Why I will probably never know the woes and sufferings of the destitute

(c) Ariana Salvo. May not be used without permission

I have been realizing this week that no matter how little I have in the way of financial resources, I will never, unless some major catastrophe hits my entire network of friends and family scattered across the globe, experience the physical hardship of poverty. When I say this I mean that kind of poverty that the majority of the global population lives with every single day. The kind that results in homelessness and starvation.

The reason that I will likely never experience poverty has nothing to do with me. It has to do with where I happen, by chance, to have been born, and with my incredible family and friends who would never allow me to be homeless or go hungry. Which has had me considering the idea that poverty may not be a symptom of a lack of financial resources, but rather an indication that our global family may actually be experiencing a lack of love. Because if we really, truly loved one-another the way my friends and family love me, we would simply not allow them to be homeless and hungry. That's what I'm thinking.

I have a number of new mantras. One is THE UNIVERSE IS ABUNDANT. I repeat this to myself often throughout my day and week, especially when I am operating on a shoestring and am hungry or tired or just wishing that one of the vehicles that speeds by me as I walk home at the end of the day would pull over and offer me a ride. Repeating this does not immediately change my circumstances, but it does make me reflect on all the good in my life, and focusing on what is truly awesome somehow makes the awesome expand. I guess it is the idea that whatever you focus your attention on will grow, so if you focus on abundance, you will attract more and more abundance in your life.

I find that not only do I attract abundance when I think this way....I also notice myself doing things for other people to help add to their share of abundance: holding doors open for elderly people, giving someone a compliment, smiling at strangers, making my friends laugh, baking muffins and sharing them with my flatmate, giving someone who needs one a hug or saying a healing prayer for someone in need. Abundance need not be big things. Often it is small details or gestures or words that completely reorient a day.

This evening a friend treated me to supper. I had not eaten since breakfast and was very hungry. This same friend then accompanied me while I walked a dog that I am caring for, and then walked home with me, inviting me in when we reached her home for a cup of tea and a break before I continued on my walk home. Having her company all afternoon added so much joy to my day. This afternoon another friend gave me a ride back downtown so I did not have to walk, saving me some valuable energy. My mother sends me notes on Facebook and Gmail expressing her love and sharing her news, which not only makes me feel valued, but also makes her feel a little bit closer despite the vast geographic distance that is now between us.

Abundance is a choice -- one that is easily overlooked when we get caught up in the hectic pace and details of life. Love is also a choice. One that I find tends to blossom out of a life of abundance. Wherever you are, and whatever your circumstances, try taking the time today to recognize all of the abundance in your life and to share some of it with those around you. What do you notice?

Joyful weekend madness

This past weekend made me very conscious of how much beauty I am surrounded by. On Friday I volunteered at Soil Born Farms. It was a gorgeous Fall day. The sky was (as usual!) clear blue; the air was crisp; the sky was filled with birds feasting on the remains of the harvest, and we had just over thirty fifth-graders on the farm. We started off our tour by learning about winter squash, which had just been harvested.

This photograph is the property of Ariana Salvo. May not be reproduced without permission.

The kids were excited to learn about the many varieties that are grown on the farm, and were especially enthusiastic about the pumpkins, and the idea of pumpkin pie!

After a tour of the farm, on which the kids got to pet the cows and the American Guinea Hogs, we divided the group into three groups. My group weeded the broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and lettuce that we have planted with other groups over the last few weeks. While we harvested, I got to talk to the kids. The conversation went something like this:

Boy in my group: "Miss Ariana, wouldn't it be cool if there were a vacuum cleaner machine that you could put over the top of the bed and suck up all the weeds without pulling out the crop?"

Me: "Yes. But isn't it neat how when you take the time to hand weed, you get to notice little details about the vegetable plants that you wouldn't notice otherwise like how fast they are growing; whether they have insects on them, and which ones; whether they are getting enough water or too much; whether they look healthy or not?"

