Swan Sanctuary

I am pleased to announce that the revision of my book, Question Everything: Overcoming Passivity in a Perilous World, is now available for purchase. It has a new cover of golden yellow light that better represents the optimism and peace that the book aims to convey. I have always felt that yellow is a cheerful color, filled with light and warmth. It brings to mind the morning sun, dandelions, bumblebees, sunflowers, and happiness. While the book stems from the ideals of the 1960’s and 1970’s, the new cover brings those ideals forward into the current decade. No one puts bumper stickers on their cars anymore, but many have “personalized” license plates. The jagged mountains in the background, towards which the woman in the yellow Volkswagen is traveling, depicts the challenging, but not insurmountable problems, that our planet is facing. 

I feel a sense of completion, knowing that I have given something of value to the world, before I reach the end of my journey. The book will provide hope for those who are overcome with despair and sadness. Those who read it will come away knowing that they are intimately connected to Mother Nature. They will begin to question the status quo. They will be inspired to do what they can do to make a difference, realizing that none of us alone, but all of us together can move mountains.

I am Mother Nature’s apprentice. I have spent a lifetime gardening and learning to work alongside her, to leave every place more beautiful than I found it. The newly republished book is available in hardback, as well as paperback. I am offering the hardback copy at a promotional price of $15 for 90 days, after which it will increase to $17. You can find the links for purchasing it here: https://www.dldbooks.com/lisbethwilliams/ The new book is not yet up on my website (swansanctuary.org) but it will be very soon.

I thank all of you, from the bottom of my heart, who choose to be inspired by buying and reading it. Thank you, to those of you who have been following my blog on Facebook. I will continue writing the blog and I hope to write more stories and poems in the very near future. I know that together, we can all make a difference!

There is something wonderful about the morning after a good soaking rain. Of course, the air is fresher and seemingly cleaner, but there is something purging about a rainstorm, like Mother Earth is having a good cry. She has a lot to cry about these days. Weather, in general, feels like the varied moods of emotions.

The modern world so often disregards our connection with the natural world. Emotions, too, are often regarded as a female weakness. Emotions; however, are another means by which our bodies try to speak to us. Pain is the body’s way of letting us know there is a physical problem. Emotions reveal to us the state of our mental health. Strong emotions are there to remind us that it is time to check in with our higher self, to see where we need to correct our thinking and sometimes our behavior.

Happiness, harmony, and peace are our natural states. When we are not feeling content, we need to discover the cause, if we do not already know what it is. When we are truly honest with ourselves, we realize that it is our thoughts about the events in our lives that upset us. Our judgements about a thing feed the discontent, which creates negative emotions. Thoughts continue to feed the emotions, which give way to more bleak thoughts, continuing infinitely, until we make the decision to put our attention somewhere else. It is in changing the direction of our thoughts to something pleasant that the negative thoughts lose their power. It is like shining a light into a dark room.

I sometimes wonder if it is our collective consciousness that helps to create the weather we experience in a given area.  Some of the people who live where the weather is hostile, are hostile themselves; whereas people who live in more pleasant climates are often easy going and laid back. This of course, is a huge generalization, but something to ponder. We can dwell on the huge problems that our planet is facing, or we can be uplifted by the many good things that people are doing world wide to address some of the challenges. It is the same feeling we have when the sun shines brightly after a purging rain storm.

I am often shocked by the ridiculous things that people are told, through the news, advertising, and social media. It is more dismaying still, when so many people actually believe everything they hear. There was an article in the news claiming that people who nap regularly are at risk of high blood pressure and stroke. Not only is this unbelievable; it is absurd. There is far too much emphasis put on statistics, and for the most part, only part of the story is actually heard. The media uses fear and shock value to influence as many people as possible. 

I have regularly taken “power” naps of 20 to 30 minutes in the afternoon. For centuries, people have taken a rest after a large meal or on an especially hot afternoon. This has always been known to have beneficial effects on our health. Some people take naps because they have not had sufficient sleep the night before, but this in itself will not contribute to the outlandish claims this article made. Those people who are at risk of stroke and have high blood pressure, generally smoke, eat junk food, and often drink copious amounts of caffeine throughout the day. They are often overweight as well. 

I learned recently that my ex-husband, who is on some type of pharmaceutical drug due to his predisposition to blood clots, was told by the doctor that he could have only one salad a week! This is preposterous! We have been supplied with so many wonderful, nutritious foods that grow naturally in our environment – even those that have been dishonored as weeds. Our bodies were designed to eat these natural foods, in their most natural state. Salads have been a staple in my own diet for years and I would refuse to live without them. 

How long will we allow the medical establishment to dictate what is or is not good for us? They have been brainwashed by the pharmaceutical companies to fill their patience heads with blatant lies. They know very little about health or diet – or how to maintain health. They will continue to advise their patience based on what will earn them the biggest profit. It has been said that we have a sick care system, rather than a health care system. As long as the lies are believed, the sick will never find their way back to health.

