Recent winds have caused a blizzard of live oak tree leaves that have covered the brick pavers in the courtyard. It’s no big deal really; however, with rain forecasted for the day, I wanted to remove the leaves before they got plastered and stuck to the bricks.
It felt amazing to be outside in the cool, gray morning. After a day spent traveling to Atlanta and back yesterday, I needed some quiet time in nature. The courtyard is a place of peace and quiet where birds entertain the porch-confined cats and flutter and flit all day through the little haven.
I brought out the broom and started sweeping. The leaf blower gifted to me from Asheville never started after I moved. Not by my choice…it wouldn’t crank. My brother took it apart, I pleaded with it….but nothing. It was dead. Not a spark of life in it. So I’ve been sweeping the courtyard for almost a year now. I keep meaning to find a replacement but haven’t. And I don’t mind it…if the leaves are dry.
Classical music wafted softly from the porch as the swishing of the broom put me in a sort of nature-trance. And then…a burst of life erupted from the spider plant…the one that wintered outdoors due to lack of actual ‘winter’ with all of my tropical plants. Ah…the wren.
I realized, as I swept, that it was her courtyard I was sweeping. She allows me to share it with her and the family. She fusses and bustles about and graces this sacred space with the sweetest song. Welcome to my courtyard, she sings. And so I accept her invitation and do my best to keep it tidy and beautiful for the wren mama and her babies soon to arrive.
Sharks have been in the news lately. Or perhaps the lack of sharks has been in the news. It is estimated that up to 90% of the total shark population has disappeared from our oceans worldwide. That means that only 10%, or there about, of all sharks are left in our oceans.
Last October was the first time I had seen a shark while scuba diving in years. I was on a reef off the coast of Turks and Caicos and it was just a small reef shark but I was thrilled. It swam along beside me like a friendly puppy. So much for the demon, man-eater.
When I first started diving, many years ago, I remember being told divers can go years without seeing sharks. My first year brought some close encounters with these sleek, gorgeous beauties. One experience in particular was unnerving but only because I was on a reef where sharks were hand-fed regularly. They had lost their fear of humans and exhaust bubbles and were so overly-friendly that they thought every human in the water had a hand-out for them. (Read more about that adventure in my book, Sharks On My Fin Tips. Chapter 3, page 29). I am against feeding any wild animal. Ultimately it hurts them.
But that same summer I had a huge hammerhead shark…ten feet would not be an exaggeration….casually swim past and was so close I saw his eyes moving on his enormous hammers, watching me. The little mouth was underneath his head so I didn’t feel any fear. I was simply in awe of this beautiful animal.
About a decade ago my partner and I went to California and joined a charter leaving from San Diego for the Coronodos Islands. I didn’t like the cold, Pacific water but I hardly noticed, so lost was my mind in looking around every kelp strand for the denizen of the deep….the Great White! Which brings me to unjustified fear, induced by media. In this case, Jaws.
I grew up on the Gulf Coast and loved swimming in the Gulf until the movie came out. That so warped my understanding of sharks that I never recovered any decent appreciation for these massive creatures until a few years ago when I educated myself on them. I still have no desire to meet a twenty foot shark face-to-face but I want them to survive and thrive…for their own experience of life and for the health of the Ocean.
A large bull shark has been within arms-reach but I tucked my hands and shooed it away with my internal scolding. Have you ever felt like a shark was peeling you out of your wetsuit with his eyes? I did but nothing ever came of it. I remained calm and that was that. No blood, no carnage. Just a good memory.
It is time the media stops sensationalizing the dangerous sharks they want us to gasp and fret over and start informing the public about the amazing creatures these apex predators are…we owe it to sharks. We need to right the wrongs done to them.
Wolves, snakes, mountain lions, bobcats….all of these animals deserve their place in the world. They all have a valuable part to play in keeping ecosystems healthy. Let’s show a little shark love and protect these darlings of the deep. Can’t you just see them smiling their toothy grin when more humans gain understanding and wisdom about living a life of balance.