Boy: "No. I like the vacuum cleaner idea better."

Nevertheless, we did weed the entire bed of crops, and the kids did learn why this is important, and at the end of the day they gave a very well-articulated presentation to the other kids about the process. And despite the seeming lack of interest on the part of a number of the kids while we were working, at the end of the day I learned that for many of them, weeding was their favourite activity of the day.

Lesson of the day: Just because I think the kids' focus is wandering does not mean that they are not enjoying themselves and learning from the experience.

This photograph is the property of Ariana Salvo. May not be reproduced without permission.

Friday evening I joined friends for a devotional gathering. A devotional can be many things. Our devotional is a group of friends from a variety of backgrounds. We come together every Friday night to read prayers, poems, stories, passages and tablets. Anything that inspires. It is a re-filling of the soul time. A time for regathering of spiritual energies at the end of a long week, and preparation for a great weekend ahead. Often there is a theme. This past Friday the theme was purity. After devotions we usually head out for dinner together to enjoy good company and great food. This Friday the group voted for Indian. We had a long dinner that went on and on. So long in fact that the restaurant started locking up as we left. It was an evening of warmth and stories and lots of laughter.

On Saturday morning I volunteered at a children's education day and craft fair at Soil Born Farms. A friend of mine joined me, so the two of us pulled up on the farm at 8.30am, just as the warm sun was illuminating the dew tipped remains of the recently harvested crops. We spent the day making art with children. Cady made picture frames that the kids decorated with rice and beans. I painted prayer flags with the kids and hung them up to dry on a clothes line. There are few things as beautiful as all those brightly painted squares of fabric blowing on the line in the sunshine. At noon we packed everything up and were invited to join the farm staff for meal prepared using ingredients from the farm. We filled our plates with roasted vegetables, stewed vegetables, and butternut apple soup, and headed outside to  a long table set up beneath the wide green canopy of an enormous oak tree. Sitting at that table surrounded by old friends and new, with the blue sky above, and the golden light all around us I felt such an incredible sense of gratitude for the community that I have built around me, and that has welcomed me in this past year.

When I left the farm I headed further out of town to spend some time with one of my best friends, Deepali, who I have not been able to see in a number of months because she started a new job at a local hospital as a lab tech, and has such a crazy schedule of night shifts and day shifts that she is pretty much always too tired to get together. Her husband was out of town for a few days, so she called and asked if I would come out for a visit. Her home is beautiful -- it is a geodesic dome, which means it is round, and has light coming in from all angles, including the roof. The house is surrounded by old oak trees, and bordered by a pond on one side and a swimming pool on the other. Deepali and her husband Chad have planted fruit trees all around their property, Deepali planted a vegetable garden, and a group of us helped to renovate a barn on the property that is now being used by an artist friend of theirs to create works of great beauty.

Deepali and I spent our early evening at a local Vietnamese restaurant nursing bowls of rice noodles and vegetables in broth, and catching up on each other's news. Once we were all caught up we headed back to her place for her weekly fireside. A fireside is a gathering of people interested in learning more about the Baha'i faith. Deepali's fireside this week focused on what the Baha'i writings have to say about the nature of the soul. Often the group that turns up is large. This past Saturday however it was a small group of us. Myself and Deepali, Mr. and Mrs. Dunbar, a couple who recently moved back from fifty years of serving the Baha'i community abroad in Israel and Latin America; Sholeh -- a lovely Persian woman who also served abroad in Israel; David -- a half Indian, half Mexican fellow who is investigating the Baha'i faith; and Dale -- a Mormon man who is exploring a variety of faiths. The seven of us spent most of the night reading quotes about the nature of the soul, and having an animated and deeply engaging discussion. At a little after ten it was discovered that Mr. Dunbar was the artist responsible for the gorgeous artwork covering all the walls, and that he had more artwork out in the barn, so the entire group migrated out to the barn to see more of his paintings. It was a night of many, many stories, connections, hot tea, cheesecake, and lots of laughter. By the end of it I was so tired that I ended up deciding to stay the night at Deepali's home and drive back to the city in the morning.