For as long as I can remember, my hair has begun to shed in the fall. I end up with handfuls of hair after shampooing that accumulate in my comb and hairbrush. I often feel something tickling inside my shirt, only to discover a hair that has slipped inside. Sometimes, hair becomes wrapped around my fingers whenever I am washing dishes, and it is irritating trying to remove it from my wet hands. I used to become concerned because I thought I was losing all of my hair; but by springtime and throughout the summer, it would stop falling out. Over the winter months it was apparently growing in thicker, by pushing out the old hair, to aid my body in staying warm.

It is not yet fall, but my hair has begun its yearly turnover. It seems to occur around the same time that swans are losing their old flight feathers and growing new ones, in preparation for their annual migration. Although it is just past the middle of July, I noticed that the air has had an autumn quality to it when I was working outside these past few days. The mornings have been chilly in spite of the 100 degree heat we had only three days ago. I am hoping that we do not have another early autumn, as we did last year. 

My zucchini is producing prolifically and I am getting some cucumbers now. My tomatoes, having gotten a very late start, are growing, but not yet producing. I hope to have enough green beans to harvest for a meal in a day or two. I have small seedlings of zinnia, coreopsis, marigold, and nasturtium in hopes of having some late summer blooms. Still, there is a change in the air that I can feel. In addition to my garden’s produce, the work I put forth on revision of my book, Question Everything: Overcoming Passivity in a Perilous World has now come to fruition. It is republished with a new cover that depicts light, matching the lightness that I have felt recently in my own being.

I have made changes in my life (voluntary and involuntary) so many times that I feel somewhat like an insect that must experience numerous instars in order to grow. Instars are those periods that arthropods must go through, of shedding their old skin and growing a new one. Now that my book project is complete, I can turn my attention to some of my other writing. My lease for this small house, where I have been living, will be up in November. Although I do not know what is next on my path, I know a change is coming. I will adapt as I have always done. I will squeeze every last drop of enjoyment out of the remaining summer – however short or long it will be. I am not concerned about tomorrow. Change is the only thing I can count on.

I am watering the plants in my garden this morning, in advance of another day of 100 degree heat. The stench of herbicide and/or pesticide is in the air. Am I the only one who notices this? 

Nearly every person I see in this town, as well as the travelers who stay at the motel where I work, are smokers. More than half of them are also obese. I see them walking out the door, cigarette in hand, anxious to light up. The acrylic shield that had been placed at the front desk during COVID, was taken down when my new manager took over. Now whenever a smoker stands across from me to check in, their cigarette breath blasts me in the face when they exhale forcefully. Or, the concentrated odor from their clothing drifts over the counter to where I am standing. The rock that borders the building and the parking lot is strewn with cigarette butts because the smokers are too lazy to dispose of them properly. They often stand just outside the doors or outside the laundry room, where I spend time folding the motel laundry, so that smoke comes in whenever the door is opened or it comes in through the vents for the air conditioning. Consequently, whenever I get home after work my clothes and hair smell of cigarettes. When I get out of my truck to walk into the grocery store, there is generally cigarette smoke in the air, from people sitting in their vehicles, as well as others walking to and from the store. When I return with the groceries that I have purchased, along with water bottles that I have filled, to my truck, I often have to hold my breath or cover my face because the air is rank with cigarette smoke. 

In casual conversations, people tell me that they need to spray their yards or that someone is coming to spray for them. They say these things matter-of-factly, as though it is a perfectly normal and natural thing to do. If I told them that the sprays are deadly, not only to insects and weeds, but also to other living things, to themselves, to their children and grandchildren, they would choose not to hear me. They prefer the comfort of their own ignorance. 

Whenever a person cannot hear, they are said to be deaf. When they cannot see, they are called blind. People can turn a deaf ear and be blind to what is right in front of them. To my knowledge, there is no word to describe those who cannot smell. What little they can smell, they cover with artificial fragrances. The fact is that people can choose what to see, what to hear, and what to smell. When they choose not to see the eyesores, not to hear the grating cacophony of noise, and not to smell the poisons that have saturated our air, they are blind and deaf and numb to the carnage that they contribute to on a daily basis.

The concept of the labyrinth originated from Greek mythology, but over the centuries it has come to represent the spiral growth of man. Symbolically, we enter the world through birth, and we each travel the singular, spiraling path back to the center, our Source. Once you have reached the center, that place of enlightenment or wisdom, you can make the return trip back to where you entered, through death. Labyrinths are often built as an area for walking meditations. The path to the center is not complicated. A maze, on the other hand, is a veritable tangle of confusing twists and turns, which do not always lead to the center, but will eventually lead to an exit. 

These two similar puzzles seem to represent two choices that a person can take on his or her life journey. Most labyrinths are made in patterns of the Fibonacci spiral, which is representative of the basis of life on our planet. People who follow a more or less singular path may reach enlightenment sooner. Those who veer off into the complicated, and often dangerous roads, can also reach the center, eventually. 

