by Rebecca Jo Dakota
Listen to my heart. It’s wiser than my thinking mind.
When in doubt, go to the garden.
I am not naïve. I see what’s going on. It is painful to see this disruption and destruction of old paradigms and norms, even though I know it’s time for some of them to go. I am a witness to the immorality of the harm being done to humans, the Earth, and all her beings.
These mantras are definitely not about burying my head in the sand. I still have to show up at rallies, support candidates and causes, even listen to and talk with people who voted for the orange dude.
The weave of our social, economic, and environmental reality is coming unraveled, like an old flag in the wind. It’s flapping and coming apart. The fabric that arose out of patriarchy (sexism, racism, ableism, transphobia, homophobia, abuse of Earth, supremacy, and domination) is shredding. It’s not all exactly obvious, yet, but those energies are making their last hoorah.
Now is the time to weave a new reality. For me, I will use my creative cocoon to intentionally nurture a transformation of humanity’s consciousness. How will I nurture this new “flag”? By putting my energy and attention into what I want instead of this destructiveness. These are my intentions:
- To use my words to reframe what I’m seeing. For example, I say there is a global social shift in women owning their sovereignty and that queer people are showing up safely everywhere. Recognizing that religious institutions have given us bullshit about their sexual abuse, financial hoarding, and extreme mistreatment of Indigenous peoples, I instead honor that so many of us are finding new paths for our spiritual lives.
- To support life; see good, say good, do good; put love into action by being generous and shining my light; and I will seek ways to synergize and see humanity as One. To practice kindness towards myself, my partner, my friends, my community, my family, and strangers. I will smile and be kind. I will bake cookies with the neighbor kids.
- To turn to Mother Earth more and more. I will put energy into creating a beautiful garden that others will benefit from, full of happy poppies; sit beneath a peach tree or a pine tree to listen to what it wants to share; and look for ways to nurture our precious, loving planet.
- To weave a fabric of society based on respect, integrity, joy, creativity, abundance, health for us and the planet, and peaceful hearts. To have gratitude.
Live from my heart. Live in the garden of human kindness.
Rebecca Jo Dakota is an eco-feminist, writer, pie baker, and occasional Bad Ass. Dakota lives and gardens in Albuquerque with her partner.