhood, and the barista said something that made me laugh and wince at the same time. She was getting a new car, and I asked what kind she was going to get. She said she wanted to get an SUV, because "she was a bad driver", her quote. I was a bit boggled, I asked "But what if the person you hit is in a smaller car?" She implied that at least she would be ok. Good for her I guess...
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Working off Division
08/16/2010 Moon in Scorpio First Quarter
Today was interesting. It started out with a text conference with Cyd, where we talked about some of the things that we’d like to develop next for the project. My work is to figure out Blogs, to make the receipts a little better, and to look into leads for sharing the screen-printer that City Repair used for the VBC shirts! That’s some damn fun work to be doing. After our conference, I had to get ready to go out to meet my wife at Alma Midwifery, as we’re going to monthly prenatal check-ups. This particular check up was a little scary, as the midwives had trouble finding our little baby’s heartbeat, but we researched it and found out that it’s a pretty common occurrence.
The streets were pretty great today. I met up with Cyd, who had been going through a kind of rough day. It was hot out today, I saw it hit at least 99 degrees in Portland, but it could have been higher in places. Then we canvassed together. The first people we talked to invited us into their house, and actually were interested in going through the process of thinking about what their needs and assets are. That was refreshing, to see real participation and thought applied to the project from a participant. They talked about having a dork block party, which I thought was one of the better ideas that I’ve heard. Have a party, where people play the games and watch the shows that they love but they keep in the closet. Bring your inner dork out of the closet!
We talked to a union organizer that is willing to volunteer next, and connected to him about the fact that instead of the major media focusing on the big pictures, they’re working to divide us. We used the mosque at ground zero as an example of the little things that divide us. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but some issues are just used to divide us and inflame our sensibilities. Then those fires are stoked over and over again to focus us on what divides us from each other. These kinds of processes create vast gulfs between us and our neighbors. This kind of division that’s manufactured through the media echo chambers is actually bad for us as humans.
Then we talked to a RAD couple, that were excited about us stopping by and were in fact waiting for us. That was amazing. I’ll let Cyd tell that story. Suffice to say, it was amazing and reminded me of the reason that I wanted to do this. It’s not about the people that don’t want to participate, it’s about the people that are willing to participate, and even more about the people that are excited to participate. We found some of those people today and it was amazing.
Today was interesting. It started out with a text conference with Cyd, where we talked about some of the things that we’d like to develop next for the project. My work is to figure out Blogs, to make the receipts a little better, and to look into leads for sharing the screen-printer that City Repair used for the VBC shirts! That’s some damn fun work to be doing. After our conference, I had to get ready to go out to meet my wife at Alma Midwifery, as we’re going to monthly prenatal check-ups. This particular check up was a little scary, as the midwives had trouble finding our little baby’s heartbeat, but we researched it and found out that it’s a pretty common occurrence.
The streets were pretty great today. I met up with Cyd, who had been going through a kind of rough day. It was hot out today, I saw it hit at least 99 degrees in Portland, but it could have been higher in places. Then we canvassed together. The first people we talked to invited us into their house, and actually were interested in going through the process of thinking about what their needs and assets are. That was refreshing, to see real participation and thought applied to the project from a participant. They talked about having a dork block party, which I thought was one of the better ideas that I’ve heard. Have a party, where people play the games and watch the shows that they love but they keep in the closet. Bring your inner dork out of the closet!
We talked to a union organizer that is willing to volunteer next, and connected to him about the fact that instead of the major media focusing on the big pictures, they’re working to divide us. We used the mosque at ground zero as an example of the little things that divide us. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but some issues are just used to divide us and inflame our sensibilities. Then those fires are stoked over and over again to focus us on what divides us from each other. These kinds of processes create vast gulfs between us and our neighbors. This kind of division that’s manufactured through the media echo chambers is actually bad for us as humans.
Then we talked to a RAD couple, that were excited about us stopping by and were in fact waiting for us. That was amazing. I’ll let Cyd tell that story. Suffice to say, it was amazing and reminded me of the reason that I wanted to do this. It’s not about the people that don’t want to participate, it’s about the people that are willing to participate, and even more about the people that are excited to participate. We found some of those people today and it was amazing.
It's Friday!
08/13/2010 Moon in Libra
Today was an interesting day. My approach was not working, but I kept with it over and over expecting different results. That was not the way. The way is to change the approach. I need to connect with bigger picture stuff, like Peak Oil, Disaster Preparedness, and Shared Resources. We live in a world that needs tighter bonds within community to begin to approach the magnitude of the problems that we’re facing. We live in a time of major transition, and maintaining the illusion that everything is just fine is only laughing as our car goes over the cliff. I am not afraid of these things, as a life lived in fear is not lived fully. So, I will look for big pictures that people are willing to talk about and link those into community involvement.
I’m going up to Wy’East tomorrow, named most recently Mount Hood. I’ll be camping with close friends on an alpine lake. I need this break to regenerate energy lost in the initial week. It’s always been hard to face the community on a day to day level, but I’ve decided to allow for the opportunity for the community to break my heart. I think that sometimes we forget the Universal Sorrow of the human condition because we live in our bubbles. The human spirit can be degraded or updated, and I’m hoping for the latter. But if I’m not willing to accept pain from my interactions, I am probably not doing it right.
I am excited for this project because of spirit and soul. We can soar together as a community if we are willing to dispel our illusions that keep us separate. I believe that we have the capacity to evolve, and that the time that such evolution is necessary is fast approaching. I believe that our evolution requires learning to trust and depend on our neighbors and our communities again. I also believes that it requires a deep personal commitment from every community member to help make this possible. Responsibility not just for one’s self or one’s family, but responsibility for as much of the human family as we can manage.
Today was an interesting day. My approach was not working, but I kept with it over and over expecting different results. That was not the way. The way is to change the approach. I need to connect with bigger picture stuff, like Peak Oil, Disaster Preparedness, and Shared Resources. We live in a world that needs tighter bonds within community to begin to approach the magnitude of the problems that we’re facing. We live in a time of major transition, and maintaining the illusion that everything is just fine is only laughing as our car goes over the cliff. I am not afraid of these things, as a life lived in fear is not lived fully. So, I will look for big pictures that people are willing to talk about and link those into community involvement.
I’m going up to Wy’East tomorrow, named most recently Mount Hood. I’ll be camping with close friends on an alpine lake. I need this break to regenerate energy lost in the initial week. It’s always been hard to face the community on a day to day level, but I’ve decided to allow for the opportunity for the community to break my heart. I think that sometimes we forget the Universal Sorrow of the human condition because we live in our bubbles. The human spirit can be degraded or updated, and I’m hoping for the latter. But if I’m not willing to accept pain from my interactions, I am probably not doing it right.
I am excited for this project because of spirit and soul. We can soar together as a community if we are willing to dispel our illusions that keep us separate. I believe that we have the capacity to evolve, and that the time that such evolution is necessary is fast approaching. I believe that our evolution requires learning to trust and depend on our neighbors and our communities again. I also believes that it requires a deep personal commitment from every community member to help make this possible. Responsibility not just for one’s self or one’s family, but responsibility for as much of the human family as we can manage.
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