Beltane 13

Use your gifts and use them often. Those gifts should be celebrated and shared. In that celebration and sharing is joy for both the giver and receiver. Gifts are given for that very reason. They are used.

Writers should write from the heart and of self. Artists should paint what they see inside so that vision is seen forever. Sculptors should sculpt from rock and clay and free the inner statue therein. Readers should read of the destinies and fates to not just entertain but to guide. Healers should heal spirits and bodies with the heat of energy that is in them. Singers should sing from the highest mountains so the sound fills the valleys for all to hear. Storytellers should weave of words the tapestry of past and lore. Chefs should tantalize the taste buds of many and do so with lust and joy. The music in the musicians should stream forth in magical waters of sounds. Arts and Crafts and Skills and Abilities should be daily things for usage hones already fine abilities.

Each has a gift that is theirs and unique in it. Some have several. Use the one or ones that are yours for when you do you are complete and when you do not you know it. Share of self to others and to self for it is meant to be. That is why the gift is there.

How To Save The World (Getting My Hands Dirty)

(Another except from the book "How to Save The World"....being written as I live it.)

Tire Man made me get my hands dirty on my walk this morning. Wasn’t even supposed to see him today. Had another project that kept me from him yesterday and was to keep me from him again today. He was supposed to be doing his thing. I was supposed to be doing mine. Yet, somehow, he managed to influence yesterday, touch today, and change tomorrow. All without really trying.

Yesterday I helped a friend clean out her garage. A garage that could be the before shot in any number of shows on home improvement. We scheduled a dumpster, two days, and several helpers. Yesterday we dove in. I spent most of my time in the dumpster. By popular demand. Seemed the others, all Ladies, liked me out of the way. Inside the dumpster clearly qualified. It was as big as several Mack Trucks. One of those schedule-them-for-your-neighborhood affairs germane to suburbia in Spring. It was delivered in the morning and I dove right in. Literally and figuratively. The Ladies let me have my way.

They also humored my insistence that we take everything out of the garage and sort in as we do. Three piles. Trash. Yard Sale. Garage. Then they relegated me to dumpster duty with occasional usage as pack mule. Giddiup! While on dumpster duty, I methodically broke down each cardboard box.

Each of the Ladies formed their own opinion for my seemingly bizarre behavior. Obsessive compulsive. Slightly strange. Just another aspect of my routine bizarreness. The Jury was out due to lack of interest as long as my pack mule duties did not suffer. The true reason for the sudden fetish for flattened cardboard boxes was actually quite easy to trace. It was Tire Man’s fault.

Tire Man made me think of landfills, what we dump in them, and how much space it takes. Until I met him, my knowledge of landfills was decades old and quite out of date. Yes, my Little League team actually did play ball on a landfill. I know it was a landfill because I was relegated to the outfield based on my athletic prowess. The outfield that was less land and more fill. My warning track was the dump itself and the warning track moved each game. Little League was longer ago than I care to admit and my time in landfills drastically reduced when I stopped playing baseball in public. Again, by popular demand.

I did not miss landfills. Didn’t think about them much come to think of it. Then along came Tire Man. His example of responsible consumption had me thinking about every thing I threw away.

Cardboard boxes flattened felt right. I became King of the dumpster and ensured what was discarded was discarded properly. My logic may be questioned but my motive was pure. Less waste. A lot less. So the cardboard boxes were flattened and some items was saved from the almost trip to trash heap. All due to Tire Man.

I saved some PVC that would become part of the watering system for the tire garden that would be just like Tire Man’s. Also moved a pipe rack thingy that would be part of the Vertical Planters for plants like…….well, whatever Tire Man planted in his garden and was going to plant in the Vertical Planters at the Ogden Nature Center. He invented the wheel, garden wise, and I just planned to copy from the best. Yesterday might have kept him someplace else but he sure influenced me regardless.

Thanks to a productive labor force, motivated by the promise of good grub, we accomplished the two day project in one day. The dumpster was the picture of efficiency, the garage itself was far from home beautiful but miles away from you have got be kidding me, and I got today back to do some of those life required things. Even folks busy saving the world have to change their underwear and clean the windows every week or so. So, I moved into action on other things but began the day with my daily walk. Saw Tire Man working on, you guessed it, tires, in his front yard. Stopped by to share a story about his effect on me.

Not just the effect of the crushed boxes or salvaging things for my garden. Tire Man’s impact far exceeded that. He had me do things I resisted for decades. He inspired me to ask my neighbor for something for the first time in almost twenty years. Basically, the first time ever. Walked right over and asked from something.

If my neighbors ask me for any of my stuff, I happily loan it. Feels good to help. Like sharing it. Asking for their stuff? That is a bit of struggle for me. Just the way it is. Just the way I am. Tire Man changed that by his example. I walked right up to my neighbor and asked if I could have his compostables.

It was easy.

“Hey, do you compost?”

“No, I don’t.”

“I do. I need your grass clippings and stuff….”

Within the hour, he fed my silver trash can and I fed that to the Tire Composter that is the center piece of my back yard right now. It is the center piece by default since it is the only thing there right now but let it have its moment in the spotlight.

