whale talker

A gift from my daughter Kersti this morning

Every semester before teaching environmental science at Mendocino College I had to make a decision as to exactly what would be my method for instilling the importance of the subject to my students. There were two avenues that I had whittled it down to after 20 years of teaching. One was to use The Mother Earth Theme, the other, The Careless Disregard theme….one to awe, the other to frighten. I never knew which I would choose until I met my first class and the disposition (hopes) I had at the time. Worked well for me and my students too I believe. In this Solstice post I had to make the same type of decision. The incredible beauty and peace I am finding in my life here in my beloved Mexico or a more serious post, not to necessarily frighten but to nevertheless embrace my responsibility as an ELDER (I am now 70) and “speak my truth” as I was encouraged to do by one of my Native American Mentors some years ago. I will do both.

I will begin with the “good stuff” and those of you who have heard enough about the many difficulties we face can skip the second part.

Pre-Dawn Solstice Fire at my place

Today is The Winter Solstice. It is the MOST ancient communal celebration in the entire history of humankind throughout the world……..ALL peoples, everywhere! Reversed in time with The Southern Hemisphere but nevertheless shared. It pre-dates the communal celebrations of The Mythical Religions (Judaism, Christianity and Mohammadanism et al) by at least 20,000 years, and that is very conservative. Please reflect then on this day, it is to celebrate the “returning” of The Sun.

The Humpbacks are definitely beginning to show up here in my grid. Almost every day for the past week or two people have been seeing them in front of El Cardonal, Punta Pescadero or Las Tinas. Not many, one or two at a time but they are here, and I of course rejoice.

I was lucky enough with my friends the other day, to come across a lone Humpback about two miles out while kayaking in The WZ. That was EXTRAORDINARILY lucky and we were able to get within about 300’ of it. It fluked up 3 times during our encounter and at one point must have gone just underneath us (no telling the depth) before continuing out of our area. With me was Charlie and his son Danny and daughter Carolyn and Robert with his daughter Jinny. A fine group of people and strong kayakers as well as being adventuress, great day for me for sure. Three days later I took them out with me in the panga for a real search but we didn’t see anything.

My dream world has been very active the past few weeks with lots of Dolphin and Whale images. That is partially due certainly to the anticipation of The Whale Season and also because I have finally started writing my Whale Book. I am into the second chapter already and I think it is going to be a most delightful project. I believe my last post got my creative juices flowing and I am excited about what will come from this.

Here is the most well remembered Whale Dream

I’m on a big sail boat in The N. Pacific, heavy seas, icebergs, I’m at the bow with “tourists”. There is a big breach in front of us, big wave too, I think dangerous. Then 3 HBs breach in front of us, I call down below to get everyone on deck, one kid is on outside of bow and in a precarious spot. I tell him to get back in, he won’t, suddenly a whale breaches right next to him and he’s overboard. Seas are too rough and cold for me to just jump in…….moral question of diving in or not, water not clear enough to see him. My son Zack is there in the bow and I ask him to stir, I finally dive in but can’t see the kid, a grey whale swims next to me, I know this is the whale that dislodged the kid, the whale is sorry, wants to help, I have no mask, can’t see anything, Navy arrives, I’m pulled out, I have no suit on, get my black one, then find I’m walking into a church (?) to be interviewed, and then dream deteriorates.

Here’s the critters I would be studying if I wasn’t doing Whales. This was sent to me by my daughter Kersti indicating the totem spirit she sees as hers. So right on!

Here is another picture she sent recently, incredible what nature offers us genetically sometimes.

Albino Peacock

And how about a REAL dragon

And for those of you who read The Tintin Books to your kids, isn’t this a nice vision?

Ok, now for the other stuff.

These are some things to consider as we approach Christmas and the coming decade.

The 6 Walton children (Walmart) have more wealth than the bottom 30% of Americans COMBINED

The Banks have melded into a small group of very powerful people,

and are perpetuating and encouraging the incredible gap between the First and Third Worlds.

The environment is eroding faster than any of us in The Sciences anticipated and it is due to The First World’s consumerism and the fuel needed to provide the goods. We MUST stop using FOSSIL FUELS completely at some point. The Planet is a CLOSED SYSTEM, there is no faucet out there to let in clean air and water, nor a drain out to The Cosmos for our garbage. Think NEW PARADIGM.

When you have an arbitrary economic system that has at it’s core, not only an accommodation for greed but an encouragement towards greed, and masked as somehow equivalent to Democracy, Justice and Freedom, you cannot but have social injustice.

When you have a government beholding to corporate power and a corrupt banking system that denies basic human rights and dignity, you cannot but have social injustice.

When you have a common religious mythology (Judeo-Christian-Muslim) that implies sin, retribution and superiority as acceptable tenants of belief, you cannot but have social injustice.

When you have a professional military that is ready to invade any country, torture it’s enemies, turn on it’s own people and devise increasingly heinous means by which to kill, you cannot but have social injustice.

The only FREEDOM is freedom from the above!

LOVE THE PLANET, FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHTS, BE JUST AND KIND