Grabbing the dragon's tail and hanging on as if our lives depended on it

GA National Fair 2006 by peachyqueen
A morgueFile Free Photo

Sometimes living consciously and being informed feels like trying to ride a dragon's tail.

I don't know about you, but every single day I get dozens of appeals for money, to sign petitions, to call my representatives and senators, to write to this company or that, and always again for more money. Take a look at the first six emails in my inbox this morning.

• Greenpeace - "Dear Kathryn, Kill more mother whales? That’s what the Japanese government wants to do." This opening gambit is followed by lurid pictures and graphic details that break my heart.
• People for the American Way - Michael Keegan wants me to take a survey on the 2012 presidential election. It's important because "if we are not fully engaged this year, we could actually end up with a far-right Tea Party extremist President [sic] who supports" almost everything that puts fear in my heart and curdles my blood.
• Alliance for a Healthier Generation - I don't know who these people are or how I got on their list. They want me to help reduce the rate of childhood obesity--a noble cause. In addition to asking for donations, they want me to buy their branded products and gift them to my friends and family this season.
• American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) - It's their year-end rapid-response fundraiser and they need money right this minute because "people count on you and the ACLU. And lately they've really needed us. That's because there's been an all-out assault on civil liberties — in Congress, and in statehouses and courtrooms all across the country." How well I know.
• Grameen Foundation - "This holiday season, Grameen Foundation is making it easy to honor the special people in your life and help us empower the world's poorest at the same time." They want money too.
• Earthjustice - Their president is giving me a chance to help them help the president make history: "President Obama is stuffing America's stocking on Friday with the first-ever limits on deadly toxics [sic] from coal-fired power plants. This can be a truly historic moment for Obama—if he goes far enough." They need money to up the pressure.

Grabbing the dragon's tail

This morning, before sitting down to the inevitable tales of atrocities, miscarriages of justice and desperate, shameless, sometimes heartbreaking appeals for money, I opened again the book that gave me such courage this fall: William Powers' Twelve by Twelve.

On this page, he tells of his first conversation with Jackie, the owner of the tiny cabin in which unexpectedly and very soon he will live for forty days.

Powers is just back from ten years working overseas to mitigate poverty and save the rainforest. His dad is in the hospital, recovering from a life-threatening illness. Deep in culture shock upon his return to the US, he is at odds with his work. Futility and despair lurk between the lines.

Jackie, a medical doctor, could have chosen a lucrative practice and retired anywhere. Instead, she served her community's poorest. After her children went to college, she asked for and received a reduction in salary. She lives on $11,000 a year, below the tax threshold.

Jackie explains her choice to "live like a Bangladeshi," in a tiny cabin without electricity or plumbing and grow her own food. She is "part of a more durable future," her life "tied into the growing slow food, environmental, and antiwar movements." Inexplicably, she tells Powers, "'It all centers around a question ... Where do you grab the dragon's tail?'"

The question puzzles me. Apparently Powers is as puzzled as I. They talk more, then he asks her, "'Where do you grab the dragon's tail?'"

"'Where the suffering grabs you the most.'"

So I do. Each day, I respond to those appeals I can and delete the rest. Not without a sigh, not without regret, but delete them I do.

Each day I try to become a little better informed, a little more aware of what is wrong in the world, and what is right! (That last does not fill up my inbox.)

And each day, [insert rude expletive here], I do what tiny bit I can to build that more durable world. Whether it is buying organic cotton and fair trade products, standing for peace, going 'pooless, kicking my paper towel habit, or taking a walk to strengthen my aging bones, I do what I can.

Hanging on as if our lives depended on it

That dragon's tail whips about ferociously. Day after day, I grab it and hang on for dear life, crawl up the dragon's back and whisper in its ear:

I know you have a human heart. I know you are capable of compassion and love. You, too, would benefit from a better world, a more durable world. Heck, imagine the joy if you used your might and power to build a truly good world, one more like the Village of Ordinary.

