Lone eagle watches
from atop the crumbling pier;
I watch her right back.
To savor this blue-beautiful day, I decided to eat my lunch on a log at the beach. Joining me was one of our resident eagles, perched on the old rotting pier in the bay. S/he was already there when I arrived and still in the same spot when I left. The noonday sun felt good to both of us.
On the bluff behind us, her mate soared and shrieked fending off crows. Their nest isn’t far away, so I suppose this eagle was taking a break from parenting duties. Of course I can’t see into their nest, so I’m not sure if their eaglets have hatched. But we can all look into an aerie just across the Strait in British Columbia, where the fuzzy eaglets are putting on a delightful show. Visit the live eagle cam here (just during daylight hours, PDST).
With Earth Day still fresh in my mind—and of course EVERY day needs to be Earth Day—this quote from Helen Keller continues the caretaking theme:
“As the eagle was killed by the arrow winged with his own feather, so the hand of the world is wounded by its own skill.”
We have gotten too good at inventing things we don’t really need, all in the name of improvements and progress. I don’t begrudge anyone their high-speed Internet—we wouldn’t be having this conversation without it. But how many cars do you need? How many televisions? How many pairs of shoes? I let go of a lot of weight in the past year, and I have decided to recut and alter many of my clothes rather than buy new ones. I buy one or two pairs of sensible shoes a year as they wear out. Of course my office is a beach, so I don’t need to be stylish or look professional to anyone except eagles and herons and dolphins.
CONTEMPLATIONS
• Have you taken a hard look lately at your consumption habits?
• What could you do differently?
• Can you commit to one item of change this month?
• You guessed it—and another one next month?
• Can you show more gratitude for what you already have and less desire for something you don’t?
• Can you spend more time enjoying simpler pleasures—say sunning yourself at lunchtime?
Please share you ideas for reducing consumerism below.
May 14th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Oh for a world with less STUFF! I did my clothes shopping last year - The things I bought will last me for the next 5 years so, thankfully, I won’t have to worship in the cathedrals of commercialism for some time. Better the cathedrals of nature. I meet with the oak tree outside my office each time I look out of the window and, of course, the sky above - but nothing in comparison to your wonderful place. Do you need an assistant yet or are the mussels working out for you??
Here’s hoping!
May 14th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Oh my, I love your office. (Love those regal eagles, too!) We should meeting for a working lunch sometime.
May 14th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Thanks Shannon…yes, this is quite a conference room, isn’t it? You’re welcome here anytime. I just took a meeting on this very beach yesterday…met with a band of crows, a Big Leaf Maple in full flower and scores of mussels clinging to rocks. We got a lot accomplished! ~Oriana
May 14th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
Hello
…enjoyed ready this post,
like the CONTEMPLATIONS at the end…
my favorite for reducing consumerism…
really for me changing what things are made of
would help make the transition… to less.
…use recycled material.
I have been cutting up and making STUFF out of
cloths from goodwill.
thats what I do.
peace-
May 15th, 2009 at 8:55 am
Hi Creative…Glad to hear you, too, prefer the cathedrals of trees and sky…so much better for us in so many ways. Yes, I do have one of he best offices on earth–and my rent is to simply be a good caretaker of it. I have a meeting scheduled for this afternoon with a hunky piece of driftwood to lean against. ~Oriana
May 15th, 2009 at 9:00 am
Thanks for your comment Rick…that’s a great idea, remaking clothes or sewing clothes from scratch from fabric you get at thrift stores. I love shopping in thrift stores–I’m amazed at the things I find there, and I love knowing I’m not contributing to our mess. From where I sit at this moment I watch HUGE container ships coming in all day long from China, loaded with more and more crap we certainly don’t need. I dare everyone who reads this to live a “normal” American life for a week without buying anything made in China–you’ll be amazed. End of rant.
~Oriana