The Unimaginable

If you are someone who is willing to witness all the pain and beauty in the world on a regular basis, you have probably known despair.

A few months ago we stopped living full-time on the road in our solar camper and we started working on a house we bought near Santa Fe, New Mexico.  Working non-stop on the house has been a labor of LOVE.  And we have been physically and emotionally exhausted from the process.  Writing has not been an option for me.  I was too tired to be inspired. 

  

                                                                                       HOME

                                                                               

But now, we are in our home and loving it.  It is quiet, solid, peaceful and warm and we are surrounded by incredible day and night skies, a kirgillion birds and snoring neighborhood dogs (all spread out on rugs and furniture around the house).  All of the unloved critters in the area found us within a day of us being here.  I cleaned and dressed their physical wounds and JC and I continue to put healing love balm on their emotional wounds daily. 

One of the neighborhood, previously unloved dogs, resting on the sofa.

Seeing the deplorable condition of the dogs and other animals in the area along with doing my usual research for my work.... and, on top of that being exhausted and breathing lots of toxic stuff while working on the house, was making me sink deep into despair.

And then, just as unannounced as the despair came, it is gone.  Intention is so powerful.  I decided yesterday that I would read a few Mary Oliver poems each morning and write down a favorite line.  Every time I read her poetry, there is some line that grabs me and gives me exactly what I need. 

Today’s line was perfect: “Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable”

I think much of our despair comes from not being able to imagine a bright outcome when we see the suffering humans are causing in the world.  So, for now, I am going to leave some room in my heart for the unimaginable….A world free of needless suffering...a world where the humans care about life on earth and act on that caring. 

With Liberty and Justic for ALL

Unless you were a feisty kid who was committed to only doing what you believed in or understood thoroughly, you probably grew up saying the Pledge of Allegiance.  

Not many people know that the Pledge of Allegiance has gone through some major changes since it was first written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy (a socialist).

The first version (1892) read:

“I pledge allegiance to my flag and the republic for which it stands: one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all.”

The second version read:

"I pledge allegiance to my flag and to the republic for which it stands: one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all."

The third version (1923) read:

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States and to the republic for which it stands: one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all."

The fourth version (1924) read:

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands; one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all."

The fifth version (1954) read:

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Under god wasn’t added until 1954. In a country that claims to separate church and state, this addition does not make sense.  But it also doesn't make sense to close all government offices for Christian holidays but not close them for Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish, Hindu or Jain holidays. 

The pledge was supposed to be quick and to the point.  Bellamy designed it to be recited in 15 seconds.  In his initial version he considered using the words equality and fraternity but decided not to because he knew it would not be approved by the state superintendents of education on the committee.  They were against equality for women and African Americans.

 

Through all these changes, I can’t help but notice that one part was not messed with:  “….with liberty and justice for all.”

I am surprised that no one thought to eventually change it to  “With liberty and justice for all humans.”  ….just to reflect the reality of our laws and social structure. 

 

Just like the golden rule, we somehow conveniently forget to actually pay attention to the literal meaning.  In the golden rule, Others means Others…all others.  In the Pledge of Allegiance, All means All.  The most accurate way to define all is probably “anyone who would benefit from liberty and justice”. 

Let your imagination run with that.  Who would benefit from liberty and justice?  All humans, all species, all life and the earth itself. 

It is much easier for me to imagine pledging allegiance to the earth and all life than to a piece of fabric with a design on it.  So, here is my suggestion for revision number 6 of the Pledge:

“I pledge allegiance to my earth home and all life which it supports. We are but one world, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.”

And just for fun, watch this little you tube ….

http://youtube/Q2BfqDUPL1I

 

Balance, It’s All About Balance

 

I know how busy everyone is, so let me make this as brief as possible. If you were at our green smoothie demo at Summerfest or you just love throwing a lot of kale in your smoothie, you will want to read this.  If you are a woman approaching menopause, going thru menopause or are post menopausal, you will want to read this. 

The following all relate to each other:

1-The smoothies I make typically contain the equivalent of one full bunch of raw kale. 

2-This year I discovered a creamy delightful unsweetened yogurt made by Whole Soy and was eating it by the case.

3-This year I discovered the joy of making “massaged” raw kale salads and have been eating a lot of them.

