Having grown up in the northeastern U.S., I've always been conscious of the string of days in the spring when the high temperatures are in the 30's (Fahrenheit) and the nightly temperatures are in the 20's. Perfect weather for maple sap to run at sugar bushes Traditionally, this was during some stretch of time between late February and mid-April, and a quick search tells me that here in the upper midwest, it was typically mid-March to later in April.
So for Duluth to have a brutal cold snap several weeks ago followed by January sugaring weather is bizarre. Just bizarre. Don't get me wrong, as an older person perambulating around these steep hills, I am grateful for dry sidewalks. My Sunday morning walk to the supermarket was almost perfect, cold but no wind, and not one snowbank or patch of ice in sight. I felt almost back to my New York City prime, fast walking. And there will be almost another week of it! The freedom of it is exhilarating.
However...there is (of course) something so wrong with this picture.
I've promised myself that every time I write this month of February 2024, I will say something either that I haven't said before, or perhaps have said so obliquely or tactfully that it wasn't clear. Today it is this. I just do not believe that there is any overlap between saving the planet/respect for Mother Earth, and our capitalist system (and other hybrids around the world that I cannot speak for). The whole thrust of it has been about using and abusing nature for human goals, with virtually no consideration for what the earth needs (or needed) for longterm sustainability. I say this today because I know all of us are grasping at little straws of hope, such as when companies talk about creating technologies and processes that will help us at this juncture. Once we get to the supermarket, on foot, by bus, or in a car, we train ourselves not to look at all the plastic wrappings, the absurdly low prices for things that are massively overproduced, the unhealthiness (to us and to the planet) of our favorite foods. I mean, I do it too. I do. It's that or break down in the snack aisle and get sent off in an ambulance, right?
I guess everyone has to find their own way of coping. Mine is to know that the paradigm we are entering is that of Only Love, of the Goddess, and of Earth's power to heal itself (and all life) in love. I'm trying to fully embrace this truth while gently releasing the old paradigm. Not fighting it (most days), not hating it (most days) and not living in fear (most days). When I unwrap my plastic-laden item at home and throw the container or film into whichever is appropriate, recycling or trash, I ask the Goddess's forgiveness. (Even at natural food stores, we have little choice -- right now. Little maple sugar candies are usually, of course, wrapped in plastic.)
I want Her to know that I know she's more powerful than plastic.
