12 OCTOBER 2022 BUSINESS PRIORITIES

As a supporter of the environment and in learning to apply permaculture design principles to all areas of my life, I often see those things around me that are in need of change. The problem is that most of those things remain unnoticed by most people, as well as those who are in a position to be able to make changes.

I would rate Wyoming as one of the least environmentally conscious states. Some areas, such as Jackson, are slightly more aware, but for the most part, cowboys and farmers rule the affairs here. This is not to say that there aren’t some people who care about the environment here, but there are far too few to make a difference. Those who do are often transplants who came here from somewhere else and are not from here. 

Since I have never worked in a motel other than the one in this town, I cannot say that they are all alike. Most motels are franchises owned by private investors so their focus is always on making the largest possible profit. One month after I had begun working at the motel, it was purchased by a new owner. So far, he has purchased new air conditioning units for all of the rooms, new TV’s, new thermostats, new Gideon Bibles, new pillows, and new sheets and towels. He is having our maintenance man refinish all of the bathtubs. I believe that he plans to replace the mattresses, too, at some point. The Internet is slow and the IPad, computer, and printers are in need of updating. He owns several other motels in addition to this one.

In order to pay for all of his upgrades, he raised the prices over the summer by more than 30%. We began to lose business because of it. When my manager and I finally convinced him that his high prices were turning people away, he returned them to what they were when I started working there. Business has picked up; however, keeping reliable housekeepers has been the biggest challenge, and he refuses to give any of us raises. He does not understand that it is the people who run the motel, that make it successful. If he would invest as much in the staff as he does in the “improvements”, success would be ensured.

Environmentally speaking, there are infinitely more things that could be done to lessen the carbon footprint of the motel. Not a single window in the entire building can be opened. Therefore, there is no way to air out the rooms (especially when someone has ignored the no smoking policy.)  Fans and air cleaners, as well as toxic chemicals from a spray bottle, are utilized to remove the odor. These rooms cannot be rented for a couple of days, costing the motel more money. The building faces south and the new ac units are installed on the outside of the building. Below the windows, there is rock that requires herbicides to keep the weeds from growing in them. There are no trees or shrubs to shade the units, so they will suck out far more energy than is necessary. There is a grassy area at one end of the building. Clotheslines could be erected there for drying the sheets, which would then smell so wonderful, it would keep guests coming back. This would eliminate the wrinkled state from which they come out of the dyer. The wind here would dry the sheets most days in as few as two or three hours. The toxic chemicals used to whiten the linens and those in the dryer sheets are a health hazard to people with asthma. They could easily be replaced with natural products. Recycling containers could be provided next to trash cans. There are so many ways in which businesses, as well as individuals, can stop the damage we are doing to our world. Individually, we cannot do a lot, but if those who are creating the bigger problems would put our planet and people above their own profit, we might begin to see improvement. Becoming green should be the priority of every business.

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10 OCTOBER 2022 FREE BOOKS

As some of you know, I have recently published the updated version of my book, – Question Everything: Overcoming Passivity in a Perilous World. Now I am faced with the daunting task of marketing it. Naturally, I have been approached over the years by  numerous agencies offering to market my books for me, by paying them several hundred to thousands of dollars. Even if I had that kind of money to give them, a quick Google search will reveal that most of them do not live up to their claims to help an author reach literary success. In fact, most of the books that are accepted by traditional publishers, rarely reach book fame. 

As with most things in my life, I prefer to approach marketing in my own way. I did not write the book with the intention of making the New York Times best seller list, or in hopes of becoming an overnight sensation. I have no unrealistic expectations. I wrote Swan Sanctuary’s Guide to Responsible Swan Stewardship because I saw a need that I knew I could fill. It was for a tiny niche market and written for the sole purpose of helping swans. I wrote Question Everything because I felt that I was supposed to write it. When writing this blog, it never feels like it is “I” who am writing it. I am a conduit through which the words flow. I do not plan ahead, but merely ask, “What should I write about today?” Then, the words begin to flow.