Tire Man enjoyed the story and kept right on cutting his tires. Tires he procured just this morning from a local dealer where he previously built a display of tire gardening along side a metal building in asphalt and full exposure. He picked it years ago since he needed to prove his tire planters in a hostile environment. This place qualified. On some days, it reached over 120 degrees thanks to all those factors. The tomatoes did just fine, the tire dealer began to make and sell some of the very same planters, and pushed Tire Man’s book when he remembered. He was happy to give Tire Man several gems of used tires. That was this morning. Tire Man already had the tires in his driveway and was turning them into planters. That is when he made me get my hands dirty. He needed help turning the biggest tire so I helped.

It did not take long. Soon, we were done with that tire, my hands were dirty in a good way, and we headed into the day to do what each of us must to be who we are. Tire Man then causally mentioned what he did yesterday while I was in the dumpster amusing the Ladies. Yesterday, just as he does everyday, Tire Man successfully played it forward.

(If you want to get to work and make a difference in your part of the world just like Tire Man does....get to tirecrafting.com and get to it)

See Ya (Recycled)

The dead gathered round to bid me adieu.

Some walked on the ice, one step in the doo.

A ride from a mother cruel to her kid.

The whore and a junkie continued her skid.

Feet born to travel faced Eastern trip.

A country ahead and answers to grip.

With dawn there is motion, I head to the sun.

It brings me the day, this prodigal son.

Stop for the markers and the breaking of bread.

Sleep when tired and process through dreads.

Crank up the music and feel well this land.

The traveler travels, on instinct not plan.

There will be more words to share on the way.

Know well your buddy and come back okay.

Sky and Penny (Recycled)

Everyday Epics.

Stop counting the change.

Flow with the flowathon.

What’s in a name?

Show spoken Words.

Bend into the curved.

Straight one in five.

Roads will be heard.

A few minutes with.

Turn of a phrase.

Play circus music.

Parade unafraid.

Floats like flotillas.

Tortillas are bread.

What’s going on there?

Inside that head.

Beltane 12

Actions, even when correct, can drain. Actions effect people and effecting people taps emotions. While emotions should not sway the action, they often do in the form of delay and even avoidance. The delay and avoidance not only fuels the emotions but can dramatically impact the effect of the actions.

Act not from emotion but be not emotionless. There is the balance that eludes many. It will not be easy but remember that actions effect people and that cannot be ignored. Likewise, avoiding the action, if it is right, is weakness of a whole different sort.

How To Save The World (Nature Preserves)

(Another segment of the book "How To Save The World"....being written as I live it.)

Tire Man understands something I forgot somewhere along the way. Something important that needs to be relearned and lived each and every day by me and a whole bunch of others just like me. Tire Man understands we are part of nature.

When did this world become ours? When did man claim the world and redefine it in our terms? When did nature become subordinate to us? A place we visit or see out the car window on the way to the mall or when we take the back roads because traffic is bad? When did the ecosystem become that place we use and nature become something we love like the cousin we tolerate but that gets in the way at times? When did we stop being a part of nature and create a world where we are the everything and all else follows?

Tire Man teaches me by example. He taught me in the doing as we headed to Ogden Nature Center to work on a project he volunteered to do there. Tire Man is a doer. He learned by doing. By putting in a pond, he learned about springs, fish, drainage, water fowl, deer, and more. A pond, by the way, for the community of Ogden. I am not sure when he “put” in the pond but it was sometime before the current project. It just surfaced in the conversation about a “tire” garden he, with me along as the unskilled laborer, will “put” in at the Ogden Nature Center.

It was late in May but felt like November. Utah does that at times. It snowed a bit, rained more than a bit, and made spring feel more memory than reality. Tire Man and I walked from his truck to the office for a meeting scheduled two months prior and the result of years of his work. It moved to reality over the weekend with the erection of a chain link fence. A twenty by twenty-four foot, five but should have been six feet high, enclosure of mud that Tire Man would turn into a garden showcase.

The meeting was about the specifics. What would the current mud pit have after Tire Man worked his magick? It would have edibles for the picking, greens to feed the turtles, herbs for the kids to smell, and would showcase companion planting. It would be wheel chair accessible and be a hands on, working, living garden. The first classes were scheduled for August. Tire Man did not bat an eye. He jotted down some notes, shared some ideas about what should go where, said he would have some preliminary plans in a week or so, and then asked about the fish in the tank on display in the foyer.

They were silver and had kinda black lines. Looked to be a few dozen of them and were small, as far as fish go. I noticed them earlier. At least, I thought I did. Tire Man and Nature Girl, the youthful and wise host of the meeting, noticed much more about those little fish.

Seemed they were one step off the endangered list. Utah worried about them disappearing from what was their home but the little fishies did not make the National Radar. In the hierarchy of official endangerment, the little fish swam just out of sight. Not important enough to matter…….not well enough to make it without somebody doing something. Tire Man recognized them from his youth. Nature Girl explained they were pushed out of the ecosystem by another fish. The ones in this tank were from a hatchery and some of the very first displayed so folks could hear the story of whatever the heck their name was.

