breathing the forest

African drums and people dancing around a fire. Cooking for sixty people over an open fire. Eating dumpstered food and talking about an alternative way of living. Learning primitive skills and resting.

More and more people see how our way of life in west is killing people in the third world. How our mines and factories are trashing every remaining forest and untouched world.

The only way to survive the depressing truth is through hope.

Hope is people dancing in the light of a fire.
Hope is people getting together to form self sustaining organic farm communities.
Hope is people willing to make the choice of not having a big house, a car and four different kinds of bread spread.
Hope is people choosing eachothers company instead of watching a new movie.
Hope is people realizing that every little step counts.
Hope is focusing on joy and solutions instead of hatred and problems.
Hope is seeing that people can work together in harmony cooking and gathering fire wood and making decisions.
Hope is seeing the pain of the earth and its people and still daring to laugh and dance and cry and find new ways of living.
Hope is taking action based on love and respect and a trust that if one person changes their heart, mind and life, others will follow.
Hope is fighting violence with love.
Hope is listening to people like Richard Rohr.

"You can never solve a problem with the same mentality that caused it."

I met a man. His eyes reflected mountains.
He said:

“I cannot tell you who you are.
I cannot tell you who you should be.

I will not tell you your boundaries.
I will not tell you what you should believe.
I will not tell you how you should behave, what you should wear or how you should look.

All I can tell you is this:

I love you.
With everything you are and everything you aren’t.
With all you believe and all you don’t.
In every way you behave, and all the times you don’t.
In whatever you wear or don’t wear.
I love you.”

And suddenly I felt someone cutting the ropes.

My love language is adapting to who others want me to be. I give what others want, that is my way of loving.

“ Well is that love? “ he said and gave me no answers.