Radio Silence - The New Era

December is drawing to a close and with it, the latest cycle of the Mayan calendar.  It is the start of something different and new for some and for others it is just another day of little consequence in a great cycle of existence and being, whether it is observed or not.   For me, the latter is just as special.  And whether or not one is taken with the ideas of beginnings and endings, there is something profound about being present for the turning of the millennium, the end of a calendar, the start of a year.

Like many others, my interest in science and physics was peaked enormously this year by new discoveries and expeditions.  And the more I read, the more appreciative I became about being sentient.  Being sentient, having spirit - is enough for me.  It makes me feel very thankful to the Treaties, for understanding this and clearing a path for us to have relationships with all of Creation, to understand portions of how things work and how life is peacefully sustained, and also - to know when there is a problem and when and how we are a part of it.   It’s quite a gift and it’s one that I hope my nieces and nephews and our successors get to enjoy for another thousand years, if not longer.  And the gift only gets better really, because it includes creativity, imagination and innovation – the lifeblood in some respects of problem solving. These things, creativity and imagination have been a big part of my life since I was a kid, and I’m really grateful for it because I want the quality of my relationship with this world to be good.

My niece made this list of survival tips that I plan to work and learn from about how to live more sustainably.  I love that a 7 year old can have such an acute sense of what our needs are and how important it is to fulfill them, but be thoughtful and mindful of our impacts to the lands and waters.  She is definitely my inspiration.

November will forever be marked by a strange silence on the blog.  In November, I was participating in NaNoWriMo for the first time, attending my first ever Amanda F*!king Palmer show, and witnessing a tremendous amount of grief and compassion as my community was shaken by loss after loss.   I started this blog because I wanted to be able to talk about the amazing things that were happening in my community, and truthfully, there are so many that it’s difficult to keep up.  There were hard things to face too - and in these times of enormous grief, everywhere I looked I saw the hard work and determination of our peoples and their effort to learn and live our ways, to find balance and peace in their lives, to fulfill the roles they play in our community and be there for each other.  It was an incredible and sincere demonstration of resilience and compassion - a capacity and strength that I feel and certainly hope will only grow - it's always been here, after all.  

There has been a lot of activity across the world, a lot of discussion, exchanges of ideas and perspectives on Treaties, the treaty relationship and the rights of indigenous peoples.    I’ll probably blog about it very soon. But for right now, I want to reaffirm to myself my commitment to honour the Treaties the best that I can; to speak our languages more, to pick up more garbage, to live more sustainably and to enjoy this work – because it is a gift.

P.S. If you haven’t read the book The Universe Within – I’d highly recommend it.  It is amazing and explores physics concepts in a refreshing, inspiring and relatable way.  Here's a little quote from it. 

“Who are we, in the end?  As far as we know, we represent something very rare in the universe – the organization of matter and energy into living, conscious beings.”

- Neil Turok, The Universe Within  

And Treaty people.  All of us. 

Welcome to the New Era!

S

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