4-A few months ago I went from my usual complaint “I have way too much energy” to feeling like doing anything was too much effort.  My first full blown exhaustion.   In addition, my throat felt tight and I sounded like a cigarette smoker.  The exhaustion was accompanied by brain fog….forgetting even simple words.

After lots of research into possible causes, I decided that the symptoms could be thyroid related. 70% of menopausal and post-menopausal women have thyroid issues. My research into hypo-thyroid consistently came up with the same results:  Eating way too many raw cruciferous (cabbage family) vegetables (also known as brassica veggies) can be harmful to thyroid function.  Eating way too much processed soy can be the same.  

6 days ago I stopped eating processed soy and cut out all the raw cruciferous veggies to see if I felt any different.  I continued to make green smoothies but used wild greens, lettuces, parsley, and other raw non brassica greens.  Within two days I could feel my energy coming back.  By day 5, I was back to my familiar “too much energy” and I no longer sound like a cigarette smoker.

 

I will start including raw kale and some soy back into my diet, but in balanced proportions.

Let me just be clear.  I am not a doctor or registered dietician. And, this is NOT AN ANTI-SOY OR ANTI-RAW GREENS STATEMENT!

While I am in touch with how my own body is feeling, I do not know a lot about the physiology of a human body.  Before this experience, I did not even know exactly what the thyroid did or that it is shaped like a butterfly.

My conclusion after all my research and my own experience is that soy and raw greens are both healthy foods.  Soy is one of the best foods for hormonal balance in menopausal women.  Raw and cooked greens are great for healthy nutrients and minerals. 

And, too much of a good thing is….well….too much.

While nutrition is not my expertise or even my number one passion, I love the idea of healthy energetic vegans going out into the world and making it a more compassionate place for all species. 

 Here is how I want you to feel....

So, eat your raw greens and eat your soy and don’t overdo it!

Balance, Balance, Balance….It’s all about balance.

Here is a link to one of the many articles I found about this issue:

http://www.advance-health.com/HypoThyroid.html

Cow Love

 


We stopped on a road in New Hampshire and JC napped while Bean and I walked a dirt road.  We passed a gate with a large cow pasture.  Bean and I stood by the fence and I said quietly to the cows across the pasture, "We are working on it.  You won't be milk machines for long if we can help it."  And I just stood there feeling a lot of love for these long lashed big eyed beings.  They were all looking at us and when I spoke out loud, the leader of the herd came over to see what was up.  She sniffed Bean through the fence and then brought her sweet face up to me and licked me.  It was what you would expect of a dog.  Then the rest of the herd saw that there was something nice going on and hurried over to join us.  I had my arms out rubbing their heads and necks and eventually I had a dozen tongues licking my bare arms.  Exactly like a pack of affectionate puppies.  We love the little cute animals and disregard the older ones who we may not see the beauty in.  These cows loved the affection....couldn't get enough of it.  Of course.  They feel everything that the dog living under your roof feels.  Given the opportunity they love affection, play, relating to their favorite friends, feeling comfortable.....Given the opportunity they avoid pain and suffering....like all of us. 

I recently read a story about a cow who gave birth to a stillborn calf.  She was weak and in pain after the ordeal.  And still, she managed to get up and walk a long distance across miles of fields to find her own mother for comfort.  She was found in the distant field with her mother wrapped around her nuzzling her.  Their two large bodies like one.

I have lots of friends and family who still eat dairy.  What most of them do not know (or do not want to know)  is that dairy involves more prolonged suffering than the meat industry and that in fact dairy cows do end up slaughtered for beef.  So they just go through a longer captivity/slave period before being slaughtered.  Their babies are stolen from them so that humans can drink the milk.  This is just a small part of the suffering these gentle beings go through before being slaughtered.  I know that many people do not want to read about or watch the reality of the horrors we inflict on other species.  Not wanting to witness the violence is fine....IF you are not contributing to it in your daily choices.  For those who have already chosen a path that does not support this kind of cruelty, there is no need to witness the violence.  For those who still choose to support animal agriculture, at a minimum, please be willing to witness what you choose to support.  If it is too difficult to witness, you may want to consider not supporting it in any way.  Next opportunity, stand face to face with a cow.  Look her in the eyes.  Connect with her.  Then do all you can to ensure that her well-being is all you are willing to support.