As Tire Man and Nature Girl discussed the fish in the tank and the fish that pushed them from where they were, I witnessed something beautiful. A dance. The dance of two who knew the ecosystem. They each understood that fish mattered and why and what happened that moved them from the places they used to be to a tank full here and tank full there. Even more impressive was that Tire Man knew things about them that Nature Girl did not and vice versa. The exchange was a dance. A dance of intelligent interchange. A dance that improved both participants and any that saw them dance. There was argument in the exchange that was the argument of let’s learn more about this because there is something here that neither of us know for sure. It was beautiful. It inspired.

I saw some silver fish with kinda black lines. Tire Man and Nature Girl saw nature and how everything, included them, fits together. We met to discuss a “tire” garden. It was a meeting of kindred spirits that live in nature everyday. People who live to know it, respect it, honor it, improve it, and make a difference because of what they do every single moment of their existence. I was along for the ride and realized the world I was part of was something outside of nature. Something layered on top of nature as if nature was merely a road we traveled on to get from where we were to where we were going. My world is changing. Beginning with me. We are part of nature and need to live that…before we are not part of nature.

Incidentally, Tire Man went right from the meeting to the Tire Store. He will need about thirty tires for the project and knows the best way to begin a project is to actually do something. We picked up the first eight tires, plus the other two for my composter, and headed back home. Free used tires that will live on in a garden that will touch hundreds, maybe thousands, as example of what we can do when we actually do something. Took about three hours total…so far. A good Monday morning by any standard.

(If you want to roll up your sleeves and do something, get to tirecrafting.com and get the book/dvd that is actually so easy that it makes sense to me.)

Beltane 11

Some times will test your mettle but stay true to self during the trials. The truth is not in what is said but what is done. Words will fly forth that question and sully but let those words not heat emotions that would pollute the actions.

In times of easy change and happiness, it is easy to be sharing and caring and to give love and laughter. The true joy is sharing and caring and giving love and laughter when things are tough and there is darkness in others.

The saying of turning the other cheek is true. There is strength in turning back from the smack with a smile to the smacker.

How To Save The World (Tires, Tires...Whose Got the Tires?)

(Another segment of the book "How to Save The World".....being written as I live it.)

When saving the world with Tire Man, tires are important. Tire Man had mastered re-tiring for several decades. He whips out tire creations as naturally as most of us whip out credit cards. Yes, that quick. With far less collateral damage. I watched his DVD, saw his yard, embraced the new reality, and then returned to an old habit and pictured the process in my head. Where do you get the tires?

Surely a run to the dump was possible. Go pick up a few there. Dumps are cool in a way and it had been a long time since I spent any measurable time in the dump. They get my trash each week. I just don’t ask for visitation rights. Surely the dump has tires and sure those tires in the dump are used. We may be wasteful but we don’t throw away new tires. Do we? Let’s assume not. So the dump likely has tires and they likely are used. Do they charge for old tires? Are there other places used tires could be found?

What about on line? Craig’s magic list of everything people want and a few things they only suspect they want and a few other things they never even imagined. Are there tires for free on there? Maybe even other web sites. I could google it. Just being careful to google “Used Tires” and not “Used Rubber.” Surely there were free used tires around. Free was a big thing to me. This project had to be at least low cost and at best no cost. Buying my way to saving the world in my own back yard was like having sex to celebrate virginity. I spent my way into this whole consumption thing and had to dig out with what was available. Hopefully for free.

Maybe the place to start would be the local Tire stores or garages. There were several within just a few miles. I could just ask them for the old tires. “Tirecrafting” covers this and much more. I read it. Understood the steel of the steel belted tires should not be showing. Non-Steel belted tires are musts if you plan to cut the threads for a strawberry planter. Lots of other tips and essentials were right there in the book Tire Man illustrated and wrote all by himself. Still, seeing something in a book and actually doing it are different things. The harsh reality was that I had to actually go get tires and wanted to make sure I look as close to competent as possible. Wanted to be a heroic re-cycler rather that some bozo looking for old tires.

Did they keep the used tires around the back? Did I ask the manager? Thought about the process and imagined it to the best of my neophyte’s ability. Tire Man had a different approach. He said, “Great. Let’s go get you some tires.” A few minutes later, we were off in his truck. (As a side note, it had really nice tires on it.) My first outing as a real using what’s available and doing stuff that is good you and the world kinda person. Fittingly, I had no wallet and no cash on me. Welcome to the wonderful world of recycling and living free.

Tire Man had not to make a tire run for a while. He had a few ready for some projects in work or planned. He helped folks with their projects and put in gardens for many places and used the tires they got. Tire Man said the folks at the Tire Stores would likely not even remember him. He advised me to just mention the magic word. “Tomatoes”. Seems the folks at the Tire Store understood people used old tires for tomato planters. Eased the process.

Tire Man was wrong. Not about the Magic word. He was wrong that they would not remember him. As soon as he stepped out of the truck, one of the workers said, “Hi. Looking for some of the used tires again? We might have a few. Let’s take a look.”

Two big tires for the Composter from the first stop. None from the second. Seems the used tire pick up guy had just made his route. At both shops though, I witnessed first hand how happy and even helpful the folks were about seeing if they had used tires that would match our needs. Nice folks. Smart folks too. Seems we added to their bottom line by using the tires.