Sunday morning I flew back into Sacramento on the six lane highway that always makes me feel as if I am in a movie (I never thought I would live somewhere where I regularly drive on roads so large to get around) in time to get picked up by my dear friend Dionne for our morning tea date. She and her son Lucas and I headed off to a local coffee shop where we ordered soy chai lattes sprinkled with cinnamon, and headed outside to sip them in the morning sunlight. It was the perfect second start to the day.

At 2pm yesterday Dionne, her husband Todd, son Lucas and I migrated over to the park where a bunch of my friends were meeting up to play bocce ball and frisbee and horse shoe ringing. It was a great day to be outside, and we spent the next three hours alternately lying on a blanket and chatting, and running around on the grass. As the sun started sinking in the horizon we decided to go fill our bellies with Mexican food and then head back to Dionne's house for board games.

Last night, lying in bed, I was replaying the weekend, and realizing what an incredible life I have, and what a fun-loving group of friends I am surrounded by. It is often hard for me to believe that I have been here in Sacramento for over a year and a half now, but when I look around me at the community I have become a part of it is incredible that I have ONLY been here for a year and a half. I often take stock of my life by what I have accomplished with my work, discounting the human relationships. But I think the biggest accomplishments in my life over the past 18 months have been in the human relationship department. I have met SO many new people, and been welcomed into the lives of so many new friends. I have learned a great deal from all the children and youth that come to learn on the farm I volunteer on. I have learned a lot about farming in a more arid environment. I have learned loads about what it takes to give birth to and raise a happy, healthy child. I have become an active member of the Sacramento Baha'i community. I have struggled with, and am constantly re-negotiating and reinventing my relationship with my parents. And I have even learned how to maintain healthy friendships with folks back in Canada over a vast physical distance. It has been an amazing 18 months. I am looking forward to the start of the cooler weather, and to the winter ahead.

How about you, friends? When you look back over the last year, and take stock of what you have accomplished, are you amazed at how much you have accomplished? At how much love you have given and received? At the incredible community that embraces you, and that you can call home? 

Zero degrees of separation

Me in my Green & Black's community development t-shirt that arrived in the mail today

It is almost midnight, and is raining. The past three weeks it has been raining more often than not raining, and the sound of water falling has become a part of my internal rhythm as I move through my days. I have been thinking a lot about community this week. What got me started was the group of women that are sharing the amazing journey that our collective, round the world journal is currently on. Listening to Pascale's experiences over the past few weeks since the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand destroyed her family home (and many other homes and buildings in her community), and watching as she struggles to find ways to contribute to re-building her community, has moved me deeply. Life has been incredibly difficult for her, but instead of isolating herself from the suffering that is happening all around her, she has reached out, recognizing that a single person or family cannot achieve happiness and prosperity alone. It requires teamwork. So she has been out making meals for volunteers, baking for her friends and family, returning to her family home, that she and her parents had to abandon when the earthquake damaged it beyond repair, to feed the resident ducks, and wandering around Christchurch filming positive quotes and poetry that some amazing human being had been writing on rubber hearts and posting in random places all over the city to help improve morale. The following is a short video of Pascale's latest community adventures:

Another thing that has me thinking about community is this quote: "Do you not see that we are one? You cultivate your purity in me; I feed my mud in you. You support me; I support you-- and together, we flower love and joy." (From Rapport with Thich Nhat Hanh on Interrelationship). The quote is on the front of a card that my close friend Ahava left on my desk before I took her to the train station. I have it standing on the corner of my desk still, and I look up at it often. It reminds me that even though I feel incredibly alone a lot of the time right now, that I am in reality part of a very strong, closely knit community that stretches all the way around the globe, and for which I am incredibly grateful.

