Swan Sanctuary

Today is the Winter’s Solstice. It is a day to feel joyful as our Earth begins its tilt in the opposite direction and we begin the slow journey back to warmer days. It is a day to celebrate, but I am pretty sure that a celebration requires two or more people. Thanks to the pandemic, I will be ushering in the light alone, burning candles and saying prayers for family and friends with only the howling of the wind for company.

The wrath of winter descended early this year as if in collusion with the already deadly virus that has slowed the world, from warp speed to nearly standing still. Like Medusa, this witch of the cold north in her unrelenting fury, has all but turned us to stone. I sit here feeling the weight of my own body and its reluctance to move into another day. Unwillingly, I begin the day’s activities in slow motion, wondering why I cannot simply hibernate like a bear; wait it out until it is over – the winter, the pandemic, the darkness. 

I know that this too, will pass – this waiting, this wondering, this uncertainty about a future that could easily slip away. I must remind myself that like the garden, which looks dead in winter, life only appears to have stopped. Somewhere beyond this solitude, in the deep recesses of my core, happier times are waiting to push forth from the surface of this temporary reality, to unfurl like the leaves of my prized perennials. I remind myself that spring will come. Spring will come.

Squirrels have taken over the tree cavity outside my window, which the European starlings had used last spring. I watched as one of the youngsters came out of the hole in the tree and began scampering around and up and down the tree. A second squirrel, hesitated, its tiny paws hanging over the edge of the hole while it looked out tentatively. It finally grew brave enough to venture out of its warm home and the two of them began to chase each other about.

I live next to a busy road. Though the speed limit is only 30 MPH, it becomes a highway a couple of miles to the east. It is also the route into town and to the RV park. Since it is in a rural area, there is no shortage of tractor trailers pulling everything imaginable, from trailers filled with cattle and horses, to heavy machinery. The squirrels often traverse the road, I suppose to greet their squirrel relatives and friends, or to find a wider array of food. The feral (and even the domestic) cats also cross the road frequently. Since I may well be the only bird feeder in town who also offers water, my yard is visited often by squirrels and stray cats, on a regular basis. In this arid climate, it is challenging for wild animals to find water and there are no ponds or natural streams that I know of.

Most of the squirrels and the cats have become savvy at crossing the road; however, last summer I saw a dead squirrel on the road just a few feet from the house. It’s body was still warm. I carried it to the field to be disposed of by the scavengers. I find it difficult to understand how this can happen on a 30MPH road, with two stop signs at the road crossing it, one stop sign a block to the west, and a huge dip in the road one block to the east. Drivers of huge semi’s may not be able to feel anything when they hit an animal, but presumably, at 30MPH, this would give an animal ample time to get out of the way. I can only conclude that whoever hit the squirrel was either speeding, or hit the squirrel purposely. This is red-neck country, after all. It is unfathomable to me how some humans actually enjoy killing – taking the life of another. 

At the end of gardening season, I nailed a platform onto my porch railing in order to provide food for the squirrels. I already feed them around the base of the bird feeders, along with the ground feeding birds. Hopefully, I can provide enough snacking for them on my porch, to stop them from crossing the road and to keep them out of harm’s way.

Modern man, it seems, has but two attitudes towards other species. They either choose to “domesticate” them, or they annihilate them. Instead of “live and let live”, human thinking is that other species should be subject to our whims, if indeed they are allowed to live at all. Those species that have acquiesced to human domination, like horses, cows, pigs, sheep, chickens, and dogs are allowed to live only as long as humans wish them to; then they are killed for food. Those species that have not been domesticated, are hunted (trophy hunting) made to perform in a circus, put on display in a zoo, or in the case of insects, exterminated. The entrapment of fish and marine species in nets is a whole other story. Because we have become the dominant predator, we believe that we alone get to decide who gets to live and who must die. House cats are one animal that has been domesticated, but many retain their natural wildness.

When did humans decide that it was okay to keep birds in cages, preventing them from using their god-given right to fly? I remember going into a Kmart® when I was a young girl, seeing a small aquarium stuffed full of parakeets, as though these birds had not the least bit of intelligence or feeling. Presumably, most of them died shortly after being taken home by the clueless consumer; and many probably died without ever leaving the store. Millions of fish are sold in pet stores that end up dying within a few months, only to be flushed down the commode. Animals found in the wild are often taken with the assumption that they can be made into a “pet”, only to die a short time later. Conversely, “exotic pets” purchased at pet stores, or on the black market, soon become problematic and are released into the wild, usually in an area that is not their native habitat. Monkeys and rats are often kept isolated in caged environments, where they undergo numerous forms of toruture and experimentation in the name of science. 