Most of you who read me have blogs that I read as well. What gives me strength to hang on is your persistence in grabbing your dragons' tails. Thank you for continuing to write your truth, whatever it may be.

Your voices matter. They give me courage. Sometimes you make me laugh. Sometimes you make me cry. Thank you for writing. Thank you for your persistence. Thank you for hanging on.

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Disclosure: Should you click on the Amazon link in this post and make a purchase, it is possible I might make a few pennies on the sale. Wouldn't that be a thrill.

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We make peace in a million small ways every day.

All text and images, unless otherwise noted, copyright L. Kathryn Grace. All rights reserved.

They suffered that we might have the right: Go! Vote!

Miss [Lucy] Burns in
Occoquan Workhouse, Washington, Nov. 1917Women of Protest:
Photographs from the Records of the National Woman's Party

They endured disdain, derision, jail, force-feedings and beatings in their struggle to get the right to enter a voting booth on election day, our foremothers.It's easy to take that right for granted, especially when we don't like the choices on the ballot. Even moreso when we're disenchanted with corruption, lies, dirty tricks and abuses of power.

But that's not new. There was corruption, there were lies, and there were outrageous attempts to manipulate the populace throughout the 144 years US women sacrificed to win the opportunity to vote. Honor the women who suffered for us--their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Vote! It's one way we live consciously.



For a quick synopsis of the long struggle to achieve woman suffrage, go to How Women Won the Right to Vote.

Three wins on the way to becoming a zero waste household

Over the last few months, I've promised to get back to you about my search for a) witch hazel in a glass bottle; b) an alternative to the leave-on shower spray I'd been using; and c) toothpaste that did not come in a plastic tube. Well, bless my half empty trash bin, I found answers.

My homemade toner kit
© L. Kathryn Grace

Back in June, the big, plastic bottle of witch hazel I’d been using to make my own gentle skin toner had finally run dry after two plus years. I searched the world wide web and found not a single source for the stuff in a glass bottle. I was just about ready to order the herb and distill my own when I found a better solution all round, one I'd known and practiced for years as a teenager and young adult: Splash cold tap water on my face.

So simple! Nothing refreshes and closes the pores like cold water, and if you're lucky enough to live where the water comes really cold from your tap, why bother paying for expensive designer toners? I don't know why I stopped using this method in the first place. Someone talked me into believing I needed bottled goods to be beautiful, I suppose. (No wise cracks from the peanut gallery. You know who you are.)

Vinegar/water leave on shower
spray in reused bottle
© L. Kathryn Grace

Later, in War on Garbage skirmishes: Some wins, some losses, I mentioned I hunted an alternative to the leave-on tub, tile and shower spray I loved. Enter vinegar and water, half and half. (Thanks for the tip to dilute, Mrs Green!) Yes! That's it! Vinegar and water.

I've trialed it for nearly three months and see no discoloration to my tile or bathroom fixtures. I’d still go with caution, if I were you. Vinegar is mildly acidic. I’ll let you know in another three months or so if I’ve noticed any change. One thing is certain: It works better than the expensive vinegar-based stuff I’d been buying every three or four weeks! Spray it on, climb out of the shower, dress and walk away. The vinegar scent dissipates quickly.

One HUGE caution: NEVER NEVER NEVER mix vinegar with any product containing chlorine bleach (pdf file). If you use a tub cleanser such as Bar Keepers Friend or a mildew reducer containing chlorine bleach, be careful not to use vinegar until all traces of the bleach have had time to dissipate. The two chemicals interact and create a lethal gas that is odorless and colorless. Deadly.

Tom's of Maine
© L. Kathryn Grace

In No More War!, I told you I was determined not to buy another plastic toothpaste tube. I tried my grandmother's poor-woman's baking soda and salt method. Ouch! That left my gums stinging. Plus, I discovered that dental hygienists advise against baking soda or salt as they are too abrasive. I hunted for other homemade recipes, all of which required some ingredients that are shipped in plastic.

