A day in NYC

Sena, Aiyana and their friend Ella wanted to go to NYC for a fun day. So we did. We walked from Grand Central Station to Washington Square Park and stopped in a few places on the way. Food was a big highlight, of course. We stopped at Eataly and had quite the treat. We also had Cuban food just before getting back on the train to go home. It really was a fun day, and I'm glad they wanted me to be the one to take them.
This one's for my mom.

Today we're heading to a protest in our local community, coordinated with others across the country, to end family separation.

Peace 

Self deception

We're all trying to feel good about ourselves, and there's a lot of motivational/ inspirational material out there supporting our efforts in this regard.

But this is also very important: If we deceive ourselves, we risk using all the feel good/ accept yourself stuff as just another prop for our ego and for avoiding the unpleasantness of our life. In the long term, this only creates more problems for ourselves and those we are close to. I'm speaking from experience. I am swimming in self deception.

Here's what Pema Chodron says:

"The essence of bravery is being without self-deception. However, it’s not so easy to take a straight look at what we do. Seeing ourselves clearly is initially uncomfortable and embarrassing. As we train in clarity and steadfastness, we see things we’d prefer to deny—judgmentalness, pettiness, arrogance. These are not sins but temporary and workable habits of mind. The more we get to know them, the more they lose their power. This is how we come to trust that our basic nature is utterly simple, free of struggle between good and bad."

Peace 

Thank you for coming out last night!

BIG THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU

who came out to support the single use plastic bag ban at last night's Town Council meeting, and all who took the time to write, share, or think on this issue.

You can see a recording of the meeting here. The public spoke starting at minute 6:50 and ending at minute 52. Sena spoke at minute 13:30, and I at minute 35.
http://townhallstreams.com/stream.php?location_id=69&id=15051

In total 15 people spoke, 14 in support of the ban, and one neutral. That is more than I've ever seen speak on any one topic in all the previous Town Council meetings I attended. I was especially moved by the range of speakers: from elementary school to 84 years old, from academics to farmers to clergy and so on.

I feel that the meeting had a very positive outcome. Town Council voted to form a subcommittee and review the proposed ordinance for banning single use plastic bags in Mansfield. After they review it, there will most likely be a public hearing.

Very encouraging also, it was mentioned at last night's meeting that Windham is considering following suite and proposing a similar ban. This is so great! Windham people, please support this in your town.

Thank you so much again to everyone who put time and energy into this. It is really encouraging to see so many people care.about the effects that our actions have on the environment and our future.

Spirals

My beautiful conch inspired me to write this little poem last night:

Mansfield residents, Monday is your chance to make a difference

If you are a Mansfield resident, you have a great opportunity to make a difference this coming Monday. If you're not a Mansfield resident, read on anyway, and take action in your own town or community. The Mansfield Town Council has agreed to discuss the single use plastic bag ban at their meeting this coming Monday, June 25th, 7pm, Mansfield Town Hall, Council Chambers. Please come and voice your support for this issue. There are some who oppose the ban, and so the Town Council needs to see us and hear from us in order to vote in favor of this ban. Here are the meeting agenda, packet, and supplemental materials. If you cannot come to the meeting, there is still time to let Town Council know in writing that you support the ban. You can email them at TownClerk@mansfieldct.org. It does not have to be a long, fancy email, just a short statement saying you support the ban is sufficient; but if you feel drawn to discussing your reasons, or going into more details, that is great too. Please do what you can to help, and let me know if you have any questions. Thank you so much if you have already taken action or are planning to. Also, feel free to share with others.

For my mom and dad

My mom says that the first thing she does when she wakes up in the morning is check my blog. So this picture is for her, because I know she likes everything in it, and I hope it makes for a nice start of the day.

And it's also for my dad, who's currently in Romania, taking mud baths, which he does every year as therapy for his back and neck pain. He says they really help, and I think they must, because my dad is in really good shape health wise.

So after milking Jasmine this morning, I had my breakfast outside in the company of my flowers, as you can see:

Bread with my homemade cheese from Jasmine's milk (she's been giving me 1.5 to 2.5 gallons every morning), and sour cherry jam from Romania. I need my own sour cherry tree. Too good.

Oh, and coffee of course.

See how the marigolds and nasturtiums started to bloom?

Peace 

A source of light

When you find yourself in a difficult spot in life, as we all do at times, remember that you can't get out of the darkness by only focusing on fighting the darkness. You also need to find a source of light to move towards.

There is light inside you and light outside you. Pay attention, and when you find it, move towards it. Keep moving in that direction, one step at a time.

And also, remember to honor both  the light and darkness in your life, as they both have things to teach. We are not unidimensional beings.

I hope you enjoy this beautiful time of year, when light is at its strongest. Summer solstice days.

