The Story of Stuff

I think I may have talked a colleague into making the school theme next year "sustainability". Wendy is the Gym teacher (Phy Ed...) and she was telling me about this all-school collaborative project they try to do each year. I think she didn't want to scare me so she didn't bring it up this year. She didn't know how she could incorporate that theme in the gym and I suggested teaching them games created by indigenous peoples. LaCrosse is a Native American game, there must be more. I love the idea of teaching the students these games from far off lands only to discover that they already play those games, "but that game is called soccer!" Ethel Tuveson's gym class. I am still so taken by Julia Butterfly Hill's thoughts about Away being this place where all the things we no longer want go to rest. I picture it being something like the land of the Misfit Toys only more Tim Burton-esque ( I love that guy). Really, there can't be anything special about the land of Away- just heaps of stale stink preserved in PVC plastic, but I like the idea of teaching my students that there is still life in that stuff we toss without thinking. And what if it came back to life??
I have decided that I want to start composting. I talked to my friend, Kelcey, last night, who is my partner in environmental/creative endeavors around here. I asked her if she knew where I could find a good countertop composting bin and she suggested an ice cream container. Here I was thinking about the Crate and Barrel one... solving a problem with new stuff again. I have lots of ice cream in the freezer right now, I'd practically be eating it for a good cause! I have some research to do, though, to figure out how to make compost and not a buffet for critters. It makes me so excited to think about how happy my plants will be with me!
Jim and I drew Sacred Spirit cards this morning, inspired by your Goddess cards. Mine was a Cradleboard, the ability to respond. It didn't resonate with me until I read the meaning: the part that sticks with me is that the papoose we carry on our backs (on the cradleboard) is our future. My ability to respond, then, speaks to making conscious choices about my future, for my future. It was startling how similar the concept was to what I wrote the other day about wanting to make conscious choices for myself and, someday, my kids; to be able to say we live this way on purpose. So I guess I have to move to DC then! I'm only halfway kidding. I haven't ruled it out. There are so many factors to think about, Jim and I will have to have a family meeting.
I am going out tonight with another dear friend, who is having major marital problems. She just shared this with me tonight, says she wants to crawl into a hole. I suggested we go for a long walk along the lakefront instead and end up somewhere for dinner. I had a great day today, but after I talked to her I felt like I had an upset stomach. Help me, Universe, to use my energy as a positive antidote instead absorbing negativity. I can't help anyone by taking away their pain, but I can help them to move through it.