Then, doh!, I remembered Beth Terry at Fake Plastic Fish is way ahead of me. What does she do? She buys toothpaste in an aluminum tube! So I nosed around, and sure enough, a drugstore up the street carries Tom's of Maine Clean & Gentle Care line, all in aluminum tubes. (I know. I know. They’re owned by Colgate-Palmolive now, but what’s a girl to do?) Not a perfect solution, but a good interim one until I find a workable recipe for homemade that meets all my needs.

Got tips to share?

What about you? What new tips have you discovered lately for reducing, reusing and/or recycling?

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We make peace in a million small ways every day.

All text and images, unless otherwise noted, copyright L. Kathryn Grace. All rights reserved.

Open forum: What do you need? Ask here!

Posie against a hard, stone wall
© Kathryn Grace

As I read your blogs and stories, I am so often keenly aware of the suffering many of you have encountered in life, personally, in your work, and in the world.

If I could wiggle my nose and get anything I want right now, it would be an end to suffering. All suffering. So I open my blog to each of you (wiggle wiggle), and urge you to ask for what you need. While there is no guarantee I or another will be able to meet that need, there is no guarantee we won't. Whether it is for yourself or for another--Ask!

What do you need right now? For yourself, for someone you know?

As you go about your week and become aware of suffering, yours and others, think about ways we who read your words and have come to care about your work online and the person we believe you to be, might mitigate that suffering.

Through the comment form below, ASK us to help. Tell us about your encounter with suffering, how we might learn from your experience, how we might be of use, what you need. Who knows who might see the request and know exactly the individual, the organization, the link, the word that might help?

Take courage and ask your own readers about the need, and don't forget to come back here and put a link to the post so the rest of us can find it and support you. Encourage your readers to do the same.

What need might you help to fill?

While you're writing, consider the requests others have made. You can track the requests by subscribing to the comments for this post. You will receive an email each time someone has posted. That way you know who needs help. I don't have tons of readers, so your inbox is unlikely to be flooded.

If you have the means to be of use to another who has posted a need, tell us about that too, that we may all take heart in the generosity and goodness of this world.

Next time I run a Good News Friday post, I hope to tell some of your stories of need and response.

A prayer for you, a prayer for all of us

My prayer for each of you is this: Whenever you find yourselves against a hard stone wall, may someone have left a posie in just that spot to brighten the moment, may others have paved a path towards a safe haven, and may a door or gate open and a welcoming hand extend. When you see another in a hard place, may you have the wisdom and the resources to extend a hand, to open a door, or to smooth a path, and may peace be with you always.

Note: I have limited online access this week, and this may be my only post. I will be reading your blogs as usual, but my iGadgets don't seem to work well with Google posting, and I may not be able to comment until I'm back at my desk sometime next week. I look forward to hearing from you all week long as you respond to this open discussion.

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We make peace in a million small ways every day.

All text and images, unless otherwise noted, copyright L. Kathryn Grace. All rights reserved.

War on Garbage: No more plastic-wrapped TP!

No more plastic TP wraps!
Fake Plastic Fish Challenge 5/17-23/2010
© L Kathryn Grace

Remember this big pile of plastic in my Fake Plastic Fish Challenge? One of the toughest problems to solve was the toilet paper.

How could we get something that was soft enough, recycled, and not wrapped in plastic? I admit, I did not believe I would find a solution for that one any time soon. Luckily, Beth Terry of Fake Plastic Fish had already found the answer and was gracious enough to clue me in: Seventh Generation tissue, individually wrapped in paper.

Frankly, we have tried Seventh Gen off and on over the years and always returned to softer tissue, but we decided to give it one more go. Our local organic grocer sells single rolls wrapped in paper. What a surprise! The tissue is much softer than the brand we've been buying. In fact, it's as soft as the mainstream tissue we relinquished reluctantly a few years ago.

