Yesterday I attended a Memorial Service and Potluck at the UU church to celebrate and grieve the February 28, 2016 death of Lucille Bertuccio, our long-time local icon for all things sustainable.
Lucille Bertuccio dies as she had lived, in concert with community
Lucille Bertuccio: Astrology of her birth and her death
Before the service, as those who had known and loved this fierce defender of all things natural gathered, one woman came up to my seat. I’m so sorry, but I do not remember her name, though I have seen her many times! She initiated a conversation, saying “What are we going to do about this crazy election? It’s so scary. I’m scared. I want to be able to hold on to something.”
Well, that got us going. I said that I do think the (s)election is still up for grabs, that all sorts of unexpected events (staged or otherwise) — might knock it off track. That, given climate change and planetary overshoot, plus endless U.S. Empire wars for profit, plus corruption at every level, not to mention growing collective fury at increasing economic and ideological polarization, I doubt things are going to get any easier! That we need to learn to remain centered, no matter what; rather than trying, and failing, to hold on to the shore, we must learn how to surf the waves of change.
Her response is forever seared in my memory. “Surfing? I used to body surf as a kid, off a beach on the east coast. I was just visiting there last week, and decided I’d go body surfing again. But was shocked to discover that the beach is gone. That the waves now crash up on a rock wall. That if I tried to surf, I would be dashed onto the rocks.”
Climate change. In action.
Keep in mind that during our short intense conversation, the two of us were surrounded by a warm, nourishing sense of community. Local community. What is sprouting up like weeds in villages and towns and cities everywhere, within the ashes of the old predatory capitalist world.
With our conversation in mind, let’s turn to two posts, one a despairing look at the future, the other not, not at all. Let us learn to consciously inhabit the infinite space between them. Let us be the change we seek.
What happens next, folks, is UP TO US.
All Day Permanent Red: The Living Death of Perpetual Emergency