Look at your bill next time you buy tires. There is a fee attached to cover the disposal of your used tires. A couple of bucks, more or less. It is the money the used tire pick up guy charges to pick up the used tires and take then “away”. Of course, like most businesses, the Tire Shop marks it up a bit. Example: Customer pays two bucks disposal fee, used tire pick up guy charges a buck….and viola, Tire Shop makes a buck. When Tire Man and other everyday Super Human Heroes take the used tires for projects, the Tire Shop pockets the whole fee. Pretty cool…for them and the environment and lots of other stuff. As for the poor schmuck who paid two bucks to dispose of each of their used tires, they should read Tire Man’s book and have four really cool planters or a Composter and eight bucks in their kitty.

Happy Kitties aside, Tire Man and I headed back to his place with two of the four tires that would become the most user friendly Composter ever developed. How do I know it would be the most user friendly Composter ever developed? Tire Man said so right in his book “Tirecrafting”. Quick as a flash, we were back at his house and headed for Power Tools.

Tire Man took the saw, the right blade, cut off the sidewalks (that is the part of the tire other then the rubber that used to meet the road), and, quicker than a phone call from the IRS has your pucker up, we had half the Composter. Tire Man then took the sidewalls and, explaining to In-Wonder-boy (that would be me), screwed two of them together and made a hose holder. Less than an hour after Tire Man headed for his truck with me in tow, we had two hose holders and the bottom half of the Composter at the total cost of zero dollars.

Maybe this actually doing stuff is easier than I thought. Tire Man made it look so easy that I think even I could do it.

(If you are one of those that moves from reading to doing......get to Tirecrafting.com and get the stuff you need to do it.)

Beltane 10

There are many longing for connection. Without it, they are lonely and sad. Life for them is a series of motions with little purpose. They look everywhere for that linkage. Traditional religion offers some comfort but leaves them with more questions than answers. They read of inner peace and self-improvement and keep parts of all read but find only partial answers there. Friendships are palatable but not truly intimate. They escape temporarily in travel and adventure but return to longing when the diversion ends. They throw themselves into work and causes with passion but lack the passion they need.

These are Your Kindred---Those longing to belong and be accepted as of the Feminine and of the Source. Those feeling what was but is not and not knowing if it will be again. That is what you offer just by being you when they find you. You are hope. More come to you. Once hope feeds them, they will share it with others.

Be yourself. See those that hint at questions and free them to ask. That will be enough.

How to Save The World (Composting-American Style)

(Another part of the book How To Save The World...beinr written as I live it.)

The path to composting is littered with excuses. First off, it’s yucky. Our hands will get dirty, it will stink, there is a lot of work to it, and we just don’t have the time. Plus, there are easier ways. Just buy dirt. A few bags here and a few bags there…hey, no problem. Composting also means we have to keep our garbage around to make those piles of stuff that only folks that really garden understand. Imagine. Keeping your food scrapes in a bin or something else rather than just throwing them out. Imagine. Taking your leaves and grass clippings to piles to add to that big eyesore of stinky stuff. Much easier to just chuck it in the trash can and have it taken away.

People come and take it away. Like Magic. One minute, here….another minute, whisked away so we don’t have to be bothered. Nice people in coveralls come in trucks that hold lots and lots of trash. Our trash. Our neighbors’ trash. The family down the street that has more kids then sense….their trash, too. Even trash from the old couple who wave every time you pass them. Seems like they are always in their yard, doesn’t it? What’s their deal, anyway? Even they generate trash that is taken away. The nice people in the trucks take everyone’s trash. They are so nice they do it early so the streets are not cluttered too long with those unsightly trash cans. The nice people take the nasty stuff away.

They do in once a week or so. Sometimes more and sometimes less. They pick up your can of garbage and take it away. Not the can. Just the garbage. We need the can. We have more garbage coming their way next week, the week after that, and every single week after that. A can a week. For me and my family, it is actually two large cans plus one of the other color ones for stuff that is recycled. The nice people pick up that stuff on a different day. Regardless of the color of the cans, how many cans, how many times a week…the premise is the same. We put our trash in cans by the street and they take it to places really stinky but out of our sight.

We pay these people with our taxes. That is a good use of our tax money. It is likely the most visible use of our tax money. That and government corruption and bureaucracy on the nightly news. Government stuff does make for good talk at the water cooler. Our trash is no where near as much fun to talk about as government trash is. We still need to talk about it. We have a lot of government. We have even more trash.

How much? According to studies, the average American generates somewhere between 1000 to 2000 pounds of trash a year. To the less mathematically inclined among you, that means about 3 to 5 pounds a day. While the studies vary, I know the exact amount of trash we generate everyday. Way Too Much! Trust me. Skinny or fat, six times your body weight in trash each year is too damn much. If the nice people in overalls and big trucks did not come to take it away, I would be writing this from under a pile of garbage about the size your nearest Wal-Mart. You would be too. So, why compost?

Read the numbers again. We are talking a lot of trash here. Seems everything is bigger in America…even our garbage. We set records. Five percent of the population and we generate 40% of the waste. What a waste. American or not, we generate too much trash. We pay folks to haul our trash away. Trash that could be turned into really good dirt right in our back yard. Then, if we garden at all, we buy dirt, plant a few flowers, call ourselves green, and head out to celebrate over dinner.