Playing God with Genetics…. or Bend Over and Kiss It Goodbye
Today while driving back from Pensacola, where I shopped at a health food store and purchased organic and non-genetically engineered food, I heard a most disturbing story on NPR (National Public Radio). Emily Anthes, author of the new book, Frankenstein’s Cat, was being interviewed by Terry Gross. The story is truly a horror story and as I listened I thought….this cannot be happening! But it is my friends. It is indeed.
For your amusement, a tri-colored hogfish…oops…did it get released in the wild?
As I listened to stories of genetically engineered animals I thought of the Hunger Games trilogy and the freakish human and beast alterations that took readers into the possibilities of what happens when human arrogance and greed take over common sense and basic moral and ethical reason. My heart sank as I heard story after story of ways scientists are altering nature, sentient creatures, for our own selfish reasons.
Here are some of the things already done: Fish engineered to glow in the dark by adding jellyfish DNA; goats raised with human gene for breast milk; cat that glows; pigs that lose genetic information that causes humans to reject organs transplanted from pigs; cockroaches with mechanical implants (the Borg of the insect world); and the Chinese mice experiment.
In a lab in Chinese researchers are experimenting with mouse genes by randomly disabling their genetics, one gene at a time. They are doing this to identify the function of each gene and then breed populations of mice specific to that genetic deficiency so they can sell them to medical labs doing research on that particular medical issue. So far they have developed mice that are prone to tumors, mice that have OCD and obsessively bury marbles, a mouse that only makes left-hand turns and one that has male-pattern baldness.
For all humans prone to making only left-hand turns, this must bring a sigh of relief!
There was an experiment that injected pigs with human growth hormone to produce faster-growing, leaner pigs. The results were pigs that were riddled with human diseases…some of the worst diseases were arthritis, eye problems, and metabolic disorders. Ms. Anthes reports that the pigs were ‘miserable.’ I think the humans that did that to the pigs were truly miserable…miserable excuses for human beings. But that’s just my opinion.
Intentionally breeding animals with ‘problems’ isn’t a new practice in the world of animal experimentation but the Chinese researchers wanted to speed it up and so have elected to roll the proverbial dice with their mouse subjects to create little armies of mutant and highly marketable mice.
Is this a REAL, unmodified dragonfly? Look closer….Big Brother owns this one
The cockroaches are being implanted with mechanical devices which are controlled with joy-stick-like devices. The US Defense Department is funding these studies. They can already make mechanical drones as small as cockroaches but they don’t have an energy source that lasts. By combining a living being with mechanics, they will be able to send the cockroach army into caves, into your home…wherever they want to gather information.
The number one problem on our planet seems to be overpopulation. There are too many people, not enough resources to support them and the population is projected to explode in another twenty years. These resources are basic and include food, energy, clean water…shelter. It seems money going toward these freakish genetic experimentations could be better spent trying to solve the problems facing the dwindling resources on our planet. So what if scientists figure out how to make humans live fifty more years? If there are no resources to support said humans and we have genetically modified mice and cockroach drones hunting us for food, who wants to be alive for that freak-ish nightmare of a world?
What color would you like your cat to glow?
Aside from the ethical and moral questions raised…(please…tell me SOMEBODY is raising these questions)…what happens when these animals are released into the wild? When the aquarium owner tires of the colorful, glowing fish and decides to just release them in the river or the glowing cat is allowed to reproduce with monkeys bred to snakes. Oh…did I mention they are genetically modifying species by mixing genetics of species. Did you ever watch the X-Men movies or read the comics? If so, you understand the implications. It has already happened in the movies and it wasn’t pleasant.
The infestation of burmese pythons in the Everglades will seem like child’s play once the mutants are released into the wild. I hope my ashes are scattered in the ocean long before this happens….but sadly it is already happening and there are no laws to govern it. And big countries that have sketchy morals and ethics are prone to disregard laws anyway….and no….I’m not just talking about China.
Attachment: “A feeling that binds one to a person, thing, cause, ideal, or the like; devotion; regard: a fond attachment to his cousin; a profound attachment to the cause of peace” (dictionary.com).
One of the most difficult lessons I have learned is to let go of expectations. It started with my work as a state park naturalist many years ago. With deep love and passion for nature, it was difficult to watch as politics won over nature so many times. Environmental education was barely funded while other programs–the money-makers–were funded. I struggled with the question: How can you place a monetary value on environmental stewardship?