A few of today’s scientists have more empathy for the animals they study. They are learning that many species – even surprisingly, some of the stranger looking sea animals like octopus – have very high intelligence. We could pass laws banning the pet industry from selling non-native species. We could ban the use of animals in scientific experiments; but these laws rarely stop practices that are based purely on consumerism. Most likely, the illegal pet trade, like poaching, will continue. Our only hope is in educating people. We cannot make people care about endangered species, or for that matter, any animal, bird, fish, or amphibian. At best, we can show by example, through our own acts of kindness to animals and by sharing our knowledge, so that each person can come to understanding, on his or her own. Animals can teach us too, but we must first realize that we are NOT special. We are simply ignorant.

Six weeks out, Trump’s refusal to concede the election has gone far beyond reasonable conjecture. It is sending dangerous messages to our youth, as well as to adults, that insolence and disrespect may allow you to have your own way. It is threatening our democracy and making our country look foolish to the rest of the world. It is unhealthy. It needs to stop.

Joe Biden won the election by more votes than any president in American history, showing that the majority of Americans were able to see through the rhetoric and deceit of Trump. Prior to the election, when Trump was asked pointedly if he would step down, should he lose the election, he would not look the reporter in the eye; but looked away and mumbled under his breath in a barely audible reply, that sure he would concede. It was obvious at that time, he had no intention of doing so. You only need to look at Trump, to see his perpetual frown; listen to his sneering and condescending nonsense, to know that he is highly dangerous. 

He has not, as far as anyone can see, been doing his job of late. Instead of leading the country in the fight against this pandemic, and working to help the people through the resulting financial crisis, he is wasting everyone’s time filing unsubstantiated lawsuits and playing golf. 

January 20th, when President-Elect Joe Biden is sworn in, cannot come soon enough. Trump’s ship is sinking, but he is hoarding the lifeboat and stepping on everyone in his path to save himself. People who have had to flee their native countries to escape communism, have witnessed first hand, their democracies being overthrown by power hungry monsters. They are nervous because Trump reminds them of the persecution from which they had fled. Our democracy and our American values are at risk. It would behoove us to remain vigilant of Trump and his supporters; and to be prepared to stand strong together in the defending of our democracy. Our country is being shaken at its core, by the pandemic, the present economic instability, and the radical followers of Trump, who recently incited violence, burning a “Black Lives Matter” banner. These threats should not be ignored. We must watch our backs and keep shining our individual lights in order to dissipate the dark cloud of Trumpania.

I have eaten at seafood restaurants on occasion, and also at the well-known Red Lobster®; however, I have never ordered lobster for my meal. The sight of these poor animals, piled on top of one another in a tank with their claws rubber-banded, was enough to dissuade me from any desire to consume it. I grew up land-locked, miles and miles from the sea, so my knowledge about sea life is embarrassingly little. What I have learned, has come mostly from reading and watching documentaries. I know that our oceans have been overfished, bringing many species to near extinction. 

Male lobsters in Europe have a lifespan of 31 years; the females can live to 54. They do not “age” as we do, but eventually they die due to the energy required for molting. Not only do humans eat lobsters – they torture them by boiling them alive. A lobster’s sense of touch is far more developed than their sight or their hearing, which makes this mode of killing them still more torturous. They use tiny sensors in their claws to “smell” food; but these, along with their tails, are ripped off to get at the meat. They do not have the coping method of “shock” that we and other mammals have, when subjected to intense pain; so their suffering is intensified and prolonged when they are dropped into a boiling pot. 

As of 2018, Switzerland passed a law making it illegal to kill lobsters by boiling. They must first be electrocuted, to lessen their suffering prior to being prepared for human consumption. Overfishing aside, pollution in our oceans is causing shell rot and other illnesses in lobsters. For centuries, human beings have shown little compassion or empathy towards other species, and very little for members of their own. I do believe that our sensitivities are being awakened as we continue to learn about the world we live in. The one thing that remains unchanged in myself, is that I still refuse to eat lobster.

Those boys and girls who grow up with two loving parents to guide and mentor them is a rare thing. Those families that appear to outsiders, as near perfect, can be harboring family secrets of alcoholism and abuse. Children of single parents can suffer when that parent is stressed out from trying to support them. If that parent uses drugs to cope, or is perhaps suffering from poor health, the child suffers even more. 