Do You Feel Like Giving Up?

 

There are times when even the most caring educator or activist wants to throw in the towel and give up their outreach work.  If you want to stay motivated to be a voice for the voiceless in society, just keep your eyes open to what is going on around you.

Trust me: Your despair or hopelessness at seeing/knowing what goes on in the world behind closed doors and gates is nothing compared with the amount of suffering that these beings are experiencing….

I wouldn’t say my eyes are really wide open this week, but even so, I have watched bulls being sold at a roadside who were crammed together in a panic as they were being loaded into trailers from three different ranches.  I was out running and stopped to witness what was happening.  They all turned and looked at me.  I felt helpless.  What was being done to them was legal and I couldn’t stop it at that moment.

Today I spoke with relatives who found a dead mother mouse in their garage.  Soon after, they found the babies who were so tiny they were crawling on the concrete floor to try to get to the mother.  These were nursing babies.  They put the babies on a shovel and put them in the woods.  When I said that these were babies, this relative reminded me that they are mice and not cute like chipmunks and squirrels.  I then reminded this relative that even the not-cute babies suffer and need care.

This evening I went past a newspaper on the table and saw the story of the Minnesota Zoo killing a wolf who escaped his enclosure. 

 

There are plenty of incentives and reminders to keep speaking up for all species.  Keep your eyes open.

We have been waging a war on domestic and wild non-humans for most of history.  We do not have to.  It is not necessary for our survival to keep animals in enclosures, kill them for food, experiment on them, breed them or use them for entertainment.  We can choose a whole new path.  We can choose a path of caring and compassion for all beings. 

So, when you have those moments where you think your voice doesn’t matter or you are just feeling too sad or hopeless to continue doing outreach, remember who is counting on you.  Imagine yourself in their position.  You would never want those speaking out for you to give up because the work was too difficult or because they felt too sad thinking about you.  Do whatever it takes to keep yourself feeling healthy and strong mentally and physically. Then, take that strength out into the world and plant every seed of compassion you can.   

Three Lucky Dogs

                   

One of the hardest parts of being on the road is seeing the trucks filled with imprisoned animals being transported to slaughter or feedlots.

We are driving through Michigan right now and it is 95 degrees and humid.  I want to complain about the nasty heat and my sticky skin as we travel 4 hours today.  I just got a nice cool dunk in Lake Michigan and had a beautiful fresh fruit breakfast.  I know exactly how long our trip is and that it ends at a lake where all three of us can swim.  I am drinking water the whole way.  I have endless choices for making this ride more comfortable.

A truck packed solidly with pigs passed us.  I could see their noses sticking through any hole in the transportation trailer.  I watched them panting heavily.  I can only imagine the temperature in there with bodies so crowded there is no room for them to move and no air circulation around their skin.   The stench must be intense for them.  From the location printed on the truck, it looks like they have about 15 hours to go.  They don’t know that.  They don’t get the bathroom breaks, water breaks, snacks and walks that we get when we travel even just two hours.  Their urine and feces covers the floor of the truck and must be hell for their olfactory senses that are many times more sensitive than a dog’s.  Given proper space, they will never pee or poo anywhere near where they rest or eat.  They are also as smart and sensitive as dogs and have relationships with each other and other species.  Anyone who has visited one of the sanctuaries that rescue farmed animals knows that pigs love affection, freedom to roam, a good swim on a hot day and a great meal. 

Now I want you to imagine you are a prisoner (as these pigs are) who has committed no crime (as these pigs have not commited any crime).  