The box arrives!
© L Kathryn Grace

What's more, we can buy 500-count, 2-ply rolls in bulk through Amazon.com at considerable savings, and we don't have to rent a car to get it. Yes, it is shipped to us, but we feel that delivery is offset by the fact we are not driving a car across town to pick it up. Amazon ships 48 rolls in their "frustration free" packaging. That means the box is made to fit the product, is recyclable (NOT recycled, however--We need to work with them on that), easy to open, and contains no
plastic ties or clamshells.

Our little bundles of TP joy
© L Kathryn Grace

There they are, our little toilet paper babies. I don't know about you, but sometimes living consciously takes a lot of effort. It's worth it, of course, and extra rewarding when we solve a problem we thought unsolvable. I get excited about every little victory, and this is one is especially sweet.

What about you? What small--or large--victories have you had in the realm of living mindfully this week? Conversely, what frustrations might you like to share? Perhaps you'll get lucky, as I did, and just the right person will see your quest and know how to solve it.

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We make peace in a million small ways every day.

All text and images, unless otherwise noted, copyright L. Kathryn Grace. All rights reserved.

Greening the desert, turning sand to rich, dark soil

Six years after funding ran out for the Greening the Desert permaculture project in Jordan, two kilometers from the Dead Sea, Geoff Lawton and his team returned to the site. What they found surprised even these seasoned permaculture evangelists.



Way back in college, in Geology 101 and Soils 101, we were taught that it takes Ma Nature millions of years to build a few inches or a few feet of soil, but permaculture is changing what science knows about that.

We can do this, We're in charge now

When Lawton says, "We're in charge, now," he refers to his organization Permaculture Planet funding the Greening the Desert project, but he's right in a broader sense. We are in charge now. We always were, and when he says we can do this, he refers to all of us. By our individual and collective choices, we changed the world. More than ever before, we understand that how it changes is entirely up to us. We decide.

While you're shopping today take charge

Many of us go shopping on Saturday, buying supplies and groceries for the week, running errands, picking up the dry cleaning and the tools and gadgets we need to complete our home projects. Every one of those stops is a vote for the future, an example of living consciously (or not) for the next seven generations. How are you voting?

What choices are you making as you dash from store to store? What tiny changes are you making in your buying patterns that show you're in charge?

One thing I've learned from you is that your ideas and actions, some so easy I slap my noggin with "Why didn't I think of that," are the most valuable part of this blogging exercise. Old ideas, new ones, they're all important and sure to be of use to someone. Share one or two of them with the rest of us, won't you?

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Posted with gratitude to blogger gmoke of solarray, from whom I learned of this new Greening the Desert video.

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We make peace in a million small ways every day.

All text and images, unless otherwise noted, copyright L. Kathryn Grace. All rights reserved.

 

War on Garbage: Easy, inexpensive homemade skin toner cuts waste

© L. Kathryn Grace

It was one of those calls, nearly two years ago. Family emergency. I grabbed a couple changes of clothes and made a quick inventory of my toiletries travel bag. Good. All bottles at least half full.

The visit lengthened from a few days to ten. Halfway through, I ran out of facial toner, borrowed a car and checked two stores close to the hospital. Neither had my brand. I have sensitive skin, and didn't need the hassle of an allergic reaction to an untested (on me) product, so I reverted to an old tried and true remedy: witch hazel. The 16 ounce bottle cost less than three dollars.

As a budget-conscious young woman, I used witch hazel for years without any problems to my skin or pocketbook. I never cared for the scent, and eventually "upgraded" to a more stylish toner at the glitzy department store makeup counter. At $27 a bottle, (sold in a lovely frosted glass container, mind you), the toner was as pretty on my bathroom counter top as it was pleasing to use. When I began to come to my senses, I switched to a less expensive drugstore brand, which by then I had been using for several years. Not finding it, I checked my old standby, and found it tucked down on the bottom shelf. Witch hazel would do just fine.


