One day it will look like this

One day it will look like this, originally uploaded by veggy.

People used to think i was crazy when 12 years ago i announced that i was going to stop eatting meat. I got lots of questions and lot's of " I could never do that", and ultimately i thought i couldn' do it either. As the years have gone, and the public consciousness has shifted our awareness has grown. People don't think i am crazy anymore, people are realizing that knowing where there food comes from, and what they put into there bodies is as important as many other issues facing us.
As humans in a North American culture of a 'gotta have it" attitude our livilhood stems from so many sources. Having grown up playing in the wooded area of West Coast of Vancouver Canada, i have known my whole life that everything is ultimately connected. Going on road trips through some of the old growth forrests only to be heart broken and bewildered even as a child to pass by the huge clear cuts. Even as a child i felt violated. From the forrests come the circulation of all life: carbon, nitrogen, water, hydrogen, and on and on. The layers of life, and light are unending and mystifying. Yet even with this deep understanding, we flip through newspapers, sit in our beautiful homes, and eat sushi with chopsticks not even aware of this connection. Ideally the more we are aware, the more we interact with this nature and appreciate it for what it is and what it gives us, the better we can just leave it as it is. One of the main reasons the city i live in get's voted the most beautiful or the best city to live in the world is because of the amount of green space and forest, yet it get's little credit or honor. People are quick to clear out areas where trees grow or get in the way. The city takes another victim, and in the far away places that most of don't see, they take victims constantly with hopes we don't notice. Well we notice, and want that to change.

Every day is Earth Day

sigh, originally uploaded by veggy.

There was a time when i would wake up way to early and breath in the fresh (usually a bit to cold!) air, load up the plane, and cross the mountains. What an amazing life i have led! To encapture the feeling of flight through man made ways. If only there wa sa way to do it and not harm the enviroment. Tomorrow is earth day, which is kind of weird thing to celebrate because i consider everyday earth day. Earth has always been one of best friends, even though i do still harm her everday. My horse and buggy is on order, and my days of travelling to far of lands are numbered but that's ok. The choices we make are changing, because inherintantly we know now that every little bit counts.
Do you know your toilet paper rolls can be recycled? So often i see them in the garbage, it's paper, so recycle it!

Holding on

Holding on, originally uploaded by algo.

I keep thinking about meditation. I guess because it's such a simple thing, yet sometimes the hardest thing to do. City life leaves little space for the calm, centred time where you can reflect and connect with you inner most spirit. Getting to a yoga class is usually the hardest part of my day.. but now meditation. I have lost count of the amount of people that have come up to me and have said " you look so great" , "you look so calm" , "you sound so calm". Some of these people don't know i have been away meditating or am continuing to meditate. But these comments alone are proof that something is happening. I know i feel it, but the reassurance (dam you ego!) makes it feel even better. Who doesn't want to be a better person? A calmer person? A less stressed person? I think meditation could be the magic something that everyone is searching for and can't seem to find. I was shocked to find out the ages of the people i was working with at the meditation retreat. Everyone looked way younger then i thought. Naturally, less stress equals less aging. This of course is a pretty vain reason to meditate, it's just one of the after effects of all sorts of wonderful of things. I attended a meditation at my local yoga studio yesterday and what i loved most of all, was that people were asking questions, and having tea and conversations after. Already one mediation and we are talking about freeing and enjoying ourselves rather then running out the door to our next appointment. May you all be happy.

Meditation and Menstrual Cramps

Fotohikari - Ethereal #2 Dao, originally uploaded by Cwithe.

I just returned from my second summit into Vipassanna land. I decided to serve the course and ended up working in the kitchen, make fabulous food full of metta for 50 meditators, two of which were my parents. I have decided to join and sit in a local group on Vancouver to keep up my practice, but i had an added challenge on my last sit.

The joy of being a women and having my uterus contract as it removes it's lining isn't something that i would consider fun. But i have done an amazing job of being present and watching the sensations in my body as they arise and then watching them fade away. Like waves on the ocean during a storm, the storm passes. It actually has been a great tool, and who knew! To remain equanimous and not react and curl up in a ball. To not be vocal and add attachments to verbal negativities was the hardest. How does complaining about it, make it better? It doesn't! I know this isn't something that half of you can relate to, but this month it's become a tool. Peace and Metta to you.