A few days ago, a friend sent a link about voting for the White House Farmer.  I thought, for a moment, that the only thing in question was which organic farmer was going to be chosen.  - And what an amazing reaction I had!  Tears ran down my face, even as I researched and discovered that it was still only an idea (though a VERY good one!)

I spent a chunk of my childhood close to Washington, D.C., in nearby Maryland, where I went on the White House tour with my grade school class.  To imagine THAT girl (me!) seeing a gorgeous garden of produce, growing right there on Pennsylvania Ave….

Our mothers, in the ’50s and  ’60s, valued canned peas and frozen carrots and “instant” potatoes and powdered milk  (they were new-fangled).  Not a mother I knew growing up had food she picked for dinner.  That was old-fashioned, growing things. I was so unused to home garden produce that, in one of our military “home” incarnations, my mother grew mint on the side of the house, and I found that quite exotic and wonderful.

What a potent message it would be for hordes of school children to see Obama Organics during their tour!  Children hear us blather about what we believe we’re all about, what we’d like to believe our values to be.  But they SEE what we DO.  Having an organic garden on the White House lawn would be the biggest statement of our TRUE values that we could possibly make to the children.  (They understand food so much better than they do fuel, banking, and the like!)

• It would say to them that food is more important than lawns (it IS);
• that healthy soil, the soil that grows our food, is of concern to us all, ALL the way up to the top; and
• that small scale, organic farming is not a thing of the past, but is having a resurgence with this resurgence publicly on display for tourists with cameras, who though they may not speak English, will need no translated signs to show them what that garden really means.

Thanks to Michael Pollan, whose idea which has inspired so many…

I’d been so very zen in the many months leading up to the election.  Que sera, sera!  Whatever will be, will be. I was calm and surrendered - and ready! Prepared for any untoward surprise -  another stolen election, martial law…

But a different kind of surprise was in store for me:  I was anxious!  Not wanting to be by myself, waiting for the results, I looked online to find an appropriate election party.  Not hard to do, in Seattle!  By the time I got into the inner sanctum of The Showbox (scores of people were turned away; I waited…), well, by that time, CNN had called the election.  Skeptical (not wanting to be unprepared and taken by surprise), I held back until I heard that Obama Had Taken Florida.  I became unglued, crying, joyful.  HOPE-ful, and in a room filled with radiant, joy-filled strangers, all fans of, and some actually employees of - The Stranger, the host of our party.

When I left, walking the one block up 1st Avenue toward Pike Place Market, I passed a homeless man, muttering to himself. But when I listened carefully, I realized what he was saying!  It was:  “Freedom……  Real freedom……”

Within 5 minutes, though, it was too LOUD to hear anyone muttering quietly to themselves.  Cars and cabs drove by, honking, while people whooped and hollered, hugging strangers…. Then the same cabs came by again, with the same passengers, cheering, waving, over and over again.  I knew that the inhabitants of these cabs were racking up quite a tab, and that they weren’t the kind of people who could easily support such an expense.  But I also knew they would never regret their choice, this night.  TONIGHT.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi used to compare meditation with pulling the arrow back on the bow:  pulling the arrow in the  opposite direction prepared it for stronger, more focused action later.   My time in San Francisco was like that.  There was time spent with my powerful (and beloved!) daughter, Sophia, being an integral part of her life and budding art career (www.sacredmuse.com), but, other than that, it was time spent pulling the arrow back on the bow:  not much looked like it was happening.

Now, back in Washington, called back by the siren’s song of Seattle and, indeed, the entire Puget Sound (it’s quite a chorus!), I see the results of the apparent “nothing” I was doing in San Francisco.  During my last night there, spent in Sophia’s tiny studio apartment, I hardly slept. Blissful, divine energy pumped through me and a renewed life-focus strongly resurfaced, clarified and intense.  The frustration of San Francisco, the backward-seeming time spent there had resulted in a strenghtening of my resolve to be free, to spread freedom - - and to become a stronger beacon of darshan, which required a deeper surrender.  I gave it.  I gave it my all, and cried in bliss and gratitude.