Peace 

Our work

Our work is to put positive energy into Indra's net. Indra's net is a great metaphor for the fundamental life force that sustains all of us and for our intrinsic connections to each other and everything that exists past and present.

How we put positive energy into that is through our contributions: actions, thoughts, prayers and the quality of our consciousness. This is our work. But we must unlearn a lot of our conditioning before being able to fully contribute all we can.

I don't believe in different worlds. I believe in one world, this one. But I do believe that there's a lot more to it than most of us perceive with our busy, distracted, tired minds. Yet, with intention and practice, our awareness can improve. So keep trying, keep wanting to be awake and make a difference, and that's enough to get you started.

Peace 

Indra's net

Indra's net

Emptiness 

Look inside and see 

Nothing is separate 

Everything is linked to everything 

You and I 

Sharing beauty and setting intention

Not trying to brag and show you how perfect my life is, because you know I have my darkness too; but I'm just moved by how beautiful everything is right now and want to share it with you.

This was my Sunday morning coffee in my special corner on the porch. If you want to make any space beautiful and lively, just plant some flowers. Could be in the ground or in pots. They do so much! Here I have nasturtiums, marigolds and geraniums, all very easy to care for.

I love this swing 

We made a small perennial garden for attracting beneficial insects and for beauty right out by the farm sign. The plants are really small right now, but I'll post more pictures as they grow.

Catalpa tree, insanely beautiful, and the smell is enough to transport you 

Blueberries coming along

I also wanted to ask you to meditate or contemplate or pray or take action this week, focusing your intention on the healing of the earth and all our human and non human relatives. Many indigenous people will be doing the same as summer solstice approaches.

Peace 

Stop separating children from their families at the border

Please take a moment to write a short note to your representatives in Congress (find out who they are and their contact info here), asking them to stop the horrible practice of separating children of undocumented immigrants from their families at the border.

Below is what I wrote; please feel free to copy it if you want, or compose your own.

Dear Senator,

As a constituent, I am writing to ask that you do everything in your power to put an end to the horrific practice of separating children from their families at the border.

The law that allows authorities to separate children from their families because they are undocumented immigrants is a violation of basic human rights and dignity, and every parent's worst nightmare.

We cannot let this continue. Please, as my representative, do all you can to stop this awful practice and help reunite the children that were taken away with their families as soon as possible.

Thank you,

Raluca Mocanu

Let them open you

Let whatever difficulties you are facing right now break you open to the beauty that is all around us, freely given, part of just being here.

Let whatever you experience or witness, all that we consider ugly or difficult, strengthen your resolve to love the world and shine your own light in your own way.

Thank you to everyone who's trying. 

May we walk in beauty.

Peace 

The little things that make up our lives

Bunchie says let me in (even though he knows he's supposed to be an outdoor cat)

A little corner where I like to have my breakfast. It's already beautiful to me, because of all the green, but when the nasturtiums and marigolds in those pots and cracks bloom, it's going to be crazy. I'll post more pics as things change.

A wall of sugar snap peas. They're about 6ft tall, and should be ready for harvest next week.

And those tomatoes keep growing so fast, I can barely keep up with pruning and trellising them.
Always so grateful to the earth for the beauty and sustenance it gives us.

Have a great weekend, friends!

Peace 

Monterrey and Middle eastern food

I really like this picture of Aiyana in Monterrey. It was at the Airbnb we stayed, and she would just go and hang out with the dog who lived there, Buddy. I think this picture represents her well- she's always been drawn to animals.

I also like this picture because it brings back good memories. This was a little Lebanese restaurant we ate at, just 4 tables, but the food was outstanding. I love middle eastern food and I recommend this restaurant if you're ever in the Monterrey area. Everything was home made, and the baklava was amazing.

And speaking of middle eastern food, we have a great place right here in Mansfield. The owner is Egyptian and very nice. The food is great too. I love their chicken shawarma. Even better, I told the owner that I would really appreciate it if he'd support the plastic bag ban currently being considered in Mansfield, and he said yes! I think as customers we have a lot of power with the business we go to. So you can ask the businesses you shop at to support the ban too.

Peace 

I work for her

I had another dream last night that reassured me about the joy and purpose of my life, and who I work for. I work for her.



Image is from Avatar. I love this movie so much.

Peace

Garden

Love is like a garden. Love is in us already. Love for ourselves, others, human and non human, for the whole of life. Just love.

Keep tending to your inner garden, give it plenty of space and sunlight, give it time, give it your energy, and one day it will take over the walls of resistance that you may have built within yourself, and it will set you free. I do believe that.

Peace 

In Willington with my mom

My mom is here in CT, staying at our house in Willington. She's really loving it there as usual, and I am very happy that we have this place where she can get away from the city and be out in nature a little more. She seems so happy, working in the little garden she made, sitting outside looking at the birds, reading and doing beading. Simple things but very healing.

