This is a snippet from a wonderful book titled Honoring your Ancestors: A Guide to Ancestral Veneration, by Mallorie Vaudoise. When my grandmother on the Spirit side of things was teaching me about being a Water Witch, she was very emphatic about the fact that, as much as this is a gift it is also a responsibility. Responsibility is the ability to respond. To this day I am astounded at the fact that our politicians, who work for US, the PEOPLE, will risk the drinking water of ANY community just so that a corporation can have its way. People should not have to worry about themselves or their children being poisoned by the “fresh water” that they are drinking. The fact that they do have to worry about this infuriates me…deeply.
Yes, I do write letters and will be actively working from the sidelines with things like this. All anyone has to do is search my social media to see that I am disgusted by most of what our government, and the government south of the 49th parallel, does to people. I am not one who goes out to protest. Mostly because of my current health issues. But my voice does get heard.
In the meantime I do ceremony to assist. For example, I do ceremony to bless and heal the water that runs through our city. I do ceremony in support of the people who are on the front lines in protest of such egregious actions that are harming communities’ water supplies. I do ceremonies to raise awareness in our own community, on any number of things, but also in terms of water and its importance in our lives.
It astounds me that a system that is designed to watch over and protect people (and I am talking now about any governing body) can lose sight of that task. It is a statement of how class consciousness is something that will, until we can override it, serve only a fraction of the people. There is a wonderful word, Boudhicitta, that applies to how human beings are supposed to look out for one another.
This, to me, does not only apply to how we treat our fellow human being. It also applies to how we treat our other relatives on this planet; the fish, animals, birds, pollinators, trees, forests, rivers, lakes, seas, oceans and so on.
When we are able to step out of heirarchy style thinking and recognize that nobody is on the top, and nobody should be on the bottom, then we will be able to make some real and long-lasting changes in our world.
Until then, it is up to each and every one of us to expand our awakening mind and to take action where action is needed in order to make sure that there is, indeed, compassion, wellness, happiness and freedom for all beings.