Something about this life that we all have in common, is the basic instinct to survive. Every single living thing has this need, will, and determination to survive this everchanging and growing existence so as to fulfill it’s purpose for being. If you watch nature, you can see the interconnectedness of all lifeforms living in a diverse harmony. Of course, some critters have their scuffles over territory or whatever, and it can be downright brutal sometimes. However, for the most part nature always works it out, works through the changes, adapts, and recovers in her own way. We, as ego driven human beings, think we know what’s best for our life giving planet and manipulate all we can for our immediate gratification, benefit, profit, or to bandaid previous “know it all” decisions made that have failed. I recently discovered that the Northeastern Barred Owl has migrated to the Pacific Northwest and is considered (by us humans) to be an “invasive species”. July 3rd 2024, US Fish & Wildlife decided that Barred owls can now be hunted, shot with a shotgun, and buried onsite. I learned of this owl because I now have one living in my yard, sharing space with an owl that is a long time resident here. They had quite the conversation the other night, and I haven’t heard them since, so they apparently worked it out one way or another. With all the mice around my place, I hope they can share the buffet table and get along. When it comes to these decisions we make as humans, to alter nature’s course, we eventually also get to see the affect we create or the damage we’ve done. One way or another, nature will clean up our messes like the Mama she is. Here’s the thing, we’ve been little brats thinking we know everything and Mama’s about lost her damn patience with us. Younger generations may not understand what I’m about to say, but the rest will. You remember how getting smacked up along side your head would alarmingly get your attention as a kid, and you knew you weren’t paying attention, listening, or doing what you’ve been told? Yeah, well Mama Earth is talkin, and we are ignoring her because we are greedy, selfish little brats doing whatever we want. I have felt this feeling in my soul since the late 80’s when I saw the amount of forests being destroyed for a manmade industry that had trapped so many into surviving from it. Not only have the trees been harvested from diverse forests, they were replanted like gardens to harvest again without any consideration for the diversity that Mama (and ALL her babies) relies on to be healthy. There are so many healthier alternatives available to us in order to be better humans that coexist with nature, but it’s just not profitable enough. If we can’t get over ourselves and the value we’ve put on the dollar, Mama will spank our butts and show us who is ultimately in charge of this house! Now I’d like to share a little perspective from my point of view, and what I have received from the forest (that will do anything to survive). Growing up around the logging industry in Oregon, the slogan was “Oregon will never run out of trees”. I felt in my heart that one should never say never. See, the planet is big, mostly water with no trees in it. Forests have been depleted just as much as plastic has inundated our oceans. With limited ecosystems flourishing as they should in a healthy diversity, we will not be the only life struggling for oxygen on this planet. Mama will only let us go so far before she increases the consequences, so we learn our lessons. For a few years now, I have had dreams of major earthquakes and volcanic eruptions coming. Since I gave up getting drunk to fall asleep without dreams, the dreams have become more vivid. Also, the actual level of earthquake and volcanic activity is getting higher and higher. These things are beyond my control, so I do my best to just acknowledge the fear and anxiety I feel about it, let it flow through me, and pray for the best possible outcome so I can get on with my day. Then the Summertime heat comes and dries out everything creating a fire risk. The thunderstorms come with their lightning strikes burning up the most beautiful forests. As I was feeling heartbroken for some special places I had been before, where I experienced the gorgeousness of the special spot on the planet at that time in all it’s glory, now being gone, I received a clear message. It was as though I was able to see these particular magically beautiful spots in the forest transform through time in a high speed movie. As humans, we have destroyed so much of our forests, our waterways, our soil, and the air around us. We need all the forests to flourish on this planet, or we won’t. The specific words I heard were “self sacrifice”, as I was feeling sad about the current fires. The forests are sacrificing themselves for future diversity of life, that we have manipulated through industry and control. With full grown trees unavailable for harvest due to future limitations to protect our breath giving resource, and the amount of time it takes to grow a harvest of trees, humans will have to find alternative resources, jobs, industry, and adapt to the changing evolution of existence here on Mama’s Earth. She has given us everything we need to survive, if we abuse that or take for granted what she has given us, she will take it away. She will survive no matter what we do to her, we however will not survive if she gets really pissed and blows her top! Have you noticed the activity on the sun lately? The sun has been reaching out and smacking us a little here with some powerful energy, and that’s probably because Mama told dad on us and now he’s pissed too. We better shape up. Learning our lessons means that we do better once we know better, or we will ultimately end up getting a tougher lesson in survival here on Mama Earth as a species.