Everything had been increasing in “juice”, in flow, as I had approached my return to Washington state.  The wind was perfectly positioned at my back; suddenly every move I made resulted in three steps forward instead of just one. The “backward” steps I’d been taking in SF, where every forward attempt resulted in the reverse direction, was suddenly paying off.

So - Don’t assume you know what is happening.  …And when you want to lock into judgement of what is - or is not - occuring, remember those times when, with the broader perspective of time and experience, you’ve been grateful for what, at the time, seemed like cold, hard knocks! God invented tough love!!

I’m looking for a really smart tech person (I am not skilled in that department!). For blog issues, website work, computer questions, and the like - not necessary to have design or artistic ability, just the ability to implement it!

I’d like an ongoing relationship, where I can call or email you with problems or new projects, and you would help me in the next day or two (or three). Ideally, someone I could meet with in the Bay Area, as when tech-speech people ask me questions, I’m often not even sure what they’re asking me. Easier, then, when they are right there, looking at the same computer screen. (We could possibly use a webcam pointed at my computer screen as an alternative, if needed.)

My preference? Honestly, a younger person and a non-professional. From my experience, they’re more likely to be enthusiastic and to think outside of the box. Younger, non-professionals are more likely to tell you when they don’t know how to do it, and also less likely to want to do your website their way. Very fluent English is essential, as I am, as I’ve said, pretty lame at understanding tech talk to begin with.

If this is YOU - or someone you know - contact me: (415) 200-8292

I started to get emotional yesterday, thinking about my time here possibly ending on the 30th or 31st, but it doesn’t look as if I’ll be leaving that soon, after all. Interestingly, all the other energies from other places I’d been checking out - Bellingham, Washington and South Central Alaska (Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula) have all backed off, plans being cancelled or connections seeming to disappear. THIS place, though, keeps on coming, keeps on meeting me 2/3 of the way.  This morning, I was offered a little, primitive place with a great view where I can stay for nearly 2 weeks - Heaven! - with only 4 days to fill between “my” two places - no problem!
A miraculous life has met me here. I toured the north part of the island Wednesday, and by Sunday, had invitations to see the two favorite (private) spots I’d spotted! I’d also received a gorgeous gift from my new artist friend, Tina, and been befriended by Tracy, a warm, natural networker who works at the local paper.
I’m curious what the coming weeks will bring. And grateful, very grateful……….

What a difference a day makes!

As soon as I expressed my feeling of isolation here on Salt Spring Island, Heaven broke out all over, with connections everywhere and everywhen. It all began with a walk to Rainbow Rd. Trading in the late afternoon, where smiling, gorgeous Joanna made me feel right at home.

Then this morning came the jackpot! Carol, radiating welcome and extending her phone number; warm and funny Mark, and brilliant David, and Stephen (Steven?), who shared great conversation and company for a couple hours ’til I had to go. Went to Mark’s pottery studio later, at his invitation, and then back to the Roasting Company again, where I was recognized as the one who “spent so much time on the pay phone in the pouring rain” yesterday. Yes, that was me, on a pay phone without any shelter! Now I have that very same, cold rain to thank for yet another friend, Terry.

I have once again deliberately cut my roots, inviting Life to blow me where it wants me to go - - inviting “free-fall”, inviting the Universe to sew me, the Seed, in the most fertile soil possible.
I’m watching what’s occurring: wonderful reflections in my current community, to start with, so whether I stay or go, it’s enriching my appreciation for the community I currently call Home. Kind of like a re-commitment ceremony while staying to a years-old marriage, if I should stay right here, it’ll be on more conscious terms, having re-examined my options, once again deciding that this is what I want.

A couple weeks ago, I had a great, middle-of-the-night conversation with an author friend, another multi-tracker who told me of a correlation between our personality types and radio talk show personalities. She asked if I’d ever thought of doing a radio show. Hmmm…this is the second incarnation of that idea; I thought I had left it behind. Last year, I explored the idea of doing a very specific type of show. Now I’m open to more.

If you have any ideas about getting a radio show going, please share them with me. Right here on the blog is fine!