Then as a practicing psychotherapist I struggled with my attachment to clients understanding their issues and working to resolve them instead of expecting me to use a magic wand to make them feel better. (Draw circle on wall, bang head….).
Armondo, an artist in Akumal, Mexico, creates beauty on his property
And again, as a massage therapist and energy work practitioner, my attachment to clients taking responsibility for their health–physical, mental, emotional and spiritual–caused such turmoil that I invented a new kind of therapy. I called it Slap Therapy. And of course it was a joke that I shared with students and colleagues but in reality I was trying to work out my frustration through humor.
But it doesn’t stop there…no, this pattern continued. I want people to love the planet. I want them to feel their own value and worth. I want them to treasure themselves and the planet and place self-care and planetary care at the top of their to-do list. And so forth…until finally I realized that the only way to find peace within myself (and therefore model that which I am wanting to help create) was to end my attachment to anyone ever gaining understanding or waking up to their own beauty. If I base personal joy and contentment on other’s actions I’ve got some long, frustrating years ahead of me.
Mantee interacting with woman at Three Sister’s Springs
Can I be detached and still have passion, feel love and continue on the path? Can I let go of ego and surrender to simply loving for the sake of loving?
Sunset at Gulf Shores, Alabama
Can I continue the work, the love, the expression of beauty I experience without knowing if it is received?
I recently discovered that all I have ever wanted (since childhood) was for the love I feel for others, animals and the planet to be received. And truly, the only way I know to experience that wish coming true is simply to keep loving, regardless. I will always love but I am no longer attached to knowing this love is received. (deep breath….heavy sigh). Perhaps the biggest magical transformation in life is to let go of all attachments to what we want the most and simply keep practicing, keep loving.
Orchid…their faces amaze me
It is the flow of love itself that is my focus. It is not conditional. It is not a faucet that can be turned on and off. It is a state of being that I choose each day, every moment. No matter what. That’s all I’ve really ever wanted.
Stanley Kubrick exhibiting his dynamic personality
From Stanley Kubrick’s point of view my purpose in life is to keep him cuddly-warm and cozy when he sleeps. Being an 11 pound orange tabby of most unique style and personality, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. His sister, or HRH Gracie as she is known, is terribly embarrassed by his behavior, but then she’s the one wearing gray and orange polka-dot pajamas.
It’s not that I mind being Stanley’s cat bed. I’m portable with a build-in heater. If I’m in our purple, leather recliner he’s in my lap. When I’m laying on my side, he’s perched on my hip; when I’m on my back, he’s on my chest or belly. And none of that is really so bad. But I draw the line at his recent slip in etiquette.
Never known to shy away from attention, Stanley Kubrick delights in warming the hearts of all humans who adore him.
I was sleeping on my back and was suddenly awakened by a certain orange and white cat leaping on to my head and settling over my face with his soft, white belly. I’m not sure what I said but it was probably something I really can’t write in a G-rated blog. He scrambled. But not before communicating through our special, secret, telepathic language that he was only trying to stop the snoring. Whatever, Stanley!Whatever!!
Gracie functioning as Stanley’s cat bed for their afternoon nap.
Both of my cat friends were rescues kitties adopted from Brother Wolf in Asheville, NC. I treasure my them. I wish I could adopt many more. But then I’d be known as the middle-aged women who lives with cats….and snores (on occasion).
When I recently felt a bit poorly, Gracie stuck beside me and nursed me back to health. Stanley brings humor to every day. I feed them, scoop their boxes and adore them. The more I open my heart to them, the happier we all are in this house of love. Everything else is just details.
Classical music wafted softly from the porch as the swishing of the broom put me in a sort of nature-trance. And then…a burst of life erupted from the spider plant…the one that wintered outdoors due to lack of actual ‘winter’ with all of my tropical plants. Ah…the wren.
I realized, as I swept, that it was her courtyard I was sweeping. She allows me to share it with her and the family. She fusses and bustles about and graces this sacred space with the sweetest song. Welcome to my courtyard, she sings. And so I accept her invitation and do my best to keep it tidy and beautiful for the wren mama and her babies soon to arrive.