Quite frankly, we’re idiots. Idiots with clean hands but idiots nonetheless. Compost because you choose to generate something other than trash as your legacy, can use the exercise, will have dirt that will make you want to garden, and then will have a garden where you can actually feed yourself with what you helped grow with your very own hands. Zen in the garden afterwards, pay off a few of the damn bills, and get a clue.

Now, time for me to step off the soap box and get my hands dirty. I have a heap of compost waiting to be born.

(If you want to jump ahead to the actual doing part, go to Tirecrafting.com and get the book and DVD from Tire Man that shows you how. More to follow.)

Beltane 9

It is alright to be happy. In fact, it is right to be happy. Laughter and mirth lighten the load. Use it to fuel yourself to better handle the temporary setbacks and sadness.

Laugh and love and live. Although others may wallow in the very sadness of sadness, offer some solace and support but join not their misery. Misery is all too often self -imposed and healing cannot be handed, it must be grabbed. Sickness and weakness grows when company joins.

Laugh deep and well and often for there is magic in it. There is health and happiness in the very act. Laughter is of the spirit and the body knows it each time. It is medicine, magic, and music all in one. It is in you all. Let it out.

The People in the Woods

Mommy, who are those people living in our woods?” The child was breathing hard as he spit the words from the mouth before the door even closed into the foyer. His feet slid across the marble in excitement.

“Whoa there, big fella”, she said with a smile. “What people?”

He reported of his adventure as dutiful as any 10 year old and she listened, surprised he was so far out in the woods on their estate that he encountered the People of the Woods. She remembered when she first discovered them. It had been so long since she even thought of them. His story brought back the memory of her first encounter and how her father explained to her just as she was about to explain to her son. She knew to tell the tale in such a way to inform yet caution about those wonderful but potentially dangerous people.

‘Well, son, let’s head back to the kitchen and I will tell you about them over some chocolate chip cookies.’ He was off in a flash towards the back of the house to the day kitchen. She gave him a cookie to munch, placed a few more on a plate, and headed to the veranda. It was such a nice day and the fountains were lovely. A perfect place to share the history of the people that used to live on the property that was her son’s home and would be his and his childrens’ home long after she was in heaven.

He listened as she told of his father’s father’s father and even many fathers before that and where they have lived on a small piece of land way across town. She bit back her anger when she informed the munching cookie boy how there was so little room and how the people that owned the land charged them to live there and kept them on their tiny piece. It was her husband’s people that headed across town and found this wonderful house and acres of land and a few people living in house big enough for hundreds.

“It may seem silly, son, but there were a few people in the house but most of the rooms were empty. They had no decorating sense. Windows were left open even on the hot days because they did not have air conditioning. I heard they sat and told stories in what is now the library, used only candles since they did not have electricity, and that none of them had jobs or even paid taxes.”

“Really, Mommy? You are not making this up?”

She smiled and assured her it was the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

“Well, your Daddy’s Daddy’s Daddy befriended them and decided there was enough room for all his family in addition to the few people already living in this great big house so he went back across town and they all moved here.”

“It wasn’t easy, son. They had to assign rooms, put up walls, and reorganize just about everything. Pretty soon, we added the West Wing, put up the beautiful fence with the Eagles on it, and had to ensure the people next door did not try to come and move into the house. It was a lot of work.”

The cookies were long gone but her son seemed not to notice. “What about the people in the woods? Why are they down there?”

“Well, son, they were in the way. We would put in a kitchen and they wanted to grill in there. We put in the pool and they would try and take a bath there. They walked into rooms without knocking. They got mad if we had a family gathering and did not invite them. It got pretty nasty. There were even some fights.”

She smiled. “Your Daddy is a strong man and his Daddy was strong and his Daddy was, too. Just like you are and you will be even stronger, son. Pretty soon, we had enough of the rudeness and crude ways so we gave them all that property in the area in the woods and told them they could just have it. After all, just because they are different than us doesn’t mean they don’t deserve a place to live. Right, son?”

He agreed and headed into the day for more adventures. She smiled as he headed across the yard to the playground. “Be careful, son. No more going to see those people in the woods. Alright?”

Beltane 8

Muscles of all kinds are lost when not used. Begin to use them after a long dormancy and there is pain and even resistance to use. As if the very movement that was intended is no longer possible. As if the muscle did not just stop being used but disappeared forever.

Begin the use slowly. Re-introduce the use to even the slightest of movement. Celebrate often as use becomes more routine. Once the basic motion is back though, flex and flex often. The muscle is back in place and must be pushed to mass and rower. Let it see that dormancy is gone and power is back.

This will not be easy at the outset for it is easier just to let the dormancy remain. Inertia is like that. So long rested, the dust of time buries not just the motion but the form and function of what was and what should be. The hardest part will be returning to any motion. Once in motion, the rest is just not to lose the motion and the power in it.