The girls and I went to visit her yesterday afternoon, and we had a pretty big photo shoot. My mom said thank goodness we live in the age of photography when we can capture these moments. She looks at the pictures when she's back in Canada, especially in the winter when it's hard and she often feels depressed. She said the pictures make her feel better.

I too am grateful for being able to capture good memories like this, in pictures.

Peace 

Exciting news

In April, I was officially elected to the board of directors of the Willimantic Food Coop, and last night I attended my first official meeting as a board member.

I think that I'm going to learn a lot, and hopefully contribute a lot too.

If you're not already familiar with the coop, here's some info about it:

https://www.willimanticfood.coop/

Peace 

Farm pictures

Heirloom tomatoes coming along

This is what my hands look like after I trellis and prune tomatoes 

Preparing carrots for delivery 

Froze almost 4 gallons of strawberries

The adorable Jacques

Peace 🍅 🥕 🍓 🐮 

Within-without

Sometimes you feel a mess on the inside, but you sit with that and pay attention and see how life moves. You trust and honor your life as your teacher.

Look around you and see that there is always new growth and nature never wastes anything but always transforms even the most toxic things, the most toxic situations, in time, to new growth and new life.

These are some thoughts that come to my mind when I look at this picture. I took it in Castroville, California. It was a place we stayed at, a mansion that had once been beautiful but was now falling apart. Even so, there was something I really liked about it, especially the contrast of the crumbling structure with the lushness of untended natural growth outside.

Peace 

Mansfield residents: Time to take action!

Dear Shundahai friends and Mansfield residents,

The Mansfield Town Council has agreed to discuss the single use plastic bag ban at their meeting on June 25th, 7pm, Mansfield Town Hall, Council Chambers. Please come and voice your support for this issue. The Town Council needs to see us and hear from us in order to vote in favor of this ban. If you cannot come on June 25th, then please make sure to let Town Council know in writing that you support the ban. You can email them at TownClerk@mansfieldct.org. It does not have to be a long, fancy email, just a short statement saying you support the ban is sufficient; but if you feel drawn to discussing your reasons, or going into more details, that is great too.

Many of us want to make the world a better place; we want to contribute and make a difference, but we’re not sure how, and we often feel overwhelmed and disempowered by the sheer magnitude of the problems facing us.

I believe that if we start working at a small level, in our own personal lives and in our own communities, then we have the greatest chance of having an impact and making a difference.

This is a small action that you can take right here in your community, but one that can have large consequences.

Banning single use plastic bags in Mansfield, by itself, will not solve the plastic garbage pollution problem that our earth, oceans and food chain face. However, local bans such as this one can set an example for other towns in CT, and together with other places in the world, which are doing their part to help, we can make a big difference.

Please let me know if you have any questions about any of this, or if you would like more information on plastic pollution in general and its effects on all of us.

Thank you so much for your support with this issue, and feel free to share with others.

Here's a little sweetness for you to end this note. Jasmine's new calf, Jacques.

Peace

Wide open

Live with an open hand 

Take what you need 

Give all you can 

And do not try to hold 

Or clench

Experiences, possessions, titles 

They slip like grains of sand

around your fingers

An open hand is generous

Accepting

Nothing to hide

Nothing to hold on to

Just is

Wide open 

Peace 

The happiest picture

I love this picture so much. It makes me laugh, and it makes me happy. Our friend & Aiyana's mentor, Keri, from Iris Creek Farm took it yesterday.

Sena and Aiyana were at her farm, helping with the animals, while I did my deliveries to New London. I guess at one point, they wanted to move the llama, Soren, from one pasture to another. Sena's got him on the lead. But then, the miniature horse, Pico, which Aiyana's got, wanted to come as well. Eventually Moses, the sheep, Ruby, the donkey (all the way in the back), and the two goats upfront, whose name I always forget, all wanted to come. So they all went in this crazy, adorable procession, from one field to another. Doesn't everyone look so happy?

Peace

My good friend, fear

From Smile at Fear by Chogyam Trungpa:

"The journey of working with fear takes place slowly and repeatedly as you go along the path...

... it's crucial to understand how to combat the fear by going further into it and then coming out. None of us should regard ourselves as being trapped. From this point of view we are free. We can do what we want to do....

Even if you experience great fear, you can go in and out of it."

This is a scarab I found yesterday. I love scarabs as a symbol of transformation. They are humble and work closely with the earth, doing their essential work of taking dung and other garbage and helping turn it into new soil, fertile and life giving.

They take that which no longer serves and turn it into something that can support new growth. Isn't that amazing? May we find ways to do the same.

Peace