It's nearly eight months now since my Mom died ...almost long enough to bring a baby to birth, and I still haven't cried. Not for lack of missing her - but ...I don't know, partially sensing her presence so close every day, and partially denial of her passing. I haven't visited her grave since her burial - her spirit is not there, it never was.

But lately the grief has started to make itself felt. I listen to the confidences of a friend's 21-year-old daughter, and hear myself at her age, and long to mother her as I wish I had let Mom mother me. I'd been too immersed in separating from Mom at that time, too focused on becomng myself, as I see my friend's daughter doing.

And somehow, when we did try to connect, it was a struggle...I was in full flight from my parents' Old World Catholicism at that time, pursuing Quaker, Eastern and Earth-based paths, a source of great concern from their traditional perspective. Where they were Republican conservative, I was far-left liberal...if there was a way in which I could go 180 degrees from their path, it seemed I was taking it.

Mom and I did try to connect...I know she worked long and hard in her efforts to understand my evolving perspective. How many near-misses we had...each time  we tried to talk, she'd make an effort to ask about my views, try them on, and then decide she just couldn't - they were too far divorced from her own. It wasn't until months after her passing that my god-sister told me of Mom's confiding "I don't understand Phila's path - it's not the path I wanted her to take - but it's not wrong."

So much of what I became is thanks to her legacy - not the ideologies that she espoused ferociously in the editorial pages of our local and regional newspapers, but the example I saw her living. Passionate love of nature - of forests and gardens, animals of all sorts (how she loved my houseful of cats) - open-handed hospitality to all - respect for all views - and deep spirituality. Though she was very traditionally Catholic, she was also a visionary and mystic who deeply questioned and lived her faith.

The last deep conversation we had was in the hospital, roughly two weeks before her passing. I had shown her a paper that I wrote for my Master's program - one that explained the passion I felt for nature and indigenous Earth-based spiritual traditions. She read it and looked at me thoughtfully and said "I don't quite understand this, but I honor your spiritual path and your work. Keep following your path and your vocation."

I cried all the way home.

The morning she died - 6:00 in the morning, Thanksgiving Sunday - I came home from saying goodbye to her in the nursing home. I looked at my house, wondering where I could find her legacy here. Call it her spirit touching me, perhaps - the thought came "I don't have to look - I AM her legacy, it's in everything I do."

Since then I need only to check in to hear that inward wisdom and feel her warm hug. To cry seems superfluous somehow - as if I were denying that presence which feels so real.

And today, Dad came over with baby cucumbers from his garden asking if I would make Mom's mother's recipe for two-day pickles. I measured out the spices and the water with tears flowing, feeling two generations of women's hands guiding my own. The brine is coming to a boil as I write.

Mom, Nana Lucas, the legacy continues. I miss you.

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Hoping to see you there!
Phila

At long last, Australia is waking up to the centuries of suffering that have been imposed on Elder peoples. Now if only the U.S. and Canada could follow this good example...

Here's the story from Reuters:

CANBERRA - Aborigines playing didgeridoos and smeared with white body paint overturned hundreds of years of British tradition in Australia on Tuesday by taking part in the official opening of the nation's new parliamentary session.

The indigenous ceremony came a day before Prime Minister Kevin Rudd delivers an historic apology to Aborigines for past assimilation policies, in which aboriginal children were taken from their families to be raised in white households.

Aboriginal elder Matilda House, standing barefoot and wearing a coat of animal skins, delivered a traditional message stick to Rudd to mark the first sitting of parliament since Rudd's Labor Party won power in last November's elections.

"With this welcome comes a great symbolism, the hope of a united nation through reconciliation," House told the politicians and guests in a crowded Members Hall.

The welcome was followed by traditional dances from Aborigines, some carrying boomerangs, and indigenous Torres Strait Islanders, with some of the performers wiping away tears over the symbolism of the event.

For more of the story, see http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23123014/

Starhawk posted this yesterday - I think it's the best affirmation of the TRUE meaning of Christmas I've found. :

“Whereas Christians and Christianity are of undeniable importance in the world and the foundation of this country, in respect for his example and story at this time of year we make the following statements:

“Whereas Jesus Christ was born in a stable because his parents could not find shelter, and whereas in the last weeks we as a nation have allowed the destruction of the last remaining housing for the poor in New Orleans, and whereas our streets are full of the cold and the homeless, we repent of our policies and in his memory commit to housing all who wander without a roof or a welcome in our cities and our towns.

“Whereas Christ was born among the poor, lived and preached to the poor, we repent of the selfishness and shortsightedness that has failed to provide for all of our children, and commit ourselves to provide health care for all children and for all of the poor.

“Whereas Christ commanded us to ‘love our neighbors as ourselves’ we repent of the walls we have drawn across borders, the deaths of those who have tried to cross the deserts in search of a better life, the wall we have supported that cleaves the Holy Land itself in two and confiscates the farmland of the Palestinians, cleaves villages in two, and stands as a lasting monument to our failure to achieve peace, and we commit ourselves to establish justice which alone can provide true security.