Essential oil yum

Back at the house, I filled my washed toner travel bottle with the witch hazel, added a couple drops of Tea Tree oil, which I already had in my travel kit, and voilà! Fresh toner. Adding a favorite essential oil to this mild astringent makes a delightfully refreshing concoction. You could use lavender, geranium, rose or any essential oil. I like the extra tingle I get from the Tea Tree oil. It doesn't hurt that it is known for skin-enhancing and bacteriological properties as well. Plus, the fragrance quickly dissipates, and I needn't worry that I am wafting allergens to friends, family and passersby.

There's more to love about witch hazel and essential oil as toner. I've benefited the following ways.


Buying less = lower carbon emissions

That first pint bottle of witch hazel lasted several months. Eventually, I purchased a second, 32 ounce bottle, which is nearly empty.

That's all to the good. Had I continued purchasing my old toner, over the same time period I'd have contributed carbon emissions through shipping several times. Using the witch hazel cut those emissions to just two shipments worth. I can't tell whether I saved plastic, as I recycled the old toner bottles long ago, but I would hope there is less plastic in a pint or quart bottle than in several 8 to 10 ounce bottles.


I'm saving $$

The low cost of this homemade toner is a boon. Here's the cost breakdown.

Tea Tree Oil: $3.99 for a 1/2 ounce bottle today
Witch Hazel: $6.99 for 16 ounce bottle today
Total today: $10.98

Compare that to several bottles of inexpensive, off-the-shelf drug store toner I used at the time. At nearly eight dollars per eight ounce bottle, they cost about a dollar an ounce.

Remember, I already owned the Tea Tree oil, and had used some. Very likely the $3.99 cost today is an increase over two-plus years ago. I no longer have the receipt for the witch hazel, but I remember being pleased to see it cost less than $3. So it has more than doubled in price. In fact, the 32 ounce bottle I bought last time cost $6.99, exactly the same price they're charging for 16 ounces today. The clerk told me they no longer carry the 32 ounce size.

That's okay, because I'm looking for organic witch hazel in glass this time, and I'm willing to pay more to nourish the soil, preserve the multi-crop woods in which the plants grow wild, and assure the farmers and their employees earn a fair living.


This week's War on Garbage mission

Find witch hazel in glass bottles. I've searched the web and called both local and distant suppliers with no luck so far, organic or not. If I don't find it in glass soon, I'll be forced to buy plastic again. Yuk!

If you know of a source for witch hazel in glass, please contact me! (You can reach me at graceonline at sbcglobal.net)

Buy organic. Not because it will change my waste stream significantly, but because it is part of my larger mission to live consciously and do as little harm as possible. Conventional harvesters, according to Organic Witch Hazel, cut every stem to the ground. They take everything, down to the smallest twig and stem. Organic producers harvest sustainably, taking a small percentage of the overall plant, its leaves, new growth, flowers and fruit.

The witch hazel bush (Hamamelis virginiana) grows wild in many parts of the country. Some organic farmers gather wild witch hazel by hand in their multi-use forests so as not to overly-stress the eco-system (good for the planet), and they pick only at peak times for highest phyto-chemical content and most oil production (good for us).


Learn more about this ancient, healing herb

For more information about this old-fashioned plant and its many uses, check this Wise Bread page.


What's your story this week?

What is your eco-focus this week? What small change are you making in your life to build a more sustainable, healthier world for our children and grandchildren, a world more like the Village of Ordinary?


Disclaimer: I'm not an herbalist or cosmetologist. I am merely a consumer who has found this product useful in my personal care regimen.

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We make peace in a million small ways every day.

All text and images, unless otherwise noted, copyright L. Kathryn Grace. All rights reserved.

