Wow! Today has been a great day! Probably because I kicked it off with a round of meditation... and fresh vegetables. I danced and stretched and walked the dogs. I spent quality time with my husband and I've been drinking water. Hmmm... I'm doing all the stuff I'm supposed to (that's right, including floss) and am experiencing an overall sense of joy? Imagine that!
I have to acknowledge that it's hard to fathom experiencing joy at such a tumultuous time in our nation's history. Then again, it's hard to fathom the concept of joy. at all. ever. when there is always some issue in the world worth fretting over.
Perhaps it's the fact that I'm making small changes in my own life to make a small, but hopefully meaningful difference overall. Eating plant-based whole foods was a decision that evolved from a desire to protect the Amazon and affect climate change, to respecting animals and elevating consciousness. One, single change to my diet has lead to more changes, like composting and buying the "ugly" produce, and has ultimately made me feel more connected with the world, Mother Earth and her inhabitants. Now, I feel a kinship amongst all sentient beings and feel it should unite us all. No exceptions. No matter what.
Namaste, dude.
My Dad wrote 1979 to call to question many of the basic, day-to-day concepts that are harming us at least as much as they are perceived to help us. I love singing it and it's the first song I ever learned to play on the guitar. It inspired me to write 2020 in response, or perhaps as a sequel - even borrowing a verse from my Pop's song.
Despite the incredible woes ailing this world of ours, we have the power to perceive joy through action. It takes doing a lot of little things over and over again to make a difference. Just keep on keepin' on; it's guaranteed to add up to a great day.
2020
by: Allison
12 January 2017
Ever since I was small
My Dad would pose the thought
If we take this life for granted
How long can we keep the one that we’ve got
The rainforests and our oceans'
Our best defense against climate change
But in the name of tradition
We’re wiping them all away
Some people say we're still
The greatest power in the world
But what are those people gonna say
When our oil has been burned**
Deepwater is on the horizon
If we keep burning fossil fuels
There's only so much of a lot
No matter how you stretch the rules
What will a dollar be worth
If there's no one left to pay-
And what would you want to fix first
If the future happened today
We feed on a diet
That’s being fed stuff that it shouldn’t eat
While we stare in the face of the hungry
Who could use the corn and wheat
The cancer rate could be turned down
Like volume with a knob
If we'd lean on whole foods before medicine
As our means to do the job
Imagine all the cattle
Pigs, poultry, trees and fish
That could help maintain Earth’s balance
If we served awareness with each dish
When I think about it now
The solution is clear as day
But it flies in the face of all
That our parents were taught to say
So I'm making some changes
So obvious that they're basic
I don't want the afterlife
To serve as nature's Lasik