There are as many paths in life as there are people. Some will stay on the well-traveled, safe roads. Some will opt for the dangerous and uncertain ones. A very few will choose the path less traveled, but all will ultimately arrive back from where they started, at the very Source of life.
It is a reminder to me that regardless how lost one becomes and regardless how many mistakes or wrong turns she has made, she will sooner or later, find her way home. The man who has led a life devoid of love and compassion, and who has incurred a great karmic debt will also one day be led back home. In everything we do, in every choice we make, the bottom line is that we  always have choices. That choice is made either consciously or unconsciously, by the atmosphere of our minds. We can choose to fill our minds with hatred or we can choose as Michael Singer suggests, to have a beautiful mind. I highly recommend his book, The Untethered Soul, to those who have not read it. In the meantime, you can walk a labyrinth, or choose the more difficult maze. The choice is yours.

Many years ago when I met my first husband, he got me into the habit of writing a TTD, or Things to Do Today list. I have continued this practice ever since. In fact, I write all kinds of lists. I have lists of future projects that I hope to accomplish. I have a perpetual grocery list. I have lists of flowers that I want for my garden. I have lists of trees and shrubs that I hope to one day plant, as well as lists of gardening chores. And like most consumers, I have lists of things I would like to have one day. I have notes with ideas for future stories and blog posts.

I  know that I am not alone in this frenzy of list writing. I have small scraps of paper everywhere, of lists and reminders of things I must remember to do. They are posted on my refrigerator, taped to cabinet doors, and placed next to my handbag to help me remember what I need to do before leaving the house. We have become a society of people who are constantly “doing” and seldom resting. Today, people may stop whatever it is that they are doing, to check their phone or PC for texts or emails. They distract themselves by engaging in sites like Facebook, Twitter, and TicToc. At the end of the day, and often all day long, they also watch their TV’s. They are forever caught up in the total occupation by their minds. 

Since I have been following the teachings of Eckhart Tolle, I have become increasingly aware of my obsession with doing. I am learning to practice the art of being present and being aware of the moment that I am in, rather than being swept away by my mind into a past that is gone, or a future that is not yet here. I still make lists, but I now call them Things to Do Today or Tomorrow. Since I am rarely able to check off more than a few things on the To Do list that I have made for a day, I have decided that it can be tomorrow, or the next day, or the next. I no longer feel rushed or pressured about anything. Everything will get done in its perfect time and in the perfect way. I am at peace with what is, enjoying new moments as they arrive. In changing my Things to Do Today list to a Today/Tomorrow list, I feel the stress fade away and I am free to enjoy NOW.

I have always felt that our current education system is sorely lacking. Its focus on grades and athletics feeds rivalry and competitive impulses and has little to do with actual learning. Cheating becomes a problem too, because the end goal overshadows the enjoyment of learning. The subjects taught are often irrelevant or they are geared only towards navigating our modern, digital world. Those who endure the laborious studying and memorizing, achieving the coveted degree, PhD or Doctorate certificate, are often ignorant about the real world we live in. Important things like basic survival and growing food are not taught, even to very young children. These things are given little, if any importance, and are offered only as extra curricular activities like Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts.

As an alternative to traditional schools, I enrolled my daughters in Montessori schools when they were around three years old. Montessori methods honor individuality and recognize that children learn at different rates. Older students helped the younger students, fostering a sense of community. Learning was designed based on a child’s interests, rather than forcing the student to fit into a standardized expectation of performance.

I have been passionate about gardening since I was a teenager, but this was not taught to me by my parents, or anyone in my family. It was not taught to me in school. I have had to learn on my own by spending a lifetime reading, taking various gardening classes, and by hands on experience. Most people, even college educated ones, cannot tell you the names of more than a few species of birds. They do not know the difference between annuals and perennials and they cannot tell you the names of trees or shrubs. They often detest all insects and do not have a clue about why they exist. 

When I first discovered permaculture design, I was thrilled. I had always been an organic gardener, but the concept of permaculture can be applied to nearly all systems of life – even in the areas of finance and relationships. It has occurred to me that a permaculture design school would fulfill a huge need in our culture. Children could begin learning at a very early age, the keys to survival on our planet like gardening sustainably, preserving and cooking, growing food forests, foraging, caring for the natural world, and appreciation for the land, air, water, sunlight, and soil. They would learn to apply permaculture design to solve every problem, to create and sustain a healthier planet. It would foster in them a sense of community and cooperation, building skills that would promote inclusion, rather than separation and exclusion. They would come to understand the importance of reuse, recycle, and repurpose. They would gain these skills early on along with a reverence for the planet that sustains us.

I hope that soon, someone will begin a school and create a curriculum for a permaculture design school. Reading, writing, and arithmetic are important as well, and can be integrated into the whole system design for children. Currently, adults can earn a PDC (permaculture design certificate) through taking classes, but this is far too important to be quietly carried on in the background. It needs to be shouted out to the world. It needs to begin with our children. The children are our hope for a better future.