Sonnet for Dandelion Wine

A pride of lions in my yard so bold;
A common flowers no one sees, a weed!
And yet, a noble bloom of yellowed gold:
By June their nodding heads have turned to seed.

Hold summer in your hand, a tiny cup;
A glass of wine, the smallest tingling sip!
On heady green and golden summers sup;
Change seasons yet by raising glass to lip.

Yet in our winter's direst frost we taste
A silken summer's spill of fiery tales
When blowing snow bids body's sense be chaste
My wintry nose prefers a summer's ale.

Though winter's breath says I should be a-dyin',
I long for summer's gold in dandelions!

xo
Russell

About the project

A Discipline for Change

      The field of environmental education and communication is inherently predisposed to the idea of change. We are dissatisfied with our current reality, and are looking to acquire the knowledge, skills and experience to be more effective creators of a different world. In many ways, we are looking to tell a new story about humanity, and change our relationship with nature from one of dominance and control to one of interconnectivity and cooperation. This sense that there is something fundamentally wrong with our current way of life sits deeply within the psyche of all of us committed to finding a different way. Suppressing these feelings of anger, anxiety, despair and grief may be impeding our ability to truly work for the changes we are seeking in the world (Macy, 2006).  

      Why Silence?

      We chose silence as the primary approach for dealing with hope and despair because it was an experience that spoke to each us individually.  We recognized the courage it takes for individuals to become mindful and present in their lives, and saw its potential for positive transformation.  Outer silence is almost impossible to find in the modern world.   Our daily lives are usually full of distractions, time constraints and appointments. In addition, sound and light pollution adds to the daily assault on our senses. As a result, our emotions are often shoved beneath the surface because we do not have enough time to deal with them or to even find the tools to begin that inner work. We live in a time of moving very quickly through life (Orr, 1996). 

      As a group, we realized that our definition of silence for the purposes of this project went far beyond the standard definition of ‘the absence of sound’. We saw silence as a metaphor for a deeper connection to the inner self through contemplative practices that teach mindfulness, compassion and the interconnectedness of all life on Earth.

The Way Things Should

The Way Things Should

What will our children do in the morning?

Will they wake with their hearts wanting to play,the way wings should?

Will they have dreamed the needed flights and gatheredthe strength from the planets that all men and women need to balance the wonderful charms ofthe earth so that her power and beauty does not make us forget our own?

I know all about the ways of the heart – how it wants to be alive.

Love so needs to love that it will endure almost anything, even abuse, just to flicker for a moment.

But the sky’s mouth is kind,its song will never hurt you, for I sing those words.What will our children do in the morningif they do not see us fly? - Rumi

What if we can't change the world?

Ideas were flying all around the room. How can we better communicate about the marine environment if people can’t actually see what’s hidden in the ocean’s depths? What policy mechanisms could be used to address consumerism and overpopulation? What role can businesses play in the shift to a more sustainable economy? As the energy level rose and inspiration bubbled up about all the possible ways we could change the world, one question lurked menacingly in the background. No one wanted to give voice to the dark monster, until finally, Leigh quietly uttered our common fear: What if we can’t change the world?
And then it hit us. We all know it is there, somewhere beneath the surface. It is that feeling that the world is going to hell in a hand basket, and none of our efforts, big or small, can do anything to stop it. How can we prevent the world’s glaciers from melting, the fish from dying, the coral from bleaching, or the hungry babies of the world from crying if we are struggling with our own sense of grief and despair?
The question was so compelling we could no longer ignore it. This group came together out of a shared belief that learning to understand and deal with our sense of despair for the world would allow us to find a new sense of hope and an ability to move forward in the environmental careers that we each feel is our calling. As a possible direction toward solutions, we wanted to explore the idea of silence, of quieting the senses and stilling the mind to gain inner peace. Many great thinkers have said that finding inner peace is a pre-condition for seeking global peace. The Dalai Lama says, “World peace must develop out of inner peace. Without inner peace it is impossible to achieve world peace, external peace” (Lama, 1993). So then we asked, what could this mean for all of us?

Sense of despair

I’ve been living with the sense of despair since I was a little girl. I just didn’t know how to call it. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been feeling deep pain inside when I see destruction in nature. It took me many years to realize that not everybody in my surroundings was feeling the same way. That realization made me understand that some people had no feelings about their natural environment and therefore had no reason to protect it. I spent most of my childhood playing outside and learning about living creatures. I always felt good when I was in nature, but the sense of despair was always there. I decided to enrol in the Master’s program in environmental education and communication at Royal Roads University to understand and learn how to help myself and other people deal with their sense of despair. I’ve already learned a lot during the first two weeks of residency and despite the fact that I’m not sleeping many hours every night, I can still function the next day. I think my energy is coming from my professors, my colleagues and the fact that the campus is located in a beautiful natural environment.

Annica ~ May all beings be happy

This search began for me in October of 2008. At the beginning of my year-long intensive yoga teacher training program, I was told this process was going to change my life. I was encouraged to discuss my experience with the people that were close to me and lean on them for support. That year was much different than I had anticipated; I was rushing, stuck in traffic, flooded by billboards, consumerism and social justice concerns. I was left in a paradox of the life I was searching for, and the life I was living.

Nearing the end of the eight months, one of the teacher’s assistants shared his story of a 10-day silent retreat that he had been on, and how it had impacted his life. Ten days of silence? Ten days of silence, and ten hours a day of meditation? Will I be able to sit still for that long?

There were 3 steps that I had to follow while I was there (Vipassana, n.d.):

1. Abstain from killing, stealing, sexual activity, speaking falsely, and intoxicants
2. Develop some mastery over the mind by learning to fix one's attention on the natural reality of the ever-changing flow of breath as it enters and leaves the nostrils.
3. On the last full day participants learn the meditation of loving kindness or goodwill towards all, in which the purity developed during the course is shared with all beings.

Over the 10-days I went through a full range of emotions. The rollercoaster went from wanting to get in my car drive away and never look back to feeling a sense of comfort and ease, to finally wanting to return to my life to the people and community that I love and tell them how much they meant to me. Sitting with myself for 10-days was the biggest challenge of my life, and changed me fundamentally. The awareness, compassion and greater connection this practice brought forward for me was the beginning of my peaceful road, and desire to leave a “legacy of sustainable happiness” (O’Brien, 2005, p. 18).

The Drum Run

This blind-folded running meditation causes the individual to assess their levels of fear, uncertainty, and self-trust head-on. It is very simple to set up, extremely powerful, and appropriate for almost any age group. All you need is a drum, a blindfold, and an open, flat field.

Set-Up

The drummer and runner stand on opposite ends of the field. The runner puts on the blindfold and signals to the drummer when ready. If s/he chooses, the drummer can then move to anywhere (horizontally) along his/her end of the field.

The Run

When the drummer hits the drum once, the runner's task is to sprint across the field towards the sound. The goal is not to get to the drum but to just completely let yourself go and keep running as hard as you can. If the runner is going completely off course or in danger of running into something, the drummer will hit the drum again, once, to re-oriente the runner. When the runner has reached the end of the field, the drummer hits the drum twice to signal stop.

The amazing spectrum that comes out of this activity is fascinating. Even if some people choose not to do the run, they still all love watching it. Please try it out yourselves, even with just a friend or two. The experience is sure to tickle your insides!