Marketing is not something that I relish doing. Like most writers, I am quiet and reclusive. I must find a way; however, to give the book a nudge – to help it find its way into the hands of those who will gain something from reading it. Therefore, I am offering a free paperback copy to the first 25 people who message me, requesting a copy. Since I will also be paying the shipping, I must limit this offer to only those of you who live in the United States.

If you have already purchased the book, I offer you my deepest heartfelt thanks. With the holidays approaching, you may want to consider giving the book as a gift, to someone you know will benefit from reading it. Remember, more copies (including hardback and Kindle formats) can be found by going to:

https://www.dldbooks.com/lisbethwilliams/

I hope that after reading the book you will tell your friends about it. Remember, all you have to do is be one of the first 25 people to message me, to receive your free copy – autographed, if you like.

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5 OCTOBER 2022 WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?

Lately I have given quite a bit of thought to the recycling problem. Like many of you, I become frustrated, knowing that no matter how conscientious I am and no matter how dutifully I try to do my part, to do what is right, and to lower my carbon footprint, it feels futile. It is estimated that only 5% to 6% of the plastic waste alone, that amounts to more than 46 million tons annually, in the United States alone, actually gets recycled. What can be done about the billions of plastic items and micro plastics that are everywhere – in our soil, in our oceans, in our food, in our bodies, and in nearly all living organisms? Can those few of us who do recycle make a difference? When our neighbors, our coworkers, and businesses continue to load millions of 45 gallon trash bags, filled with plastic bottles and containers, glass bottles, aluminum and steel cans, food scraps, pet poo, broken appliances, and numerous other items into dumpsters headed for the landfill, are we merely fooling ourselves?

It wasn’t so long ago that soap came in bars wrapped in biodegradable paper. Our produce was displayed openly in stores so that we could see its condition before purchasing it. Milk and most beverages were sold in waxed paper cartons. Much of it was delivered by the milkman in glass bottles that were returned each week. We got our water out of the tap. Today, most everything we buy is enveloped in elaborate packaging that is spill-proof, theft-proof, and transportable. For those with arthritic hands, opening those packages is a constant challenge. In most cases, the packaging is more expensive than the product inside of it.

When soda pop was first introduced in the late 1800s, it came in glass bottles; but it was not until 1971 that some companies began offering a nickel back if you returned the bottle. Coca-Cola soon adopted the “no deposit, no return” policy and turned to replacing glass bottles with plastic. Coca-Cola now produces more than 200 beverages in more than 200 countries. Pepsi produces more than 23 beverages and other products. They are not the only companies that have allowed greed to rule, caring more about their profits than about being responsible stewards of the Earth. Skin care and makeup products, drugs and pharmaceuticals, vitamins and supplements, and electronics are all placed in expensive packaging and only a miniscule amount of that gets recycled. Much of the furniture that we buy these days comes in pieces with packages of hardware, which must then be put together by the consumer. I am certain that an entire book could be written, listing the millions of products that are marketed to unsuspecting consumers, including the cheap, gaudy plastic Halloween and Christmas decorations that are sold in dollar stores.

Is it not time that we began to hold these manufacturing companies accountable? After all, consumers can only buy what is made available to them. If nothing was offered in non-biodegradable  packaging and if all companies were REQUIRED to accept bottles for return, we could easily eliminate much of the problem. If corporations were made to comply with sustainable practices, or not be allowed to produce their product if it did not meet environmental approval – and if these conditions were immediately enforceable without having to go through years or decades of political nonsense – we could stop the horrific pollution of our planet. We still must find ways to correct the damage that has already been done; but unless we stop the blatant continuation of the greedy practices that got us into this mess in the first place, there is little hope for the future. Who is most responsible for the pollution of our planet? Without a doubt, it is the manufacturing companies and clearly, they are the ones who should bear the cost.

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3 OCTOBER 2022 KARMIC DEBT

While watching coverage of Hurricane Ian’s recent and violent assault on parts of Florida, I found it hard to imagine the massive devastation. Peoples’ homes were totally obliterated and they lost so much of what was dear to them. It is a sad situation. The reality is that Earth has always produced hurricanes. Building our cities and towns in their known paths is risky. There are many reasons that science can provide for these types of events, but I cannot help wondering if our human collective karma has brought about divine restitution.

