Good Earth Day/ Heart Day on April 22nd, 2014 the day after the Boston Marathon

This week of April 20th through the 26th, started with more excitement and reverence than usual. The blend of holidays with the tragedy of the South Korean ferry sinking made for a climate of  'every step counts', every decision, individually and collectively. The Climate Change Rally in DC on April 26th, 2014 will once again make a plea to President Obama to fight the Pipeline.

See more on www.350.org (and other posts on this blog as well as on www.occupy.net ) Hearing about the Boston Marathon  a year after the bomb that claimed a few lives and injured many at the 2013 Marathon made it more than okay to think collaboratively as pulling through after hard times.

The phrase Boston Strong echoed far and wide from the MA zone of harm and remembrances to encourage our nation and beyond to not let a tragey end on a note of fear and isolation. Rather we seem to be growing in awareness that better prevention, better plans to succeed and courage to 'try, try again' makes sense even on a grand scale.

Looking back to major setbacks for US-All as a country such as 9-11 and Hurricane Katrina as well as the kinds of natural disasters many face during tornadoes, landslides, flooding, extreme heat or cold remind us to create effective networks to include more people, those near to us as well as those with skills and ideas to help in times of any kind of crisis.

The outreach '32 million friends' from UNIFEM began with a couple of people hoping to fill an unmet need to prevent poverty when the US budget was cut by that much in international aid. Many small ideas catch on and can have tremendous results.

A willingness to see each challenge as 'the work to be done today, in our times' rather than useless to face because it may take a few years or decades to address needs to be a common attitude followed by many good faith actions. On Earth Day, tune into nature outside your doors and around the world on the web. Consider the earth as a giant heart, pulsating with the 8 billion hearts of our population and anticipate more to come.

The word "ear" is in both earth and heart, so maybe it is time to 'tune in and listen to the earth, and our hearts'. What is your heart's desire? Can you take time to listen to the beating of your heart and the breathing of your lungs? Again, only one letter difference between beat and breath...maybe for Rest, Relax, Rhythm. Well, more ideas again on the web from wonderful sites.

Share what you did to commemorate any of these occasions, including anniversaries of times from the past (such as the genocide of Armenians back in 1915-1923 when over a million were killed and another half a million deported.) Painful to remember but more dangerous to forget.

During the time of the marathon, I took time to run the length of a high school in the country, which is near the river where my son lost his life trying to save another (who was saved by a rescuer, thankfully, moments later). While I had to worry for a moment about parking near the school lest some rule be broken (no permit.. and after Sandy Hook, I've thought all schools should have some parking lot, scout type personnel to keep people from going too close to the buildings, maybe just a video with some 'alerts' that could detect folks without the right badge/ pin..okay, just thinking out loud since the ideas were coming along).

Really as a tribute to all the students from daycare through college and beyond who are doing marathons of work, keeping up with early morning or long day routines, really trying to keep up with a pace that may need to slow down just so the earth can keep up with US-All. For now, enjoy the final hours of this day and each new day and week as the lovely season of spring brings new life to communities, lands and waters..peace on earth, good will to all, for our ears to hear and our hearts to feel in full color!

Read up on the Spikes Ride for Sandy Hook coming up in Limerock CT on May 3rd, a great tribute to healing for all who have gone through challenges (and wouldn't that include US-All?) Hugs and see you there, I'll wear a 'livfully' t-shirt!