February 28, 2025

I created this graphic a while ago. But as we are witnessing a horrific new world unfolding, I hesitated to post it. Waiting for things to settle down? Waiting for the right time? But things aren’t settling down and it seems every day is the right time. 

Every day is the right time to focus on the light people are holding in the world. A light they continue to shine through their actions. So a few more recent headlines of hope.

Child Marriages a Thing of the Past in Malaysia.
Australia on Track for 82% Renewable Energy Target by 2030.
Wildlife Returns to Britain’s Depleted North Sea.
Ecuador Creates Five New Conservation Areas.
Wind and Solar Overtake Coal in America in 2024.
Indonesia Kicks Off Free Meals for Children, Pregnant Women.
Zimbabwe Abolishes Death Penalty With Immediate Effect.
Lichtenstein and Thailand Celebrate Same-Sex Marriage Legislation.
After One Year of its New Initiative, a Colorado City No Longer
Has Any Homeless Veterans Living on the Street.

There is a new world on the way. Indeed already here. And if we listen, we can hear her breathing hope and possibility. Breathing social and environmental justice. Breathing love and compassion. Breathing for us….and with us.

Beannacht,
Judith

February 24, 2025

The headlines we don’t see.

Arctic Cleanup Removes 130 Tons of Trash, Aims to Improve Cleanups Worldwide.
Brazil’s Government and Indigenous Peoples are Restoring the Amazon rainforest.
Thailand Bans Imports of Plastic Waste.
To Combat Teacher Shortages, a School District in North Carolina’s Most Expensive City is Building Housing for Its Educators.
Democratic Republic of Congo to Create Earth’s Largest Protected Rainforest.
Countries Around the World Lifted Millions Out of Poverty in 2024.
Legal Wins for Climate in Montana and New York.

These headlines are all from January of this year. I easily gathered up twice this number from the good news sources I subscribe to. But most of these stories aren’t even a footnote in the mainstream media. There are people across this nation and around the world dedicating their lives and actions to good works like these. I suspect you are among them. In these times, it’s so important not to lose sight of that. 

Beannacht,
Judith

February 22, 2025

Like hammer on anvil, their voices rang loud and clear. Voices forged in the front line fires of social justice action. Voices tempered with fierce and righteous passion for their cause. Maud Gonne was such a voice. Carrie Chapman Catt was another.

It is sadly appropriate to share Carrie Catt’s voice as right now there are whispers and actions to disenfranchise women’s right to vote. Although rumored, project 2025 does not address this. But the SAVE bill currently moving through Congress does. This bill would make it difficult for many women to go through the process of voter recertification and reregistration. And many on the political far right are still weaving a narrative of taking away our right to vote that was forged into our constitution in 1920.

Carrie, sister, your voice still rings loud and clear. And yes, we give ourselves. 

Beannacht,
Judith

Carrie Chapman Catt was leader in women’s suffrage movement. She led an army of voteless women to successfully pressure Congress to pass the constitutional amendment giving them the right to vote and convinced state legislatures to ratify it. She also founded the League of Women Voters, served as president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, and was one of the best-known women in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century. She became ancestor in 1947.

February 19, 2025

Hard times require
furious dancing.

One month into this fascist regime and it’s clear we have already lost the world we knew. And while we now see that this loss has been coming for decades, the brutality of its arrival is staggering. And we are feeling lost. Yet is for us to hold fast to our values and visions and begin the dance of renewal. We must find the music. We must find the steps.

I have faith that we will. I have faith in the power of our dancing.

Beannacht,
Judith

Ursula Le Guin was an American author best known for her works of speculative and science fiction. Writing more than twenty novels and one hundred short stories, her work was influenced by cultural anthropology, Taoism, feminism, and the writings of Carl Jung. She became ancestor in 2018.

February 17, 2025

Farsighted
Intuitive

Dennis made this for me decades ago from chopsticks and newsprint. I don’t recall the exact occasion but suspect it was around the time I was sticking my neck out and shining a light in places it was neither appreciated nor welcomed. Most likely when I was the board chair of a local charitable foundation and calling attention to a deficit of mission and values aligned staff leadership and lack of organizational integrity in addressing those issues. Speaking truth to power doesn’t always go well. I was not the only one to resign from the board.

The resonance with what is currently unfolding in our government is not lost on me. Giraffe is a totemic temptation.

But giraffe wisdom isn’t just about sticking your neck out and speaking truth to power which many of us are, and will be, called to do. It’s about speaking and acting from a farsighted and intuitive visionary perspective. Being farsighted seems fairly obvious given a giraffe’s long neck. Intuition is perhaps less obvious.

In any animal, horns and antlers are symbols of antennae for higher mental faculties and perceptions. With the giraffe, there are actually three horns. The third, which looks more like a lump, is located just above the eyes. This placement is very significant as this is the area of the body associated with third or inner eye – the seat of higher intuition.

Giraffe wisdom counsels us to look above and beyond the atrocities that are unfolding every day and stay focused on the vision we hold for the future. A vision of compassion. Of social and environmental justice. Of hope and possibility. A vision of being in right relationship with the sacred, the Earth, and in community, local, national and global. We are most vulnerable when we lose sight of this visionary horizon.

When giraffes run, their legs and neck are a fluid movement of power and grace and agility. As we move to the future we envision, may we be such a fluid movement. May we aspire to intuitive heights. May we stick our necks out with wisdom and power.

Beannacht,
Judith

February 14, 2025

Hope.
An optimistic state of mind
based on an expectation
of positive outcomes.

It seems it’s going to take some time and we will have to navigate some truly dark times. But I hold fast to believing that compassion, social justice, and environmental justice will again be the guiding lights for our nation. 

Together and with hope, it can be done. Beyond all doubt.

Beannacht,
Judith

Eleanor Roosevelt was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States. She served as a United States Delegate to the United Nations General Assembly and took a leading role in designing the text and gaining international support for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. President Truman later called her the First Lady of World in tribute to her human rights achievements. She became ancestor in 1962.

February 13, 2025

I have no intention of becoming a spirit sandwich for the evil forces that are ravaging our nation. I know that the best way for me to protect my spirit and soul is to not allow myself to linger in the energies of fear and hopelessness. Not easy these days. But essential.

John Trudell was an indigenous rights activist, author, poet, actor, and musician. During most of the 1970s, he served as the chairman of the American Indian Movement. He became ancestor in 2015. 

So in this place where spirits are eaten, let us infuse this landscape with love and joy and optimism. Let us sing our soul songs. Let us dance to the rhythms of hope.

Beannacht,
Judith

February 11, 2025

A 13th century poet and Islamic scholar, Rumi’s wisdom is so familiar and so resonant. He became ancestor in 1273.

Friends, we are the light in these dark times. And together our shining is a brilliant light of hope and possibility. 

Beannacht,
Judith

February 10, 2025

Wise woman and wisdomkeeper, Wilma Pearl Mankiller was an activist, social work, community developer and the first woman elected to serve as Principal Chief of The Cherokee Nation. She became ancestor in 2010.

May we be among the happiest people as we stand for something larger than ourselves. Thank you, Wilma, for your footsteps to follow.

Beannacht,
Judith

February 9, 2025

Christopher Fry was an English poet and playwright. He was a major force in theater in the 1940s and 1950s. He became an ancestor in 2005.

Soul size. Indeed, may we hold fast a fire of passion for this work, this longest stride of soul we ever took.

Beannacht,
Judith