We have clear cut millions of acres of forest, plowed land for farming, and displaced millions of other species from their homes. Let us not forget the Native Americans and the buffalo from whom we also stole and plundered. Many Floridians may have lost their homes, yet it is as nothing compared to the immeasurable number of species that have been cast out of their homes by human encroachment. 

Our vain belief that this Earth should belong only to our own species, and the ones we choose to domesticate, is an erroneous belief. We have caused irreparable harm to others. We have destroyed their habitat, erradicated and poisoned their food sources. We have outright exterminated others and slaughtered thousands on our highways. We have caused suffering beyond comprehension and we have been the cause of extinction for some. Our greed and our selfishness has spread like a disease, not only to each other, but to all living things. 

Earth is home to all of us, but we have not remembered to give thanks for all she has provided for us. We have only taken, and taken, and taken – with no thought of giving back. How many hurricanes, how many more droughts, and how many more floods will it take to bring us to our knees? We often hear about our national debt. Some of us have accumulated personal debt; however, it is our karmic debt about which we should be concerned. We need to start caring about the good of all, rather than a few. 

Many people today are living in a constant state of anxiety and fear. Instead of lamenting our own losses, we can begin to pay back our karmic debt, by taking care of our planet. We can begin to give back to Mother Earth and adopt an attitude of gratitude for all she has provided. Instead of declaring that life is unfair, we can be thankful for the most basic gift she has given us – the gift of life itself. We need to treat even our air, our water, and our soil with reverence. It is only by appreciating and caring for what we have that we can take steps towards repaying the astronomical karmic debt that we have incurred.

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28 SEPTEMBER 2022 TROUBLE

Cat Stevens implored Trouble to go away, in his 1970s song by that title. Some people seem to attract trouble for their entire lives. Even those whose lives appear to be a bed of roses, must watch out for the thorns. We get into trouble when we mistakenly believe that the thorns won’t find us. The truth is, trouble will always find us when we have been complacent for too long. Life, quite simply, would not be life, without its challenges.

A tiger may have hunted successfully one day and his hunger is satiated; but soon his hunger will return and he will have to face the challenge of hunting again if he is to survive. Resisting change and resisting trouble only ensures its persistence.

I find myself resisting the seasonal changes. The cooler nights and shorter days fill me with dread of the ensuing cold and wind and snow. The disappearance of my late summer flowers and the falling of leaves that render the trees bereft of foliage, fills my heart with sadness. The way to see ourselves out of trouble is to look beyond it. If we focus only on the trouble, we increase its power. I know that I must look beyond winter. I must dream of spring when the trees burst forth in blossom and the snowdrops and grape hyacinths thrust their heads through the snow, followed by daffodils and tulips. Without winter, there would be no spring. 

For every winter we face, there is a spring that follows. For every trouble we encounter, there is a time of peace and harmony. For every challenge we face, there is an answer – an answer that will bring us back to the eternal being that we are.

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26 SEPTEMBER 2022 LEAF LITTER

Soon it will be that time again when leaves begin to rain down from the trees. Leaves of red, brown, and gold will carpet the ground and even the streets, to be washed into storm drains or raked into piles to be discarded. This unconscionable practice of sending leaves off to a landfill, or even to a municipal compost pile, is one of the dumbest things human beings have ever devised. 

If you store your leaves in a bin, within two years or less, they will transform into rich, organic soil. However; the leaves that hold all of the nutrients needed by your plants and trees are needlessly sent away; while your plants are doused with chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides. Since the beginning of time, Mother Nature has left her leaves to lie, to nurture the next generation of plants and insects. As the layers of leaves build up, the lower layers are broken down by decomposers, returning to the soil the nutrients that were taken by the growing plants. The newly fallen leaves provide protection for overwintering insects and their eggs. The thick layers provide warmth for the plant roots, preventing them from freezing and preventing the soil from heaving. The blanket of leaves shields them from the drying winter winds. They hold moisture so that the plants do not dry out during extended dry periods, when there is no rain or snow. 