How to Save The World (Introduction)

How to Save the World

(Beginning in your own back yard)

The Guide for Super Human Heroes with a massive dose of passion, a deep sense of Global Community, a low budget, more cluelessness than they like to admit, and a modicum of physical coordination

Introduction

I remember the day I decided to save the world. Interesting how peaceful it felt. Especially since I was unemployed, had the IRS nipping at my ass, and didn’t plan to actually do much physical labor. Yet, it all made perfect sense. The guy around the corner already did most of the work. He was the Action Hero. Me? I am Word Man. The guy around the corner actually did stuff everyday and had been doing stuff longer than I have been alive. He knew how to save the world. Quite frankly, he was damn good at it. He just thought too small.

The world is a big place. A really big place. There are more places out there than we can ever see. Saving every one of those places takes more than one Super Human Hero. In fact, it takes a whole bunch of Super Human Heroes. So the one Super Human Hero around the corner just wasn’t enough. The world needs lots just like him. Now, me….I am not just like him. I am a lot different than he is.

He likes to work with his hands. Yuck. I applaud that, which technically IS working with my hands. My idea of what work my hands should do is just different. I would much rather have my hands on a keyboard, holding a good book, maybe touching some rocks while hiking in the mountains, or tons of other things besides fixing stuff and making stuff work. Now, bear in mind, I like to get my hands dirty and garden and stuff like that. Occasionally. Just when it feels right. Will do it when I need to…..but want to do it when I want to instead. So I get the idea of work….just want to be free most of the time to do other things with my hands. Yet, I get the idea of why Tire Man, that is what I call the guy around the corner, loves working with his hands. He works in Tires the way I work in Words. I hope my words are as pretty and as effective as his work in tires. Quite frankly, it does not matter. He is going to work in tires and share his knowledge and I am going to work in words and share them regardless. We are wired to do what is right every day and make the world a bit better because we are here for however long we are here. The whole saving the world thing just kinda happened.

So, let’s get started. This is, after all, a How To guide. Your How To guide. I just get to write it. Tire Man and a few dedicated wanna-be Super Human Heroes will actually do the work. Work you can do. Right in your own back yard. For very little money and with long term improvement for the entire world. Quite frankly, you need to do it. If you don’t, someone else is going to have to and I don’t plan to be that someone. I am going to do my part by writing about it. Tire Man and other folks in my world are going to their part. You need to do your part. I want to enjoy the world….not fix it.

Let’s roll up our sleeves and get started. It starts with the stuff you probably have the most of anyway….trash. You will need four old tires, a garbage can lid, and lots of trash. That begins the process. You need to generate less trash….you are generating too much now and spending your money to buy stuff that you could get free by doing Step 1 in the How To Save the World Guide. Let’s Compost!

Manimal (Recylced)

Manimal sniffs the pungent stink of weakness.

Breathes in the rank smell of putrid decay.

Resurrecting skills long thought forgotten.

Howls swept forth on the Winds of change.

Inside, primal feasts on terrified human.

Outside, beast barely contains its rage.

Death perfumes life’s pathways.

Cold blankets the mountains of choice.

Beasts draw stealthily to the huddle.

Time to hunt rather than die.

Pain warms the tongue in the licking.

Scars sweeten taste for the prey.

To some this is merely delusion.

In truth, it is a brand new day.

What Would Jesus do? (Recycled)

Strong about being weak. Bold choices to stay the same. The backbone rises to defend the status quo. Pinning aches and pains to anything except the truth. The world is all around me and I learn much, hope more, and believe in responsibility. I pray and trust and do. I question.

Jesus died for who’s sins? His father’s? Our fathers’? Everyone’s fathers? What about unmarried couples before he was born? Did he die for them, too? Did he die for the gays and lesbians of Babylon, Mesopotamia, Greece, and China? Did he die for the Aztecs, Mayans, and Anasazi? Did he die for the barbarians, Mongols, Vikings, and Druids? Did he die for Joseph even though Joseph was a step-father? Did he die for his mother even though she had a child out of wedlock? What about the inn-keeper who refused him his first room? What about those that denied him, mocked him, and killed him? What about all those that came after him? What about us? Did he die for the whites even though he was likely olive skinned? Did he die for non-Jews even though he was Jewish? Did he die for women even though we are told he did not choose any for apostles? Did he die for every single living thing regardless of what they were and what they did? Did he come to save everyone before he lived, just those after he lived, or all that ever were and ever will be?

Perhaps he was the wake-up call. If so, we need a louder alarm. What changed since mankind killed him? Perhaps the sin was the price he paid to try and get our attention. Perhaps the sin of mankind was that we killed him. His followers celebrate that he came for us and died for us and shines the way to salvation for all of us. Jesus cleaned the slate for us. What have we done since? What are we doing now?

We sing praises of him. We celebrate what he is. We mark his birthday, his death, and his resurrection. We pray to him to save us. We look to him and ask ourselves how we can be like him. We ask ourselves “What would Jesus do?”

What would Jesus do? He would live his truth, be responsible for himself, and do what he could to save the world. He would not give up…despite all the evidence to the contrary. He would wait and hope…then celebrate those that get it. He would be as he was…inclusive and loving and patient and so much more. Just like his Mother. He would be at the head of the picket lines and in the darkest alleys. He would touch and heal and sleep and snore and then touch and heal some more. He would open the doors and say come on in. He would go into the desert or up on the mountain and cry and ache sometimes. He would laugh and dance and celebrate whenever he could. He would hold his brothers and sisters when they cried. He would cry in their arms when it was his turn to cry. He would own all his faults and ignore all ours. He would know his kingdom was inside of himself all along and that he would be back where he came from after he did his best here. He would ache for those that blamed him for what they did and love them all the more in their cluelessness. He would want to quit at times but then continue. He would ask himself, “Why me?”, answer himself with “because”, take a deep breath, and live a lot of Mondays. He would be lonely at times and question.