One way that I have decided to nurture my writing is to create writing time with friends. I do not have any close friends here that write, so while my friend and fellow poet Ahava was visiting, the two of us went out on a writing date. We sat in a coffee shop, set our timer, wrote for short periods of time on different subjects, and then shared what we had written and gave each other feedback. It was such a positive experience for me that I asked her if we could continue to do this even once she was back on Saltspring Island, in BC, and she agreed. So today was our first writing date. It was shorter than planned, but with the aide of Skype, we could see each other and hear each other, and we could sit writing with each other. It was an incredible experience, and I am really looking forward to our next writing date. One of the amazing things about technology is that it enables us to see the context that a person exists in. I have not yet visited Ahava on the organic farm she lives on, but within a few minutes, she had given me a panoramic view of her writing and yoga studio, the creek bubbling past outside and the forest behind it, and the hand-made gate right outside her window. I could see the light that she is surrounded by, and I even got to meet her partner via webcam, which was a first! I give technology a hard time, but today it provided me with a gift. At one point during our writing session my neighbour blew his car horn, startling both me and my friend in British Columbia. We had to laugh at that one. To be able to be so present with each other across such an enormous distance on so many levels totally transforms human relationships, and our definition of community.

Another thing that made me think of community today was another Skype conversation I had with a friend in Cyprus. I miss my friends from back home tremendously, and I rarely get to talk to them, so our conversation today was like a drink of fresh spring water after a long hike. Deeply refreshing. There are words that I grew up using to communicate affection that I do not use in my everyday conversations in North America. Speaking with Helen back in Cyprus, I notice our common language and understanding come bubbling back up, and I realize that no matter how far apart we are, she, and my other childhood friends, will always be a very real, very present part of my community. Having strong friendships with people who I have known for so many years keeps me grounded and strong in my beliefs and values.

I received a big box in the mail today. It was from Raleigh -- the organization leading my upcoming expedition to the Dominican Republic, and contained a first aid kit, water bottles, a mess tin, sleeping mat, and a number of Green & Black's community development t-shirts. Receiving this box made me reflect on the fact that in two weeks I will be expanding my community yet again -- this time to include my fellow expedition colleagues from all over the US and the UK; our expedition leaders and medic; and the organic cocoa farmers from the Dominican Republic that we will be working with and living with for two weeks. Community is fluid. Always changing, growing, and becoming more diverse. 

Every time I get into the car to drive anywhere I hear more about what is happening in Japan. Disaster after disaster in Japan. It is heartbreaking. But amidst all the heartbreak, there is story after story of people risking their lives to save other people. Those who are working to prevent further disasters at the nuclear plants even though they know that by doing so they are jeopardizing their own lives. Those who are going into the areas destroyed by the tsunami to help distribute food or search for survivors. Individuals who, while most are fleeing to the south of Japan, are heading to the worst-hit areas to lend a hand in any way they can...the list is endless. Today I read an article by Ed West, about how unlike pretty much every other country that has experienced a major natural disaster of any kind recently, Japan has reported no looting. The reason given is that the Japanese feel it is wrong to steal even when you are destitute. That values still matter even when things are tough...perhaps especially when things are tough. Obviously the Japanese have a thing of two to teach the rest of the world about community ethics and mutual support and collaboration. Being thrown into collapse and chaos has a way of peeling back the layers and exposing what is at the heart of a culture or peoples. The heart of the Japanese people leaves me silent with awe and respect for their courage and integrity.

Tonight I had seven friends over for supper. We are currently on day 14 of the Baha'i 19 day fast, and so we are not eating or drinking from sunrise 'til sunset. My friends and I broke our fast with healthy servings of tomato artichoke pesto pasta with mushrooms and turkey sausage, parmesan cheese and fresh basil. We were gathering to study the Kitab-i-Aqdas, which is our Most Holy Book. After filling our bellies with pasta, and making hot cups of tea, we settled down to a couple of hours worth of study and deepening on our holy writings. It was an evening of deep spiritual conversation and connection, and we all went away from it feeling rejuvenated and inspired. I did not know any of the people in this group this time last year. And now we are a community. It is amazing to me how quickly community develops when I am willing to open my heart and be present with it.