There is another segment of youth that is seldom seen or talked about. These children have committed crimes, often gang related; but because they are under the age of 18, and cannot be tried as an adult, they are imprisoned in special juvenile facilities. What landed them there in most cases, is a tumultuous family life. Alcoholism and drug abuse in a poor family can be even more devastating to a child, than to one who is from a middle class family. There may be complete neglect, hunger, violence; or physical, mental, verbal and sexual abuse. Parental figures  may be dealing drugs or engaged in prostitution. One or both parents might be strung out on drugs, leaving the children to fend for themselves. The children, in their need to connect, join a gang and begin the journey that propels them on a fall through the cracks of society, where they become nearly invisible. 

Some of these children who wind up in prison are extremely intelligent. Had they been provided with opportunity or privilege, they might excel in life. Most heartbreaking of all, are those children who purposely act out in prison in order to have their sentence extended, because they would rather remain in prison than return to the life they knew before. The life they came from was too frightening, too intolerable, or too abusive to endure. It is difficult to imagine the unbearable conditions these children have known in their short lives, that would make them choose prison over freedom. We should not be locking these children up where there is so little hope of them ever having a normal life. In most cases, the remainder of their lives will be like a rubber ball, bouncing back and forth between committing more crimes and going to prison. We need to look honestly at ourselves, at society, and at the capitalism run amok, that has left so many living in poverty. We need to help the children.

We should be able to bury our dead. We should be allowed to bury them in the place of their choosing; on their own property, at sea, or set aflame on a raft that is cast out to sea; even perhaps, fed to hungry wolves. If cremation is opted for, the family should be allowed to oversee the process; to ensure that no blood is drained and no organs are taken, if the deceased had not agreed while living, to allow it. 

That part of life which should be a sacred moment, just like when we are born, has been reduced to the mere flick of a switch. Now you see your loved one. Now you don’t. Few people have the meaningful closure that once was common. A dying person often made his transition while lying in his own bed, surrounded by loved ones. Since the advent of hospitals, many people die in cold, sterile rooms, hooked up by tubes to a myriad of machines, while helpless family members stand looking on, as mere spectators. The loving interactions that normally take place around the dying have become in most cases, obsolete.

The actual experience of death has been removed from most citizens. Their no longer living wives, husbands, sons, and daughters are whisked away by hospital personnel and transported to funeral homes where they remain unseen for hours or days. If burial is opted for, the body is drained of its once precious fluids and pumped full of embalming fluid to slow the advance of decay. I learned recently from a friend, that the embalmed bodies are placed inside a simple box, which is then placed inside the very costly, embellished coffin. This is to prevent worms and other decomposers from getting inside. My friend went on to say that this is probably a good thing for the worms because the embalming fluid would most likely poison them.

This preservation of bodies that are no longer inhabited, is a pointless effort to immortalize the persons who once lived in them. It is ignorance of the life for which our world has been designed. We are not our bodies. Our bodies are the vehicles we use while our spirit experiences life here on earth. When we are finished using them, they should be returned to the earth, to be recycled into something new. The astronomical cost of dying is just another example of capitalistic greed. Fancy coffins, hearses, cemeteries, and elaborate tombstones are a huge waste of space and resources. Bodies should be buried directly into the ground, no box required. A tree should then be planted above it – a fruit tree, a mighty oak, a fruiting shrub, or a rose bush. Death is our final opportunity to give something back to the life that was given to us.  Like so many of our modern practises, death is not aligned with nature, but in direct opposition to it. 

Here is a question you can ask yourself: If your loved one contracts COVID19, do you want her to die alone, in a hospital full of strangers, hooked up to ventilators and numerous other machines – or do you want her to pass peacefully in her own bed, where you can touch her and hold her hand and look into her eyes? Do you want to have the opportunity to say goodbye and to grieve in privacy? I believe the trauma caused to people, by the separation from loved ones at the time of their death, will come to haunt us for years to come. No pun intended.

Some days I am hopeful. Other days; however, I am reminded of how far the human race must go in order to clean up the mess we have made. More and more people are becoming aware of the problems we have created on our planet; but very little is being done to rectify our mistakes. Too much of the world has become complacent. Until we stop doing those things that have led to the suffering of all but a few, we will continue on this downward spiral to our own annihilation. 