Jesus would question. That I know without question. Jesus would trust. Blindly. That I see more and more. Jesus would love. I love that. Christ knows, we need a lot of love to forgive our screw ups and make things right. What would Jesus do? He would do what is right and that’s enough.

Beltane 7

Those with you are with you wherever you are. Feel that within. Feel the connection as well as the energy and you will know who is true to you and whom you are true to in turn or just because. Their image is photographed to your heart and soul. Their sound sings sweetly even when they are silent. Their taste feeds the memory and fuels the hunger of reunion.

Feel who is not just with you but also in you. Feel the connection that transcends time as well as space. Then foster it even more when together in this realm for that it carries to all realms.

Tire Man!

There’s a Super Hero that lives in my neighborhood. I know my Superheroes. Love DC and all things Superman. Gotta admit to liking the darkest part of the Dark Knight too. Embraced the whole Justice League and the Legion of Super-heroes although I would have embraced Wonder Woman and Saturn Girl a bit quicker than I would the Green Lantern and equally Green Arrow. Have to Marvel at the Fantastic Four and the X-Men and that stream of Amazing Tales. Was weaned on the whole Truth, Justice, and the American Way thing. So I know, and love, the whole idea of Superheroes. Was surprised to see one living in my neighborhood….and that I only discovered his amazing abilities last week. Tire Man lives just a few blocks from me.

Now, as Superheroes go, Tire Man is not typical. No cape. His everyday costume is a jumpsuit that looks suspiciously like overalls. He usually wears a hat. Not the Odd Job, cut off your head if I throw this at you kind. Something more suitable for fishing rather than James Bond like exploits. Functional garb that masks Tire Man better than Clark Kent’s glasses ever hid the Man of Steel. Costume aside, Tire Man is more human than most Super Heroes. Tire Man is a Super Human Hero.

He has an amazing ability. He makes stuff out of tires. Old tires. He transforms them into planters, edging, compost bins, swings, horses, and more. While that might be something less impressive than what Iron Man does, Tire Man does something else even cooler than transforming junk into good stuff. Tire Man shares. He shares his gifts and abilities so other folks can be Super Heroes, too. He shares his gifts because he knows he has a wonderful ability that matters to the environment, the economy, families, and much, much more. So he shares his ability freely and hopes others use what he shares and give it away too. Tire Man is out to save the world. He lives right around the corner from me and showed me his Fortress of Solitude the other day.

His Fortress of Solitude is in his back yard. A back yard that must be seen to be believed. It is a wonderland of gardening, recycling, self-sufficiency, personal truth, and sharing that is a Disney Land of answers and example. Plus, there are swings. Made from tires, of course. Tire Man’s back yard is a place where living our truth and being our best everyday shines forth like the bat light at exactly the right time. Just when we need it. Just being there and seeing it inspired me. Inspired me to share the tale of this wonderful man named Paul Farber who is really Tire Man.

Why now? How could I have lived so close to someone with so many answers and examples and just noticed him now? Well, boys and girls, that is how the whole Super Hero thing works. We only see them when we are ready. They arrive just in the nick of time to hand us the key to our safety and survival. I saw him on and off for almost two decades. He waved. I waved back. Polite strangers…a statement about how much we really know the world that is our own back yard. Events moved us to where we finally really communicated for the first time last week. He and I amazed each other by sharing. By getting to know each other. By opening up and sharing our truth. In the process, we learned much. We learned how much we have in common. We learned how much the world needs what he does and what I do. (I am Word Man….and that is self-proclaimed, my cape is a towel, and my words are only to be used to heal.) We learned that we are very different…..yet linked in our passion to do our best everyday and help the world anyway we can.

Pretty cool to discover a Super Human Hero right around the corner. Even cooler to share his story and let other’s see how they can save money, the planet, and their own backyard with their own hands and a few old tires. Tire Man wants to save the world. He just needs someone that understands how to speak while he does what he does best. So I told him to go back to work and leave the rest to me.

Here I come to save the day. Mighty Mouth is on the way. Sharing www.tirecrafting.com so you can look at it and become your own planet saving force for good. I think Tire Man needs more press. Press that says we should share our ideas and work together to save each other’s resources. Tire Man’s skill impressed me. His back yard stunned me. He won me over though when he said something that really says he understands what Super Human Heroes are all about. “I want to give this away. I charge for the books and CDs only so I can print more of them.” Now that, boys and girls, is how we are going to save the planet…one back yard at a time.

Fort If I'd

Wheel of Fortune spins.

Vowels have all been brought.

Swords plunged deep in back.

Slain warrior learns from deaths.

Blinded by what not trees.

Unspoken pleas.

Answers in silence.

White, pensive, and robed with calm.

Hearing with few words.

Golden rain mars the peace.

Chalices rainbow family gathered.

Arms wide in loving welcome.

