The Times We Are Living In

What we are facing today reminds me of the time of the Ghost Dance. When colonizers were taking over Indian lands, forcing tribes into tiny settlements and hindering their ability to freely move about in search of game. The governments in the US and Canada forced Indian dependence on Government supplied rations of food—and alcohol.

The Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka had a vision that if the tribes would unite in dance and prayer that their oppressors would lose power and return to where they came from. The hope was the through coming together in unity and love and spirit, the Indians would have the power to drive out the evil.

So dance they did. Gather they did. And we know all too well the outcome. The slaughter of unarmed and innocent men, women and children. And the continued domination and oppression of our people. Populations decimated. Those that survived did so under deprivation, and colonial brainwashing. And then the oppression turned inwards onto our own people.

Now here we are, all races, facing the power that be. We are facing white supremacy. We want to hope for things to change. We want to think we have an ability to effect positive change. But so did the Ghost Dancers. The powerless.

I am frustrated by those who cling to the idea of ‘the power of positive thinking' when the power of the negative is consuming all. We are not going to ‘positive think’ our way out of this.

It seems impossible to know what to do when faced with a reality that feels unfathomable. The epic battle for humanity and our planet is on. The people in power, whose greed and need to consume everything in their path, seek to destroy everything that we hold in our hearts as the only reason for existence on this planet. Our love for the oceans, the mountains, the rivers, the forests and all flora and fauna is not enough to save it. Prayers and coming together in unity did nothing to stop this machine of consumption 125 years ago. As much as I love and support and pray for Standing Rock and all the other epic environmental battles ahead, I cannot foresee a positive outcome.

So what do we do now?

How do we stop the train of destruction?

I incarnated on this planet at this time, so that I could freely pursue creative and positive endeavours. I chose to be a female at a time and place in world history where women have the ability for freedom of expression unparalleled to any other time in written history. The problem is, I don’t want to devote my time to fighting evil. Evil rulers, evil corporations, evil governments. I don’t want to fight the bad. I want to create the good.

We have been forced to be dependent on the Western economic system, and we need to find a solution for the way out of it. The need for economic growth for the rich will never be satiated. The result is modern-day slavery which continues to feed the ever-hungry ‘growth-economy’.

What can I do to create positive change in my corner of the world? For my family? For my community? For our future?

I have felt called for some time to plan an eco-village. If we have food security, we have wealth. We can live in homes that are sustainable, off-grid through solar, geothermal etc. Plant gardens, preserve food. We can wean ourselves off our dependance on “the system”. Think of our ancestors who became master artists, carvers and weavers because they had secure housing and an abundance of food available to them. Now think of how we can re-create a 'modern' rendition of that lifestyle?

As I see it, the only way out is for more and more of us find a way out of the system. Food security is the first most obvious step and something each and everyone of us can do. planting, growing, preserving, catching, hunting, gathering. They tried to stop us from having that kind of independence over 125 years ago.

Independence is power. And they cant take that away from us now can they?