When I drive through the neighborhood, I see bright green lawns devoid of all leaf litter. Many of the trees are sadly miss-shapen with dead and broken branches that expose their struggle to survive. The soil beneath them lies bare and is often overtaken by weeds.The soil is depleted and unable to hold water. The water simply runs right through it and the trees continue to suffer from drought. Many of the trees and shrubs have damage from string trimmers and over-spray from herbicides as well.

Most of the shrubs in my yard have been dying, from long before I moved here about a year ago. The years of neglect can be seen in the decaying branches and in the lifeless soil. I have been spreading dead foliage from the garden around the weary plants. Once the leaves begin to fall, I will add them around the shrubs’ perimeters. It may be too late to save the shrubs in this yard, but hopefully my words will encourage others to retain the leaves that fall in their yards. Leaf litter is like gold. It is the most valuable thing on your property. What’s more, it is free. It does not have to be transported in plastic bags or bottles, adding to our already gigantic foot prints. We do not need to spend our hard earned money on manufactured fertilizers or Miracle GroⓇ products. Nature has already provided all that is needed. We need to accept her gifts with thanksgiving – not discard them out of ignorance and our distorted ideas about what is aesthetically pleasing.

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21 SEPTEMBER 2022 THE PASSAGE OF TIME

It is easy for me to remember the year that I was first married because it was also the 200th birthday of America. Now that my own age is approaching three quarters of a century, that number seems extremely small. Most everything grows at a phenomenal rate at the beginning – children, puppies, bird hatchlings – even seedlings. After that primary spurt of growth, growing slows down. It’s likely that the same holds true for countries. 

Our country is young, bold, impetuous. Like a toddler falling down while learning to walk, our country struggled to become independent of Europe. That independence began nearly 250 years ago. Since then, we have attempted to brazenly impose our will upon the rest of the world, like a rebellious teenager. My grandmother would have been a young woman during that frivolous time known as the Roaring Twenties – a time when the country’s economy was prospering. It was the first step on the path of consumerism – the path we are still on today. 

We have recklessly trodden the gardens of our Mother Earth. Our bloated collective ego has run amok and there is devastation everywhere we turn. Population growth in the United States is slowing down as more women opt for equality. There is more evidence every day; however, that consumerism is not slowing down. If we continue down this road of greed and selfishness, we may end life as we have recently known it. As more people begin to awaken and mature as a nation, we may be forced to take a step backwards. If we are to celebrate another birthday in this country, we will have to set aside our childish ways. We will need to choose a path of tolerance and peace. We will have to realize that being a bully does not make us a great nation. Having a strong military and having guns accessible to even small children, is not a sign of power. It is a sign of fear. The only way that our country can mature, is to release the fear that has held the masses in its grip. We must adopt an attitude of honor and respect for all things and for each other. If we do not, we may not make it to our 300th birthday. The passage of 100 years is nothing, relative to Earth herself; but how the next 100 plays out is up to us.

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19 SEPTEMBER 2022 GARDEN ENVY

Envy, we are told, is not an emotion that reflects well on us. I am not sure why the color green is associated with envy, but green makes up a large part of what elicits envy in me – other peoples’ gardens! Driving through the neighborhood, my eyes are constantly roving over the varied landscapes. For instance, driving past one house the other day, I was dazzled by the masses of cheerful orange cosmos swaying gently in front of it. Hollyhocks and foxglove caught my eye as they tossed their pretty blossoms above the fence of another house. At yet another, as I was driving to work, I could hardly take my eyes from the giant spruce with its perfect symmetry and with its lower branches softly caressing the ground below it. Bright maroon hibiscus with burgundy foliage tilted their large saucer faces towards the road as I passed by. Masses of orange trumpet vine sprawled over the fence next to the dentist’s office. Showy clematis clung to the walls of other houses and delightful zinnias grew proudly in front of some. Walking through neighborhoods, rather than driving, reveals still more flowers lurking in unsuspecting places.