Children dance in budding trust.

Forty year detour back to New Ark.

Sailing on a Sea of Living Truth.

Winds of Change trumpet the way.

Beltane 6

The fuel of body either ignites or slows. Know of your physical needs and address them with health as well as joy. There should be sweetness as well as fiber to all things, including diet.

Information of this is abundant but the true answers are found within. You already know what enhances and what does not. Be not harsh on yourself for occasional slips but do be wary of what is the true routine.

It is not about suffering. It is not about denial. It is about balance. This is true of all things.

Declaration of Interdependence

We hold this truth to be self evident---all life is linked.

We will respect all life.

We will work as one to ensure balance in all things.

We will live in peace and respect the peace of all.

We will focus on our commonality and celebrate our diversity.

We will share resources.

We will use our resources for the betterment of all life.

We will foster positivity in all we do.

We will be a global family.

We will ensure all that represent us honor these values.

In The Cards

Freedom trumps Fear.

Debt trumps Freedom.

Owe trumps Own.

Own trumps Sharing.

Sharing trumps Loneliness.

Loneliness trumps Joy.

Greed trumps Contentment.

Balance trumps Greed.

Needs trump Wants.

Ignorance trumps Strength.

Strength trumps Weakness.

Listening trumps Telling.

Love trumps Hate.

Hate trumps Truth.

Fear trumps Peace.

Dogma trumps Learning.

Learning trumps Ignorance.

Lies trump Trust.

Truth trumps Lies.

Time trumps Moments.

Joy trumps Time.

Trust trumps Fear.

Managing the Anger (Recycled)

Into the madness. Anger held like a loved bomb of self destruction being defused rather then refused or denied. Anger at weakness. Anger at cleaning up someone else’ mess. Anger at lies and deceits and manipulations. Anger barely contained but harnessed nonetheless. Anger harnessed and guided to the fields where it will drive the plow of change and cut through the bullshit rooted trunks of indulgence and denial. Into the madness to keep sane. In the anger, it hurts. Sharing that pain only increases that pain. So I keep it in the cauldron and I stew. In the anger, it hurts. Turning that pain into passionate action versus rage requires tools and skills still being mastered. Voicing that anger via words that honor the emotions yet quell them simultaneously is the balancing act on the highest wires of life. This is the human experience and the fangs of the primal are real and ache and want to rip. This is when I feel most human…and most tempted to be inhuman. This is the point of proving me to myself and living what I truly believe and see and feel…this is when I must be more me to remain in the light. This sucks. Joyously so. This is living in the truth rather than dancing in the dark delusions that things will be alright without a lot of work. This is work.

Love (Recycled)

“Write about love”, she said.

He thought he had.

Words about joyous and happy and glad.

Pages and journals and books and poems.

Letter painted echoes of deeply felt moans.

Showed emotion and the truth and the yearn.

Soared to the heights and burst through the burns.

Yet love was not mentioned.

At least not by itself.

Masked and in shadow.

Even though felt.

“Write about love”, she said.

He thought he had.

Love of the global, the happy, the sad.

Love of all others that starts deep within.

Love of what happened and what not yet has been.

Love of the flowers and feel of the night.

Love in the trust that all will be right.

Love of breathing and touch of the flesh.

Love that continues beyond that end rest.

“Write about love”, she said.

That’s what he did.

Mad as a Hatter (Recycled)

Open a can of dog food and feed it to the cat.

Dance in your pajamas and sleep in a top hat.

Have breakfast for dinner and cereal for lunch.

Save while you still borrow and spend before you have.

Smile while you panic and tell the world you’re glad.

Bizzaro is real easy, truth is fucking hard.

Beltane 5

Run not from the evil nor surrender to it. It is there and cannot be denied. Hiding from it does not eliminate it but fuels it. If it is there, be amidst it and remain true to self and purpose. There is the true strength. Enemies on the other side of the mountain are still enemies….even if we ignore them, they are there.

When in the evil, look to what makes you, you. Then be there as you are and let your energy shine through. Evil attracts the weak and the weak will see the good energy and some may sense the hope therein. It is a mission of sorting.

Your truth to self is shield as well as sword. In places you would rather not be is the true test of self. In comfort, there is not challenge. In refuge, there is not resolve. To be in the very valley of not belonging and be pure empowers. It sweetens the times of comfort and the places of refuge.

Venture forth. If not, the borders shrink. Be a pilgrim and a traveler if that is your place. Comfort the pilgrims and the travelers if you are with them but not of them. All serve a purpose.

Beltane 4

The honeycomb forms. A beehive of linkage that will have energy pulse like the sun. You find not just one when you find one. You find three and six and even more. Just as you have been linked to others, those you meet will be linked to even others. Those that find balance also find each other now.

The cause is pure and good. Nurturing. Earthly as well as Spiritual. This realm as well as others. Discard those that found action on hate and vengeance. Karma is always karma. There will be some false starts and links that are not right but that is part of the growth. These diversions will slow but not stop the kindred.

Be open to all approaches. There are many paths. Some base it on old. Some base on it alternatives. Some base it on gender. Parts of all have their place. Embrace and learn from each, keeping the good and discarding that which does not work for you. The commonality links the community. The differences make it family.