Gay Pride, Saving the Planet and Albatross: Is there anything in common?

I am one of those people who cries easily when my heart chords are struck - remember those telephone adds in the '80s with the theme "reach out and touch someone?"  I could not watch those without bawling.  This afternoon I found myself in tears. I was sitting on the sidewalk, waiting for the gay pride parade to start,  ignoring everyone and buried in my laptop developing global happiness and wellbeing movement materials from that UN meeting in April when suddenly the street filled with the popping roar of motorcycles. I looked up to find grinning women arms held high roaring past.    The crowd was grinning back.  You could feel a love and support connection between the crowd and the spectators- it went both ways.  The pride was on both sides of the barricades. Tears fell down my cheeks. 

Later today I found myself inside the Whidbey Geodome- an inflatable Buckminster Fuller project filled with a light display of our planet, our galaxy, our universe and our selves. The project is designed to connect our hearts, the self, the planet, the universe and oneness. We zoomed in and out of our space, flashed through light years and inside outside of perspectives. The show spoke to me of the power of creation, the power of our mother earth and the power we each have within each of us to nurture this planet - and ourselves. Images of the cosmos and the neural pathways within your body- my body - the body of any being; images of our galaxy, a sunflower, our planet, an eye's iris, a nautilus, spoke to the power of love for ourselves and for our home, our mother, our planet.  It was a connection. Tears welled again.

http://www.midwayfilm.com/

Chris Jordan gave at a talk and showed his short film about plastics and the albatross babies.  These babies are dying when their mommies and daddies feed them fish eggs that have wrapped themselves around that coke bottle lid that spilled out of the trash can or tonka-toy truck wheel that fell off in the sand box and washed into the sea.   They are dying because so much plastic accumulates in their little bodies that they can't eat, can't breath, can't live.  Some studies are showing 95% of albatross babies have plastic in their bellies, according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium research.  A while back I used some of his images to gave a presentation to a graduating class of 13 year old middle schoolers about the Eastern Sea Patch.  We spoke of hopelessness and power.  We sank into the angst of youth adulthood, and we questioned the purpose of it all. We felt the deep unfairness of this planet. My purpose in speaking to the youth was to affirm their incredible internal and inherent knowledge and power. During the talk, I felt at first a sense of failure, then gave over to giving them the space to explore. Failure dissipated with the release of control, followed by a tremendous feeling of love and admiration for these young people.  Later their teacher told me they made some tremendously powerful decisions.   Those kids made the connection.

Tonight I slump toward sleep turning over in my mind the day - dykes on bikes grinning with love, the lovely planet winking in and out of the cosmos, the sense of hopelessness and pure beauty winking in and out of tides of trash and treasure.  Connection. Tears.  Hearts.  Power.  Love.
Posted by Laura, ED of HI