All of these thoughts are reminding me that in reality there is no separation. My separateness from those in Japan, BC, Cyprus, and New Zealand is nothing but an illusion. In reality we are one. Any shift in the earth on one side of the planet necessarily means a shift in the planet on the other side of the world. A loss in New Zealand or Japan is a loss here. Tiny acts of kindness, compassion or courage in Japan are a reflection of the capacity of humankind to show kindness and compassion; to act with courage.  

And now it is almost 1am, and it is time to rest so that I can get up again before the sun rises to eat breakfast and drink before another full day of fasting.

As you move through your Wednesday, maybe you could reflect on what community means to you. Where do you find community? How do you create it? What communities are you a part of? I would love to hear your experiences within community. Have a great Wednesday. See you soon!

Reverb10, Day 22: No place like home

Prompt: Travel. How did you travel in 2010? How and/or where would you like to travel next year? 

The author of this prompt is Tara Hunt:
The Whuffie Factor: Using the Power of Social Networks to Build Your Business
@missrogue

"Let not a man glory in that he loves his country; let him rather glory in this, that he loves his kind."
~ Baha'u'llah ~

 I have traveled across the maps of geography this last year. Across snow-covered mountains and prairies and the wide open vistas of desert and agricultural valleys. But I have already said enough about these journeys. I have also embarked on an internal journey of discovery.

My internal journey is very personal, but it extends out into the world around me in very real ways. In trying to figure out who I am, I am also trying to better understand what kind of environment I operate best in; what kind of community do I want to be a part of? How do I contribute to creating the kind of community atmosphere that I do deeply want to be a part of? Until six years ago, I did not think much about my role in creating the kind of community that I am excited to be a part of. I have lived in amazing communities my whole life. I grew up on the island of Cyprus surrounded by a community of people who I consider to be family. People who shaped my values and taught me to love deeply, to serve with everything I have in me, to develop an intimate and powerful relationship with the land and sea that surrounded me. Cyprus taught me loyalty and justice, and that there are very few things I would not do for a friend. It also taught me the importance of a community. Of roots. Of family. Of a strong story. A sense of belonging.

When I went off to Prescott College in Arizona, I was immersed in a community that was supportive, creative, innovative, open-minded, adventurous, inspired, inspiring, energetic...there was a sense that anything was possible in this community. I learned that the natural world was an integral part of my community. I made friends with powerful, strong, graceful women who danced and did yoga and meditated and prayed and sang...women who went hiking and camping with me; women who were fearless and open-hearted and full of laughter and fun and hope and dreams. I met faculty who were humble, and who I respected, and still respect deeply -- who were willing to walk by my side as we learned together instead of looking down on me from the tower of their PhDs. I learned to question, to believe in myself, to explore beyond my comfort zone. My community was dedicated to serving humanity. We wanted to work together. We traveled, we started NGOs to help better integrate the Mexican immigrant community with the mainly white, Caucasian community, we fought for justice and human rights. My friends and faculty became another extension of my family -- my network for experiencing the world; the strong foundation from which I could confidently explore the world.

When I moved to Prince Edward Island, I was integrated into a closely knit, supportive community. PEI has the highest level of volunteerism in all of Canada. Someone is sick, people organize a fundraiser to help pay medical bills; someone needs a new house, people turn up to help build it; when you need food, you can buy it from a farmer who lives relatively nearby. The network is tight, and it is strong. Sometimes stronger than residents would like, but it does have its advantages. For the first number of years that I lived on PEI, I enjoyed the strong sense of community without really thinking much about what it means to be a member of such a community. Once I graduated with my M.A., and started working with a local farmer, I started realizing how much personal energy, love, commitment, time, money, patience, determination, and and selfless service goes into maintaining the community life that I had come to value so much. It is not a culture built upon the freedom and independence of the individual. It is all about connection and mutual support, and therefore sometimes disagreements, struggle, reconciliation, and adaptation. Being a small place, there is very little luxury for not getting along with one's neighbour. Of course this means that people are sometimes pleasant on the surface in order to keep the peace, when underneath they are boiling with anger, but I found that just as often, the close-proximity means that people honestly do learn to work alongside each other even thought their ethics and ideals may differ tremendously.