Scientists continue to create dangerous drugs, in spite of the fact that nature has provided us with all of the herbs and medicinal plants we need, to maintain health. Herbs do not have side effects and they do not cause further problems. If they are flushed down the toilet or thrown out with the garbage, they will not contaminate our waterways; nor will they decimate other species on their way to, or after they have arrived at the sea. In actuality, most herbs can be found growing nearby, or they can be grown in a pot. They do not require a special laboratory, microscopes, test tubes or other paraphernalia; in order for scientists to bottle them up and sell them to the public for great profit. These plants were put here for us to use, completely free.

Scientists are dissecting various hallucinogenic substances in the absurd assumption that by extracting out a certain element, they can treat mental disorders. Ironically, most mental disorders have been caused by our way of life. Depression, and the very long list of other mental illnesses are a direct result of our having disengaged ourselves from the rest of nature. In many cases, mental afflictions have been caused by scientifically derived drugs, by our processed foods, and by the poisoning of our environment. We continue to heap one poison on top of another in the vain hope that we can fix those problems we ourselves created. Instead of turning to the infinite intelligence that created us, to restore balance in an individual, or to restore it in our world, we pompously believe that we can create something better than what has already been given to us.

We ourselves have created nearly all of our human problems, as well as the numerous problems that have crippled our planet. Indigenous societies that have strived to live in harmony with nature, have few health problems, or problems with life in general. They are content. They are happy. In the industrial parts of the world, where more than 50% live in cities, people are filled with frustration, anger, hatred, and fear. Many are miserable in their existence. We all know intuitively, that we are designed to live happy, healthy lives, in contentment and harmony. Unfortunately, we continue to sabotage our own happiness by blindly allowing capitalism and greed to rule our lives. Today though, as I look out at the trees, the birds, and the squirrels; and as I take in the morning sun as it slowly climbs through the clouds, I choose to be hopeful, rather than discouraged. I am hoping today that more people will awaken; and that very soon human beings will choose to follow nature, rather than dissect her.

There are many things that can be done to begin the arduous journey back, towards a healthy planet. Nature will help us, but only if we are willing to meet her halfway. We can plant trees and re-forest areas that have been stripped bare. We can replace GMO’s and monocultures with native species and a diversity of plants. We can move away from factory farming and towards more sustainable agriculture. We can cease the use of herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides; and make concerted efforts to bring back keystone species. We can pass legislation to protect more of our wild areas. We can work towards replacing our dependence on fossil fuels with clean, solar energy. We can curb our use of plastics, implement mandatory recycling, and create more jobs where people can work from home in order to drive less. We can bring back the bicycle as a mode of transportation, rather than having it reduced to another competitive sport. We can teach our children to care for our planet by allowing them to spend more time outdoors, interacting with nature.

We can do all of these things, and much, much more; but what really has to change is our attitudes. Human beings must step down from their pedestal of self-proclaimed superiority. Humans must come to understand that we are part of nature – not separate from it. We must let go of hatred that we have harbored for anything that is unlike ourselves, be it a skunk, a bat, or another human being of a different color or sexual orientation. We must let go of greed. Most of all, we must release the fear that gives rise to hatred and to our propensity for war. Changing our attitudes and showing others the way out of ignorance, is what must first change before the other efforts can have any lasting effect. We must learn to care, above all, about the life that is all around us.

Comfort means many things to many people. Comfort is probably what we felt in the womb, before we were propelled out into the bright light and sucked in that first gulp of cold air. We have comfort foods, comfortable beds, and comfortable clothes; even soothing music can provide the comfort we seek. I have a large stuffed chair, with a matching ottoman, that I like to curl up in with a soft, warm throw. As I have grown older, I have found physical comfort to be more important than when I was younger. Aching bones and sore, stiff muscles from a lifetime of physical labor, have given me a new appreciation for a sedentary life.

Physical comfort can help to relieve emotional stresses to some extent. This is where comfort foods can help to soften traumatic days. For a surprisingly large number of people, their emotional pain is so great, that they turn to alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs for comfort. We seek comfort because it places a barrier between ourselves and the harsh world we live in. Yet even with our many man-made comforts, we are not immune to the realities of life. We often delude ourselves with imaginings of a perfect life; but such a life does not exist. It is dwelling in the past, or dreaming of a future that has not arrived, that causes us misery. When we seek comfort in the present moment, we are seeking it in order to let go of those events that do not live in it. In turning to that which provides us solace, we can become aware of all that is right, in the moment. If we only just focus on our breath, we know that the next breath will follow. The next heartbeat will remind us that our life is sustained by millions of miraculous and automatic functions within our body. In that place of physical comfort, nothing else exists, but life itself.