Things on my mind...

Things on my mind today... (consider yourself warned)

• relationships with our fathers. Just in general, really. And nothing specific that I'm thinking, I'm just observing people and their fathers, and listening to people talk about their relationships with their fathers. I'm just finding it interesting. And my thoughts go out to those who struggle in their relationships with their fathers, as they struggle for peace and healing, acceptance, and unconditional Love.
• I was trying to figure out why I'm so passionate about growing my own food. Or more generally, why I feel the need to take the bull by the horns, as it were, when I see things that aren't right in the world. When I see something that needs fixin', I generally jump right in and start fixing (sometimes without consulting anyone else to see if anyone's tried anything already). And I wondered why, for example, when I was a kid and picked raspberries for a summer job (as well as delivering newspapers daily), my dad said something to the effect of, 'get your fill of hard, physical, outdoor work so that you'll remember that, and go off to college and get a good job'. Something to that effect, anyways. And so I *did* get a degree, but the office didn't bring me a sense of fulfillment. And I asked myself why, over the past decade, have I become more and more passionate about food security, about the connection we have with our food, with the farmers, supporting the local economy, and so on? I wondered the other day why we don't value farmers more highly? Why is farming looked down upon? Why do we all think it's just sooooooo much work? ('too much for me', we think. 'Let someone else grow my food.') That it's something we only did when the 70's oil crisis peaked? Not something we do because of a love for the Earth, or an appreciation of great-tasting food, or simply because the very act of tending for another species brings us joy?
• I've been reading Toby Hemenway's book about permaculture (Gaia's Garden, 2nd ed). I'm not far into it, but what strikes me is the idea that we, as humans, can coexist with other species. That our gardens don't need to be tidy little plots of foods for us, but nothing for other species. That it doesn't have to be an inordinate amount of work on our part to grow our own food. I like the idea of planting things all mixed together. I'm not describing what I'm experiencing as I read it well, but I hope to expand on my thoughts on this in the future.
• 'Invasive' plants or 'opportunistic' plants. Is Scot's (or Scotch, as I tend to call it) Broom an invasive plant? Or simply opportunistic? What about alders, salmon berries, salal, and oregon grape? These are plants that come in once the soil has been disturbed. But who's doing the disturbing?! Humans. *We're* the invasive species!
• And on a completely different note, there's the strange dreams I've been having lately: two nights ago I got shot in the neck in one dream??? and last night I was in an auditorium, watching something like the golden globes or emmys live (weird since I don't watch tv), and then this gang broke into the auditorium (fwiw they were wearing pink satin jackets, LOL) and they GASSED everyone who was left. my dd & I were there, and I awoke suddenly as soon as I realized the gas was not just the 'fog' they put for special effects. disturbing dreams, to say the least.

Anyhow, that's generally what's on my mind this moment.

Love and Light to you,

~n~