I don't claim anything like this- to be trying to save the world.  I only pray that this path I am walking will lead me in a good direction- towards one of honoring where I come from, and what has formed me- towards honoring all living things, and understanding my place among them.

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Do not try to save the whole world 

or do anything grandiose.

Instead, create a clearing in the dense forest of your life

and wait there patiently,

until the song that is your life

falls into your own cupped hands

and you recognize and greet it.

Only then will you know how to give yourself

to this world

so worthy of rescue.

—Martha Postlewaite

O Creator

O Creator, Whose hands fashioned all things from nothing, Who took the Nothingness and made it into something, Whose creations are we all, equally,

May we remember that we are one people, of one substance. May we remember that a tree dies if its roots eat one another. May we remember that striking out helps no one and only creates more hurt.

May we grow, O Creator, May we not continue what Was- the world of hatred, of othering, of saying "we are better". May we place our feet on the ground and bless its sanctity.

May we be water for the tree, Creator, May we not harm.

The Path.

Hey- I have learned these things now, and I say them:

All things are connected to one another- from the smallest to the largest, and everything I do matters.  I am one small part of a whole- one limb of a great organism.  Acting as though I am not part of that great organism will lead to the collapse of that organism, and of myself as well.

Hey- I have come to a place of understanding, and I consecrate and concentrate my efforts now, that I may walk forward and learn what is good.

I undertake this, now!  I will walk doing this:

1. Using sustainably-sourced, ethically packaged items in my life wherever possible. I undertake to surround myself with products that will not lie with my bones, but rather return to the earth.

2. Recycling, reusing, re-purposing wherever possible. I undertake to preserve what is good by keeping what is good, good.

3. Maintaining an awareness of the sanctity of all life through direct connection to the Earth and the living things that, like me, are a part of the great organism. I undertake to respect this world of which I am part in both action and word.

4. Honoring diversity and all viewpoints, even those that are opposed to mine.  I undertake to honor even my enemies and those who harm me.

5. Learning and growing without stagnation or self-deprecation.  I undertake to remember that I am small and limited, but capable of many great things with mindfulness. I undertake to remember that books are not the end of wisdom, or teachers the only font of it.

6. Maintaining wonder and joy- and staying humble. I undertake to be small, and rejoice in it. I undertake to understand that experience and opinion is subjective- to each his own. I undertake to remember that I may be wrong in everything I say and do, but also to follow my heart and intuition and not be afraid to grow and adapt.

I undertake to work towards having the name “Yaundi”. May I persevere!

Ethics problems.

I've run into a bit of an issue, and so soon, too.

In trying to work out what some of the first products' scores on the Ethics sheet, I've begun to notice that the places that sell these items hardly offer any kind of information about their packaging, place of origin, or their manufacture.  This makes things extremely difficult.

I guess I'd have to call the number on the product itself and hope that I get someone who can talk to me straight on it.  But it'd be difficult to trust the answers, given that I know that each person who responds is representing a company and is paid to make that company look good.

It's a true quandary.

Yaundi