Reconstituting the World

Adrienne Rich

My heart is moved by all I cannot save:
So much has been destroyed
I have cast my lot with those
who, age after age, perversely,
with no extraordinary power,
reconstitute the world.

How can it ever be boring, at all?

Wise words courtesy of Steve Roggenbuck:

"We are animals on a rock in space. Sometimes we forgot that, because we have jobs, school, political systems, debt, law, clothes, television stations."

"Sometimes, I wanna shake people and say, 'Are you paying attention to what is going on? It's raining. Water is falling from the sky.'"

"And I mean we have the sunrise. And I mean, we have the pink light on the bottom of the clouds during a sunrise. And there used to be dinosaurs, on our planet. Probably in the place you are now."

"I like being around people who are dancing, because it seems like the closest that people usually come to directly celebrating the fact that they're alive."

"What I really want, is that moment when somebody brings it up. When somebody refuses to let pointless filler and formalities use up our time with each other. I just want somebody to say 'Hey, right now is our life. And I'm grateful that this is the one I get. I'm grateful that you are in it. I'm grateful that we get this moment together.' I just want to say that, and sometimes I'm too nervous to say it."

"..These are the moments when I know I'm fully alive. When I'm looking for it, I can find those moments all the time."

"And even when it means being fully sad, crying alone in my apartment after leaving my girlfriend of 6 years. Crying alone on a train after touring for 9 months."

"...I just stop and try not to think anything and just be in the place that I am."

"I don't want be in haze. I don't want to coast through any of it. I don't want to regret later that I didn't pay attention now. I don't want to sit through it like I'm waiting for something better."

"Sometimes, you can forget about the moon but then one day when you're walking out of a building, there it is in the sky.... and it kind of reminds you that you are on a rock in space, too."

"This is our family photo album. We are animals on a rock in space. We are part of this gigantic, confusing, brutal and awe-inspiring world. And it’s not boring to be here. And how can it ever be boring at all."

IPCC Working Group 2

Climate change report: 

five key points

1. Food threat

2. Human security

3. Inequality

4. No-one is safe

5. Hard but not hopeless.

Skeptical of the Guardian? Check out the IPCC Working Group 2 report.

Sixth "Great" Extinction

Sixth "Great" Extinction

Before you dream of me tonight,
 you must first know that we named a geologic era after you.
 You mark time by 3's
   -Species per hour, that is.
 The metronome has clicked 24 times since my morning alarm sounded.
 I heard you got the Western Black Rhino.
  -Pity

The dog wags his tail.
 He doesn't know about you.
 His kin are dying.
 My kin are dead.

We build our lives in squares.
 You take lives from circles.
 Lost voices echo off concrete floors
 And invade my dreams.

You're doing this.
 No,
 No,
 We're doing this.

Follow Up: How the World Works.... 5 Year Old

Mackenzie's birthday party was overwhelming probably because I over-invest myself. I feel the need to control things that I cannot control, and that gets pretty exhausting. Throughout the party, storms were moving through, it was cold, and at one point, Jacci point me in charge of some number of kids that all looked the same. The kids all screaming and the running.... uggh, I was spent.

When Mackenzie opened the polar bear, she'd already been bombarded with what seemed like a million other gifts. When she saw what it was, she shared, with everyone, the story about Bailey eating the polar bear. I'm sure she didn't know the new one was from me. Immediately, I was humbled. I'd been hoping replacing this toy would prove that I'm reliable, trustworthy, and a pretty cool Auntie. However, she was just happy to have a new polar bear.

And....
I also bought her the movie Dolphin Tale.

A few months earlier, I'd taken Mackenzie to see the movie and she still talks about how much fun she had and how much she liked the film. So when I was asking Jacci for gift ideas for her daughter, Jacci instantly said, you should buy her Dolphin Tale... Mackenzie still talks about it. (The thought hadn't crossed my mind...)

When Mackenzie opened this gift, she jumped and screamed and said she couldn't believe she got the movie. As soon as the family got home, she began asking when we could watch it.

The coolest part of her birthday, though, was that when I explained to Mackenzie and Caleb that I was going to leave and be gone in North Carolina for about "30 sleeps," they immediately wanted to turn the movie off and play with me. So, the kids and I played until they had to go to sleep. I put them to bed, and Jacci told me that Mackenzie mentioned getting Dolphin Tale as being one of the best parts of her day.

Lessons:

• Kids are pretty cool. Though they all tend to look the same when you don't know them.
• I should not be put in charge of massive amounts of little kids, even for a second.
• I shouldn't expect reactions from people, allowing them to react how they want to, not how I want them to.
• Taking time out to play with my niece-phews has, and will continue to, enhance my life.

How the world works to a (soon to be) 5 year old.

A few weeks ago, Mackenzie and I were playing in the yard. (Sometimes, my niece-phews bring their toys outside so they have a lot of options for their games.) Unfortunately, Bailey got super excited and chewed the head off of a small, plastic polar bear. Mackenzie discovered it and began to cry. Panicking, because I remember how much it saddened me to lose a cool toy, I told Mackenzie that since her birthday is coming up, I'd replace the headless toy (and proceeded to throw away the gross, slobbery one).

Yesterday, I was pacing the aisles of the Toys R Us when a worker directed me right to the same small figurine. The excitement of actually finding the toy soon faded when I realized that the stupid hard plastic mold of a polar bear was $8. What the hell? Eight dollars for something you can't cuddle or even watch on a television? Ridiculous. For a few seconds, I debated buying something else; something that she would use and love "forever." I know that she'll be bombarded by a million toys for her upcoming birthday and that the polar bear figurine would go unplayed with. I didn't want to fork over $8 when I knew I could find something cooler.... but, then, I had a realization....

I promised my niece that I would replace her polar bear. I didn't say, I'd only replace it if I thought it was appropriately priced. Although she's young and may not remember or even fully appreciate the polar bear in a few years, when she unwraps it in a week, she'll know that I kept my word and got her the toy. It's important for my niece-phews to understand that I'm someone who is worthy of their trust and that I'm not just saying things to say them. Mackenzie is perceptive and has an excellent memory. I don't want to be someone in her life who tells her one thing and fails to follow through; I know what that's like. I want this little girl to feel heard and validated. And, I understand that I'm perpetuating the materialistic culture in which we live, but I'm using it to follow through on my promise to a little girl.

Life, to a (soon to be) 5 year old, consists of the relationships she is building, the lessons she's learning, and how much fun she can have before the responsibilities of being an adult hit her. I'm thankful for having the opportunity to be such a big part of her life and watch her grow. Even if that means paying $8 for a little toy that will sit on her shelf.