In addition to my larger community on PEI, I had the community that I built through my Baha'i activities. The Baha'i community did have its struggles, like any community. Sometimes we had personal disagreements, which would boil over, but we would confront them, move through the pain and hurt feelings, and find resolution. There was a level of commitment and willingness...an unspoken acknowledgment that we were invested in wading through the quicksand to get to solid ground. Unity was our goal, and we did not let our personal hurt feelings stop us from always striving for it. Call it idealistic. Call it impossible. It was how we lived, and it created an environment that was loving, supportive, empowering, and inspiring. I could not wait to get to community events. I felt it was an honour to be elected to, and serve on our local administrative body. My community was, and has remained, despite the vast distance separating us now, my immediate family.

Living on PEI helped me to learn that being part of a community like I have just described is not easy. I was hurt many times, frustrated many times, angered many times. But I learned to stay put and grow through these times. When I was insulted; when my feelings were hurt; when I did something that hurt someone else's feelings or angered someone -- I did not walk out of the room and retreat into myself. I stayed right there, swallowed my pride and my hurt, and I grew through it with whoever I was having the interaction with. It was very hard, and sometimes we did not succeed in reconciling our differences on the first try, but we kept trying. I kept trying. I learned that I valued the unity of my community over needing to being right every time. I realized that a community is a reflection of the energy that each member puts into it. Things were not perfect, but I learned that if I remained open and willing to adjusting my perspective -- if I knew deep down that whoever I was experiencing difficulty with was someone who I loved and respected, and who loved and respected me -- that we would get through this and that our community would be stronger as a result. I learned all of this from experiencing it. It was a gift to be a member of a community like this, but it was also a responsibility.

Having moved to a new community, I am having to learn to negotiate new community dynamics. When I first arrived, and for many months after arriving, I simply did not engage with my community. I was critical of the dynamics at play, and did not want to engage with them. As a result, I have been living here for many months now, and I still do not feel that I am a part of a supportive, engaging community. I have been reflecting on this deeply lately. I realize that all communities are different. I am living in a much larger city, so relationships are going to be influenced by the cultural and geographic circumstances that we are living in. The weather here is much milder, so people do not have to band together to get through tough winters. People earn relatively good salaries, so they do not have to support each other as much to make sure that everyone has food on the table, or that medical bills get paid. But I still have neighbours. I still have a community whose energy is influenced by what its individual members are willing to put into it. I still have a role that I can choose to put all of my heart, or only part of my heart, into. If I want to live in a community that is happy and exciting and supportive, I have a role to play in creating such a community. I have a choice about what I surround myself with, and that choice is not just whether I stay or leave. It is also about how I choose to engage with the community that I happen to be in while I am here, however long that might me.

Yes, I have traveled this year. But some of the most important journeys seem to be taking place when I stop moving so much. When I put down some roots. And when I start contributing to building the kinds of relationships with the people who surround me that inspire and energize me. When I start proactively contributing to creating a community that feels like home around me.

Reverb10, Day 14: The ripple effect of 7 highly creative people

Prompt: Appreciate. What's the one thing you have come to appreciate most in the past year? How do you express gratitude for it?

The author of this prompt is Victoria Klein:
27 Things to Know About Yoga
@victoriaklein

'To acquire knowledge is incumbent upon all, but of those sciences which may profit the people of the earth, and not such sciences as begin in mere words, and end in mere words." ~Baha'u'llah~

"What greater bounty than this that science should be considered as an act of worship and art as service to the Kingdom of God." ~Abdu'l-Baha~

There are many sources of inspiration in this universe, and endless ways of expressing our creativity. The internet has meant that we can share our creative endeavors around the globe with each other in real time, exchanging ideas, and being inspired by projects happening on the other side of the planet at the same time that the people who are physically implementing them are experiencing them for the first time.

