I have been reflecting on the oil spill in the Gulf - the tragic impact on communities and ocean, and the call for change strike me as enormous. As I read articles from friends, environmental activists and religious/spiritual leaders alike, I am hearing more and more the resounding message that the spill is a wake up call, urging us to revisit our collective relationship with fossil fuels.
When looking at photos of the oil spill in the Gulf, I felt flooded with despair, sadness and hopelessness; the well-being of the Earth, the water, the people and animals are so deeply precious to me. When I consider the quantity of oil pouring out, I fear sometimes that the gulf between our actions and what we value is too wide. Yet today, connecting continually with the Earth, I feel more peaceful, calm, trusting.
Deep breath... Changing cycles, changing flows... On Wednesday, at another camp, we TRANSFORMED A SMALL PATCH OF MOUNTAINSIDE COVERED IN GARBAGE INTO A COMPOST AND VEGETABLE GARDEN IN ABOUT THREE HOURS. We were about 20-30 people. MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORK!
It is so clear to me in Haiti how interconnected all of these things are. So many of these issues are connected in self-perpetuating cycles...
Approximately 98% of Haiti has been deforested (connected to farming cash crops and collecting wood for cooking fuel) = less transpiration from trees = less rain = farmers have more difficulty farming = some farming families can't grow enough for themselves to eat (25% of farmers in one study said they have to buy food all the time). Deforestation also = loss of top soil due to erosion = even more difficulty farming.
In French, the verbs for crying (pleurer) and raining (pleuvoir) seem pretty close - je pleure (I'm crying) and il pleut (it's raining). I've also often wondered why the weather is preceded by "il" (he) and not "elle" (she). A few weeks before our trip, I started using the verb pleuvoir, saying "je pleut", when I cry. I thought this was kind of a quirky thing to say, the kind of mistake an anglophone would make - I'm raining :) - and I found it fun and silly, turning my tears into smiles.
We started a small garden with about 25 people at a camp today – a sunken garden bed at the bottom of a little dip, with a raised border on the lower end and an overflow trench, to catch water and allow excess water during intense rains to flow out of the garden.
My emotions have been like big waves here in Haiti, some moments being filled with joy, Love, beauty, peace or curiosity, and other moments feeling intensely frustrated, deeply sorrowful and angry.
Personal reflections from our journey while working in Haiti...
by Bonita Ford. Creative Commons - Attribution, 2010.
I started this blog entry at the request of a friend. We were talking about the roles of "shadow" or "darkness", and "lightness" in bringing about social and personal transformation.
by Bonita Ford. Creative Commons - Attribution, 2010.
