I have been spending a lot of time working with Transition Whatcom (http://transitionwhatcom.ning.com/) to "achieve our vision of resilient and more self-reliant communities throughout Whatcom County with a local food supply, sustainable energy sources, a healthy local economy, and a growing sense of vitality and community well-being." I am a member of the Transition Whatcom Operating Group (TWOG) and together a group of 8 of us try to lead the efforts of the over 800 member group through consensus decision making. It has been educational for me. Below is a blog entry that I recently posted explaining a little bit about my efforts as of late to become more present and connected with myself. I have had an awakening of sorts and am excited to continue to journy down my path of enlightenment.
I have always struggled to live in the Now, stay Present and not dwell on the past nor future. I can look back at my life and see how poorly I have done this at times. I have allowed the fear of the future, doubt regarding past decisions and stress induced onto me by others to control my life and steal from me the precious present moment. I feel that over the last year I have made more progress towards ignoring that which does not matter and thereby focus living in the present moment. I am enjoying time with my family and friends so much more than ever. I hate that I allowed unimportant things to steal from me time with those who are most important. But hate itself is not a useful emotion. So the best I can do is to learn from these past mistakes and never allow them to occur again.
When I first started learning about Peak Oil, I was obsessed with it. I read everything I could find, watched all the documentaries and largely reacted out of fear of what was to come. I was never content. I felt that I needed to be doing much more. I felt the incessant need to prepare. My connection with my family and friends suffered. The connection with myself suffered. It took me losing my job and almost myself before I came to realize that what I was doing was crazy. It was not sustainable. I was stealing the present time from myself and my family. I have since changed for the better. I still have a LONG way to go to learn to be more present and to ignore my egoic mind, but the most important aspect is that I am continuing to make progress. Continual improvement is huge. Small little steps in the right direction can bring about major change.
When I attended the Heart and Soul’s event titled “The How to Stay Sane as the World Goes Crazy: Economic Hard Times, Climate Change and the Messy Issues of Oil” by Kathy McMahon, aka 'The Peak Shrink' I was relieve to find out that my reactions to learning about peak oil was not unique. I was relieved to find that many people react in unique and nonproductive ways. And what I got out of this presentation and through this whole process is that which is most important is the building of Community. Connecting with likeminded individuals who also share your concerns regarding the future, and to find productive ways to work to become more resilient and self reliant in a way that does not steal away being present and enjoying life to its fullest NOW. This is what Transition Whatcom is all about. Bring us together to build community, to make connections with others, to connect with the world and to connect with ourselves in the process.
Through Transition Whatcom I have met so many wonderful people and made so many wonderful connections that is has literally changed my life for the better. I feel a sense of collective momentum towards positive change that draws me in and excites me. I am looking forward to the future, whatever it brings, and know that by continuing to make relationships and working together to build community that we will be able to handle whatever the futures throws our way, together!
