Hurricane Weather

(Excuuuuse me while I wax philosophers!)

Having had my birthday right around this time for what seems to be most of my life…. (yes, yes, thank you for the accolades! I take full credit for making the decision to be born today!)

…I can tell you that what they say about the Dog Days of Summer is true. Even though I don’t really know what it is, specifically, that ‘they’ say about them. But interestingly enough to me and probably twelve other people out of 7 billion, if you could find them, the Chinese horoscope says I am a Dog. I don’t really know what that means either.

But now that my B’day (yes it is today) is inextricably entwined with Katrina, I always feel a bit guilty on my B’day. Guilty, because I had asked the Universe (nice shoes, btw) to expose the Bush Reign Of Terror for the whole world to see. The Universe granted my wish on my Birthday.

I didn’t know it would be that costly. I apologize.

But perhaps it is one of those trade off things, Katrina was and is and always shall be one of the true heartbreaking tragedies of my life. Watching that suffering….

But just think, and I know it sucks to ask this, just think of where we would be if Katrina had not exposed to America just how BAD Bush was. At that point, war with Iran was still possible, and indeed, if their plans in Iraq would have developed as anticipated, (Who could have anticipated that the Iraqis didn’t want their country invaded and occupied and would…ya knw…resist and shit) we would have already invaded Syria at that point and been gearing up for Iran. Bu the Universe seemed to intervene, with a sever shortage of flowers and candy for the Liberators of Iraq…and then Katrina.

So maybe, in one of those horrid equations, Katrina actually saved lives, who knows.

Pointless rationalization and attempted expunging of irrational guilt aside…the end of August seems always seems to be a time of waiting, of some ominous foreboding, such as watching Katrina close in on NOLA day by day….and realizing how we small creatures really don’t have the power to affect life as much as we would want.

This August too, we seem to be waiting. Perhaps even waiting more than usual for the Big Wheel that seems to be stuck, to unstick.

Hurricane weather, waiting for the skies to change, for good or ill. We are waiting to see if the Dems sell out on Health Care. We are waiting for the torture investigations to begin, or drop the smoking gun. We are waiting to get out of Iraq, we are waiting to see if the new Surge “works” in Afghanistan. We are waiting to see how bad Congress sells out on Climate change.

And, sad to say, sad on the level of watching Katrina close in on NOLA, we are waiting for Climate Change to get bad enough that the deniers finally lose traction and we get to work saving the planet.

Waiting, in other words, for the hangover of Republican influence on politics and the media to fade, so that the Dems will finally stop being afraid of them and actually do their jobs.

A Progressive future, a good future, a future where the planet and it’s people survive, and live in a just and equal society where the Rule of Law applies to all equally and resource squandering greed is condemned and not celebrated….is circling in the skies above us. Along with a storm of tragedy unlike the human race has ever seen.

Shamans believe that to some extent we can affect the future. That by being in harmony with it, by pleasing the Universe with our actions (or with an amusing dance or good prayer or song) we can influence what kind of future we have. That we can clear the skies…or bring down a storm.

Right now, in this sort of hurricane weather, it is in a way even simpler. ALL we have to do is make the right decisions, decisions based on compassion, empathy, justice and equality, in harmony so to speak with the Rule of both Natural and man made Law and many, many storms can be averted. Things are………poised. What we do as Humans, the decisions we make in this time will (as always to some extent) determine what kind of future we will have….for the next Seven Generations.

It is a time to work hard and to out all of our effort and energy into making this change the right way, and I am proud to say that there is a GREAT group of people here doing exactly that.

Will it work? Who knows! That is, if we can detach a bit from the urgency and critical seriousness, part of the fun of being here, now.

But hey, a little dancing couldn’t hurt!