One day, without any notice you are loaded with all the other prisoners into a semi trailer (or slave ship or train car).  No one tells you why you are being loaded on the truck or where you are going or how long it will take. You are crammed in so tightly that you can barely move. There are holes on the side of the truck, but you are not near any and you are having a hard time getting any fresh air.  You do not know why you are being transported and you do not know when you will arrive at the destination.  You hope you will get food and water, but you have no way of knowing that.  It is in the 90’s and humid.  3 hours into the trip you are feeling tired of standing, but you don’t want to sit down on the floor covered in urine and shit.  The heat and the smell make you feel sick.  The truck has stopped twice, and the driver has been eating, drinking and using the bathroom, but never even checks in on you and the other prisoners.  At 5 hours into the trip you are so exhausted you find that you have slid down to the floor and are covered in urine and shit, both your own and your fellow prisoners.  When the driver stops, he parks in the sun and the hot foul odors attracts flies.  You are all covered in flies, many of them biting.  Everytime the truck stops you pray the doors will open and you will get some air and maybe water and food.  But it does not happen until many stops and 15 hours later, when the doors finally open.  Many prisoners are too sick or lame to walk out of the trailer, but you and the others are forced down a ramp with electric prods.  Some are crawling and dragging their legs to try to escape the pain of the prods. You notice that a few of the prisoners have collapsed and died during the trip.  You step over them.

OK, I will stop there.  I won’t take you through the next horrific steps in the death process for animals we call food.  Human prisoners in trains.

I would love a video monitor to be installed at every meat and dairy counter in every grocery store.  These would show the background reality for the animals who were raised, trucked and slaughtered for these “foods”.  (Yes, even dairy cows are slaughtered for meat at a young age.  And yes, their young are torn away from them so that humans can have the milk meant for their young.  And yes, the male calves are slaughtered immediately or are raised for veal…so don’t give me the “I am a vegetarian and that is enough rap) 

Downed veal calf unable to walk at slaughterhouse.

So, do you think knowing the reality would change people’s choices in the grocery?  I know that many people, including me, can view the horrors and then go into denial even a day later.  But what if it was right there in front of them as they pick up that package of bacon or chunk of cheese?  Are we capable of acting on what we know?  Some humans are capable of this, but even some of the best in terms of their values being consistent with their choices are not always consistent and responsible with their spending power. 

We are still cruising down the road.  The windows are open.  Bean, our dog, has the whole back seat and a dish of tofurky slices cut into little pieces and ice water to go with it.  We get out of the truck every hour and run around and find water for her to jump into.  There is no foul odor in the truck from her not being able to get out when she needs to pee or poo…..and although she doesn’t know how long we will be driving today, she knows there will be pleasure at the end of it.  In one hour we will arrive at the place we will park for the next week or so.  When we arrive, we will step out of the truck and race to the clear cool lake only a minute from our parking place.  We are so grateful.  We are three lucky dogs.

Vegan Tzatziki Heaven

I have had too many balls in the air to blog lately.  But I am never too busy to prepare food and eat !

This is for all you Tzatziki fans who have had to live without it since you chose the vegan path....Your ship has come in!  This is as good as you remember the old dairy version!

(Tzatziki is traditionally a Greek yogurt and cucumber sauce...this vegan version creates a whole new tradition...compassionate Tzatziki)

 

Makes about 3 1/2 cups. 

Ingredients:

-3 cups WHOLE SOY UNSWEETENED Yogurt (DO NOT try to substitute other non-dairy yogurts or any sweetened plain non-dairy yogurt.  Only Whole Soy is smooth enough and tasty enough and only unsweetened will work)
-Juice of one lemon (about 3 T)
-1 or 2garlic cloves, minced fine

-2 medium cucumbers, seeded and diced (I do not seed or peel mine)
-About 1 T  salt for salting cucumbers if you choose to do that step
-2 T finely chopped fresh dill (can substitute mint leaves for a slightly different version)
-Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
 

I am including the traditional Greek steps here and then letting you know when I do it differently.  

You can peel the cucumbers (I don't), then cut in half lengthwise and take a small spoon and scrape out seeds (I use the seeds). Discard seeds. (If you use the small seedless or European cucumbers with few seeds or you like seeds like I do, you can skip that step.) Slice cucumbers, then put in a colander, sprinkle on 1 T salt, and let stand for 30 minutes to draw out water (I don't do this step either :). Drain well and wipe dry with paper towel. 

Greek style: In food processor with steel blade, add cucumbers, garlic, lemon juice, dill, and black pepper. Process until well blended, then stir this mixture into the yogurt. Taste before adding any extra salt, then salt if needed. Place in refrigerator for at least two hours before serving so flavors can blend. (This resting time is very important.)

My version: Just slice or cube the cukes and put all the ingredients together.  

Chill.

This will keep for a few days or more in the refrigerator, but you will need to drain off any water and stir each time you use it.