I have had the experience this year of chatting with a new friend of mine in New Zealand through Facebook chat. She is 19 hours ahead of me. For those of you who need a visualization in order to grasp what that means in practical terms, when it is midnight here on a Monday, it is 7pm on a Tuesday for Pascale. She has already moved through the entire day that is my tomorrow before I have even ended my current day. I grew up traveling between North America and the Middle East, and generally do not bat an eyelash to the idea of communicating across time zones, but even I am blown away by the reality of being able to have a conversation with someone who is that far away from me as if she is sitting right beside me enjoying a cup of tea.

You are probably wondering where I am headed with all of this.

I have come to appreciate many things over the last year, but since I have to settle with one, something that has impressed me over the last year is the number of individuals that I have met who are doing truly amazing things with their lives. They are using their knowledge of the arts and sciences, and applying them to transform their local and global communities. They are exploring new forms of creative expression. They are making people around them stop and question things that they have been doing and ways they have been thinking and behaving their whole lives. They are creating dialogue between people from different cultural backgrounds. They are empowering women and men, children and youth. They are capturing the profound beauty latent in all things. They are engaging their friends and colleagues in dialogue of social discourse and action. They are tapping into the amazing power of creativity and transforming the world around them. And they are using the powerful tool of the internet to share all of this energy with each other and with anyone who crosses their paths. It is more than inspiring. It is infectious!

About a month ago I mentioned in my Facebook status that I had been doing a yoga class on resistance. The question posed to us at the beginning of class was to notice throughout the practice when we encountered resistance in ourselves, to try to ascertain whether it was mental, physical or spiritual, and to observe how we responded to resistance in our lives. It was an interesting question, and I enjoyed the practice, and reflected on this idea for the remainder of the week. What I did not know was that my Kiwi friend, Pascale Battrick, had read my status update and it had created a ripple effect in her life also. Pascale is one of the remarkable people mentioned above. In the last year she has moved from Japan back home to New Zealand, and established Oxygen Fitness Excellence. Oxygen Fitness Excellence, in Pascale's words, is:

"an individually tailored health and fitness service, conducted in a fun and motivating atmosphere where no goal is out of reach. It is my aim to introduce people to a completely holistic approach to lifestyle change that is three-pronged in nature. It encompasses the Personal Training of functional exercises specific to Your health and fitness goals, personalized nutrition plans and advice that branch into home-based assessments, grocery shopping expeditions and cooking class initiatives, and something I call a Spirit Cleanse™, which aims to help You to overcome stresses and other negative forces that sap Your energy, can potentially sabotage Your weight loss efforts and affect Your mental and emotional state on a daily basis."

Sound amazing? It is. Trust me. The woman is a fitness ninja -- how many fitness instructors do you know who incorporate spiritual health into your plan? I rest my case. And she is also working on a cookbook, that I am chomping at the bit to get my hands on, full of tantalizing recipes. I encourage you to visit her website and ask her about it. Maybe all the encouragement will help her get it published sooner rather than later!

So obviously, when a woman who can create all of this over the course of only a few short months hears an idea that intrigues her, the resulting ripples are going to look more like tsunami waves. About a month after I had taken part in the class I received an email from her with a link to her Soulpancake page, and an entry called Responding to Resistance. She basically took the idea from my yoga class and turned it into a creative prompt that she shared with thousands of other people. More mega ripples. Her creative presence in the world, and the way she receives my ripples, re-configures them in her own unique way, and sends them back out into the world to inspire others is an example of the type of creative souls I am feeling grateful for in 2010. And here I am receiving her ripples and using them to fuel my creative process! It is a never-ending chain of creative energy. 