“Whereas Christ has been called the Prince of Peace, we repent of our eagerness to use war and violence as the answer to every international situation, of the horrific and destructive war we have waged in Iraq which has claimed tens of thousands of lives, and we commit ourselves to a withdrawal of our armies, to a new foreign policy based on the building of relationships, not the bombing of children, and to fostering and nurturing peace.”

I'm not normally a haranguer...but this news story made it so clear that key information just isn't being communicated, that I think this point needs to be made a little more intensely than perhaps I might make it otherwise. After all, it does have an immediate impact on the environment and the success of your green business!

There's an article in GreenBiz News today about an EcoPinion survey that found Consumers Don't Understand Green Terms. Good article, important data being revealed about mainstream consumers' buying decisions. And it reminded me of a crucial point I've made oh-so-many times to my clients...quite probably the single most important point that will convert browsers to committed green buyers!

What is that point? Check it out (and learn more about that survey) at The Tree-Huggin' Copywriter - and if you like what you read, join my blog community!

Green business has been a growing force in the marketplace for years now...but what about green copywriting? It's taken a while, but this eco-niche is beginning to grow...come and learn more at The Tree-Huggin' Copywriter!

If there's anything all of us want these days, it's to change the world...and every way we turn,  new prescriptions are being offered as one global system after another enters a danger zone. Ongoing and never-ending environmental  crises demand immediate attention... ongoing and never-ending socila abuses demand immediate action...and in the midst of all the crushing, immediate demands, who's looking  to change the long-term patterns that underly the devolution?

On Oct. 19-21, at the Maryland Institute of Art’s Brown Center in Baltimore, MD, a gathering of brilliant scientific minds and social innovators will focus on practical and visionary solutions for restoring the Earth’s ecosystems and healing communities.

As a newly-launched satellite of the  globalocal Bioneers Conference - now in its 18th year - the Baltimore Bioneers event  will combine a simultaneous broadcast of the California-based parent conference's plenary talks with regional speakers, panels and workshops.

The audience for the Baltimore conference is unusual in that it brings together local visionary leaders representing business and the arts, as well as the environmental and social justice movements. The conference’s goal is to encourage cross–discipline dialogue and offer opportunities to create new solutions.

National plenary speakers include Van Jones, Majora Carter and Winona Laduke. Local
programming features plenaries, workshops, live performances and a Woodberry
Kitchen dinner.

Local topics include “The Power of Dialogue,” “Business with Conscience,” “Demystifying your Carbon Footprint” and “Art and Social Change.”

“Baltimore Bioneers will bring together people from many different disciplines –science,
business, and social service organizations to name just a few– all working to change the
region and the world. At this conference, we will witness how the power of collaboration
across all disciplines can solve problems that some think are unchangeable,” states Ted
Rouse, a Bioneer committee member.

Tickets start at $65 for one day and are $195 for all three days. Please register by
September 21 for an early bird discount. Go to www.cultivatingchange.org for more
information on Baltimore Bioneers: Cultivating Change….Inspiring Solutions, or contact: Brittany Murray # 410.337.2390

If you'd like to know how green/sustainable copywriting differs from the straight mainstream sort - please visit me at The Tree-Huggin' Copywriter!

To appreciate the people I love while we're all here

Since I started taking the Thirty-Day Challenge at the beginning of this month, it seems that my life has gone into warp speed - too many projects and new directions to juggle, and all demanding attention.

For right now, I'll discuss the hottest - my new blog, The Joy of Cat Herding - Solving Your Cat Behavior Problems , which began as an exercise in Web 2.0 social networking and has turned into a mission of its own. Namely, to offer cat caregivers information and resources for dealing with the issues that too often lead to cat-abandonment or euthenasia. I'm making connections now with cat doctors, rescuers, fosterers, behaviorists, and communicators, and seeking expert voices - so if you have expertise in dealing with any cat behavior problems, please let me know!

With the onset of harvest, I'm doing a lot of research on composting and wintering-over...ti's early yet, but there's a lot to learn. I'll probably be sharing more about this as I go along...always looking for likeminded folk!

And of course green copywriting - just now promoting the Second Annual Gala Dinner of the William E Proudford Sickle Cell Fund on Sept. 15.  I knew very little about Sickle Cell when beginning this project, and was appalled to hear the statistics...

Experts estimate that between 70,000 and 80,000 Americans suffer its effects, and over 1,300 babies are born with the condition each year.  It’s a complex, painful, lifelong and life-threatening disease requiring intensive social and economic support for the patient at every stage of development, from simply getting through school to gaining and retaining employment and insurance in adulthood.

 Roughly 500 men, women and children die each year from sickle cell disease.

 While it is considered a rare condition, it is by far the most common genetic blood disorder in the U.S. According to a 2006 article published in Pediatrics, however, the combined amount of public and private funds raised for sickle cell disease amounted to just over $1,000 per patient (as a comparison, $9,000 per patient was raised for cystic fibrosis). Sadly, the greatest deficit has fallen in private funding, giving a rough idea of the lack of public awareness regarding this disease.

If you plan to be in Baltimore at that time, and have any interest in health issues - please do check this out.

Thrilled to be with Zaadz and see all the wonderful people here...

Namaste!