I have grown all of these flowers and several trees and shrubs myself, at one time or another. Sadly, I have had to leave behind far too many gardens that I had nurtured into being. This year I have had a prolific garden that has gifted me with more zucchini, cucumbers, green beans, and tomatoes than I know what to do with. I grew numerous herbs as well, and I started them all from seed. I did not have enough time, nor space; however, for the many, many flowers that I wanted to grow. To be perfectly honest, I doubt that I could ever grow all of the flowers I want, even if I spent eight hours a day for the entire rest of my life doing so. I could never, ever, have too many flowers. So I hope you understand that when I sometimes turn green with envy at the sight of another gardener’s garden, it is really just appreciation. Of course, I could appreciate them more if they were in my own garden!

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14 SEPTEMBER 2022 THE POWER OF WOMEN

I have been greatly disturbed by the overturning of Roe v Wade. I keep hearing that we have taken a giant step backwards, after 50 years of moving towards a higher human consciousness. I look around and see that in spite of so much evidence of the destruction of our planet, it continues. The rich and powerful are getting richer and more powerful, while more people are being thrown onto the trash heap of society. It has also been 50 years since Rachel Carson’s, Silent Spring, was published; but the use of herbicides and pesticides has increased rather than decreased. The pharmaceutical companies continue to push their chemically derived poisons onto the unsuspecting public, relying on their ignorance, and on the aggressive marketing pitched at them through their televisions and other devices. The agriculture industries continue to fill store shelves with non-food that is laden with artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives.

My logical mind tells me that we cannot go backwards. Life always moves forward. Still, there is a heavy sense of oppression and hopelessness in the world today. 

I have been watching classic episodes of Little House on the Prairie, a TV series from 1975. One episode that I recently watched reminded me of the power of women, whenever they come together for a cause. Teenaged Mary was punched in the face by a boy, giving her a black eye. The next time he tried to intimidate and hurt her, she fought back. Then all of the other girls on the playground came together and descended on the bully, sending him off with his tail between his legs. Inspired by the girls, the rest of the town then pulled together and walked the boy, and the two adults who were with him (and who had stolen from many of the towns’ people) out of their town.

It won’t be long before women come together, along with people of color and the LGBTQ community, to descend on a government that no longer feels like a democracy. Women will take back their power –  and the power of women together is a power to be reckoned with.

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12 SEPTEMBER 2022, VICTIM, VICTORIOUS, OR ?

Human beings have always loved to tell – and to listen to – stories. From mythological times right up to the present, we are engrossed in the stories of tragedies and triumph over them. The stories in the bible, classic fairy tales, the numerous fiction novels and our more recent absorption in Hollywood films all contribute to our fascination for other peoples’ stories.

We often get caught up in our own stories as well. Instead of seeing the things that happen to us as events, we take them very personally. Our ego takes over and we seek to judge and to blame. If we have judged an event as bad, we seek to blame someone, other than ourselves, for it. If we can find no one to blame, we blame god. We allow, through our ego, our story to become so large that everything outside of us is merely peripheral. We become either a victim, or victorious. As victims, we repeat our stories over and over to anyone who will listen. Or, we may allow our egos to become so inflated that we take on an attitude of victory and superiority, diminishing everyone outside of ourselves. 

We have collective stories, too. Our current story is of the tragedy happening to our planet and to all of us. Younger generations may want to blame the older ones for the mess they have made, for the global warming that threatens life as we know it. Others may become deeply depressed, believing that nothing can be done to stop it. Some remain in denial, flaunting an air of superiority to mask their fear. The truth is that we are all in this together. If we hold to the belief that we are victims, we lose all hope. If we choose victory, only for ourselves, refusing to do our part for the good of all, we worsen our dilemma. We must set our egos aside, accept our current situation, and do all we can to change it. 

A tragedy is only a tragedy based on our belief about an event. When you subtract judgment and blame, it is merely an event. It is not necessary to conquer a perceived enemy or to dawn a cloak of indignation and righteousness. We can choose to see an event for what it is. We can allow it to teach us and we can choose to view it through the eyes of love. It will take love for each other and for all living things to bring about healing. Love is the only thing that can heal our planet.

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