It is impossible to fully comprehend Pascale and her joyful, energetic presence without seeing her. So here is a great shot taken of the two of us while we were on pilgrimage in the Baha'i Holy Land in Israel this past spring: 

Pascale is only one example of creative souls changing the world that have rocked my universe this year. Another is someone whose path just crossed mine today. Justin De Leon is a documentary film maker, an amazing photographer, a scholar and an agent of social change. In his own words, he has:

"traveled the world, working in many different environments, and is currently a PhD student at the University of Delaware, focusing on development and ethnic conflict. From working with the poorest of the poor in the streets of India and the Philippines, violence stricken communities of Northern Ireland and Nepal, to the largest slums of Southeast Asia and Africa, De Leon has always tried to understand, capture, and share the stories of those he's encountered."

One of the things that impresses me the most about Justin's work is how he integrates his spiritual values and his passion for film and photography so seamlessly. The effect is powerful. He is currently working on Give to Live, a documentary film that examines the ripple effect of human compassion, intended to inspire and enable individuals to explore global issues in Africa and the US, and to become effective agents of social change. Are you feeling inspired yet? If not, here's a shot of Justin in Africa, where he spent a month filming his documentary. I am borrowing the shot from his website, hence the awesomeness of it (I hope you will not mind my using this image, Justin. It just seems to capture the work you are doing so much better than my description does!):

There are so many other individuals that I have come across this year who are sending out ripples of amazing creative energy into the world. Ahava Shira, who I have mentioned before in my blog, is inspiring women by facilitating workshops in Loving Inquiry from her home on Butterstone Farm, a 23-acre organic farm on Saltspring Island in British Columbia. She has also just released a new CD of her poetry, Love is like this, which can be purchased through her website, and recently launched a radio show, Love in the Afternoon, which you can listen to here, on Mondays between 1 and 2pm, west coast time. Ahava Shira, which means Love Poetry in Hebrew, fully embodies her name in her life's work. The woman is so inspired it is contagious! Here is a great shot of her bathed in the poetry of sunlight and presence on the farm: 

Louise Mould, an artist living on Prince Edward Island is creating amazing landscape-inspired paintings that embody the light and contours of the places she has lived: namely the Congo, Israel, and Atlantic Canada. Her paintings are also spiritually inspired. You can check out her beautiful paintings here, and below is a photo of Louise and I taken this past summer at the wedding of a close friend of ours, on Prince Edward Island: 

The individuals I mention above are only some of the creative folks I have crossed paths with this year. Steve Zaat, a talented musician back in New Brunswick, Canada, is writing tunes inspired by his spiritual beliefs; Paula Biasi is creating sparks in the dance world in Milwaukee (if you live anywhere in the Midwest and feel like a drive this weekend, she is performing a show called "In a Black Mood" with her kickass dance troupe, Your Mother Dances. Show times and ticket prices are on the website, and don't let the title mislead you -- these women are the most upbeat performers I have ever seen. It is a challenge to stay in your chair when you watch them perform); Rafael Routson, is a very talented emerging non-fiction writer currently doing her doctoral research on desert oases in Baja, Mexico. She has co-authored two books: A Heritage in Iron (see link on left), and Last Dollar Ranch, and is currently working on a non-fiction book about her experiences in the Australian outback (title still to come -- stay tuned!!)...the list goes on, but it is getting late, so I will stop here. I don't want to overwhelm you with all this inspiration! Here are some shots of these inspiring folks:

 

And some shots of how I go about receiving some of their ripples:

I deeply appreciate the diversity of creative people that are constantly finding innovative ways of putting their knowledge into action in the world. I express gratitude to them by telling them, as often as I can get away with it without driving them crazy, how truly INSPIRING they are to me, to my own creative process, and to the world. I also express my gratitude by allowing all the creative energy spinning around me to fuel my own creative process. Ripples create ripples. Here's hoping some of the creative energy from this entry will radiate out into your creative process too!