I am burning a whole tree.
And it is a truly sad sight to see.
What was once expansive and full of life, is now dead and cut to pieces.
Those pieces are now burning.
And it feels tragic in my heart.
What can one do when something has died?
What can one do ?
One can only be.
To witness the passing of life.
To see it.
To feel it.
To be.
I wish so deeply to plant a million trees! Whole forests. Oh if only i could take my hands and use them to create life. To somehow redeem this death.
Whoa unto me. To pitty myself, while something else has died.
Where was that energy when it was time to water? Where was that energy when it was time to care.
Where was that energy each morning?
Where was that energy each eve.
To care for life takes care.
Patient, tender, consistent care.
Without it, life often dies.
And what is one to do with death ?
We can only be with it.
And then create anew.
This too is true, for the structures holding how we govern this land. How we agree to be governed. To be organized.
There is a death occurring.
It has been a long time approaching.
We can be with it.
For however long it takes.
And then we must create anew.
It is hard to plant a forest alone. That’s … not really how it works. The care for forests, has been part of human work for millennia. Large groups, working in partnership with nature to perpetuate life. This work demanded vast coordination over large spectrums of space. Required a common respect for life, while working together toward common goals.
In a similar way, we are each being welcomed into the work of remaking this place. Reorganizing, the lines that have been drawn. Reorienting, ourselves to one another. Restructuring, our agreements to the land, to the people, to the water, to the air, to the animals and then finally, to power.
We have been sold a myth for centuries. Freedom in America by way of conquest.
It cannot be. It could never be.
Conquest creates enslavement.
For every one.
To be free, there must be consent.
To have consent, there must be consensus.
To have consensus, there must be a common respect.
What would we consent to today, were we given the choice. What would we agree to ?
These questions are no longer theoretical. They are not for fringe exploration.
They are front and center.
The social contract.
The consent to be governed.
The legitimacy of those governing.
The fabric of a nation.
The story of who we are.
It is all ready to be rewritten.
Reauthored.
Recreated, to reflect who we truly are.
America is a place where the living have always been free. Always.
We must always be free.
If the Colonial regime continues to oppress and infringe those freedoms, it is fundamentally American to resist at all costs, and win the right to create anew.
What flag represents who we truly are?
What songs ?
Can you imagine being in China, and seeing a museum describing the 400 year history of the land? Can you imagine it in Italy? Or Egypt? It would be absurd in all ways.
It is equally absurd here.
Only because we have not faced the truths of our nation, do we not see the depths of the deception.
The time has come for us to create a new Union on this land. A new agreement. We all feel it. What it becomes, will be up to all of us.
It may take a generation to see it through, perhaps two. But change appears to happen not at all, and then all at once. We know within, it is time.
We can each in our way, begin. Begin writing the words you would wish our colliding cultures to live by. The structures you feel are most foundational, to the freedoms of all living beings.
Some will create songs. Some will create flags. Some will create new town halls. Some will create new elections. Some will build local consensus. Some will build international partnerships. Some will protect. Some will contribute in ways that need protection.
The work of creating a new nation is an enormous work. To rebuild the systems of our lives. To find one another again, and establish a common good. To stand for ourselves, and for everyone.
This revolution has barely begun. I can feel it in my bones. And like this dying tree, it will take time. The night will be long and cold, and at times feel it will never end. But the dawn always arrives. The sun does emerge. For us on this land, we will feel its warmth when we have established a new national agreement.
Be strong dear friends. Pray and find courage. Each day will have its own struggle. And life will find its way.
Love to you all
sdc