War on Garbage: The personal is political

Image copyright
cesarharada.com
Creative Commons license

We're in the kitchen, three of us. He's fixing a sandwich to gobble on his way upstairs to an important phone call.

She's fixing snacks for the little ones before we rush out the door to pick up the oldest.

I'm fixing to ride along and catch a train.

Bustling and bubbling with news, ideas, catch-up, there's no time to sit down and get to the heart of things. We're jabbering on the fly. The topic is plastics. Conversation goes something like this.

He: "I think you're wasting a lot of energy eliminating plastics from your life when the problem is so much bigger."

She: "Yes. The problem is bigger than you. Why don't you work on changing how plastics are recycled? Make it easier for all of us to recycle all our plastics? That would have a bigger impact."

Me: "Yes, recycling is critical, but it's a stop-gap, not the solution. Polymers are getting into us, into the kids. I have to do what I can to limit their exposure, our exposure. And what about all those poor sea creatures swallowing so much plastic they suffocate and die? (Call me a bleeding heart.) No matter how much I recycle, I can't be sure some of my plastic crap won't end up choking a giant sea turtle, or floating in the great Pacific gyre."


Not exactly a 30-second elevator speech

Boy, do I wish I had already perfected my thirty-second elevator Why-I'm-Pitching-Plastic speech. It would go something like this.

Giving up plastics is something like giving up cigarettes. Many of us stopped smoking a long time ago. We didn't want a slow, suffocating death. A lot of the PCBs, BPAs and phthalates circulating in our bodies, in our children's bodies, in every mother's breast milk, will never leave us. No one knows what slow, agonizing deaths we may be generating. There are pointers, but too few studies tell us anything for sure. Why take the chance? We need to stop ingesting them. To do that, we need to stop bringing them into our environment.

It makes no difference whether we're manufacturing or re-manufacturing plastic, we're putting toxic polymers and their relatives into the atmosphere, into the water, into the ground, and yes, into our bodies.

Of course, that's not the whole story. Plastic is made from fossil fuels and, it bears repeating, very difficult to recycle. Sure we can make it from corn and soybeans. On a planet of 6.8 billion people (more than double the 1959 total of 3 billion), and expected to increase to 9 billion before mid-century, which is more important: crops for food, or crops for plastic and profit?

I get that plastic is endemic. I get that I can't escape it. Shoot, I'm having a heck of a time simply slowing down my use of plastics, let alone eliminating them. Still. I absolutely have to take responsibility for my part of the problem.

So I'm doing something about it, personally and politically. When I slow the flow of plastic items into our home, when I choose plastic-free alternatives, I vote.


S-u-p-p-o-r-t

(To the tune of D-i-v-o-r-c-e)

One vote doesn't make much difference, but it is part of my personal goal to live consciously, and by writing about it here, I lend support to all the others reducing their plastic consumption. As more and more of us talk about what we're doing, we learn how many others are voting with their dollars, how many are writing letters to manufacturers, city officials, legislators and senators asking for change.

We connect. We learn from each other. We discover we're not alone, we're not an insignificant voice, and we are growing in numbers.


Worth my time, how about yours?

We have to stop bringing so much plastic into our environment, our homes and our bodies.

That's why reducing the plastic in my life is worth my energy, worth my time and is a political act. Yes, I will continue to work toward better and better recycling options, but what I do--or not--with plastics every single day counts.

What you do counts, too. It's our collective actions and choices that got us into this mess. We are the ones who can get us out. There's no denying plastic raises a lot of tough issues. What do you think are the best ways to solve the problem? Do you (will you) vote with your dollars and demand plastic-free alternatives wherever possible?

The more we vote with our dollars on the plastic issue, the sooner viable solutions will become profitable and real, and the closer we get to a world a whole lot more like the Village of Ordinary.

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We make peace in a million small ways every day.

All text and images, unless otherwise noted, copyright L. Kathryn Grace. All rights reserved.