Points of View

The Times We Are In

Our minds out of habit crave unambiguous, well-packaged reality. If we all accept that all of us want to be happy, then such a craving would seem both logical and useful as the impetus to achieve this utopian goal.
Yet time and again, our efforts get foiled – no matter where we stand in the political, social, and religious spectrums. Conservatives do not like liberal agendas; but, then again, T-Party members don’t think that the conservative agenda is conservative enough. Progressives don’t think that Liberals are liberal enough. Our President backs alternative energy solutions, yet supports the likes of Monsanto who have seemingly made it their goal to claim patents on all of creation. Wall Street is still having a party while Main Street debates on how to parse up the scraps that are thrown its way. For a nation

On the line with Healthcare

For several months now, various right wing political figures, like Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, and Fox commentator, Glenn Beck, have been railing on Michele Obama over her “Let’s Move” campaign to end childhood obesity. It is hard to gauge the impact of such public figure’s attempts to panic people with the image of a “nanny” state, as absurd as it sounds and is. But, then there was Rush Limbaugh’s attack on Mrs. Obama for her transgression of eating short ribs while on a trip to Aspen. Mr. Limbaugh thought that Mrs. Obama was a hypocrite. After all, doesn’t she have that silly organic garden in the White House back yard? But, did she ever claim to be a vegetarian?

The Power of Ritual

‘Tis the season of holiday rituals and obligations. We all have familiar celebrations. We also have familial losses, regrets and ways of relating that no longer work. Facing holidays past and Hallmark expectations can leave one feeling powerless. One friend decided to spend the season in Italy with his son: a handy escape. But for those who can’t jet across the pond, it’s good to be certain that you are celebrating rather than obligating. This year, I decided to create my own celebrations instead of driving to my mother’s home in Orange County.
What do they say about how to make God laugh? Tell Her your plans. For Thanksgiving I intended on being solo. I was going to hike, order a turkey dinner and watch two DVDs. For those who know my movie propensity, this may not seem like a treat. But I was going to splurge on movies from redbox instead of trolling the free library bins. I even had the movies selected: It’s Complicated and Temple Grandin.
The first kink in plans was that my friend Andy, who is visiting the area from out of town, didn’t want to be alone. I invited him to my place. I worried about who was going to sit in the comfortable chair if he stayed for the movies.
Kink number two was that I knew another person who was also visiting the Central Coast solo. No way do I have three comfortable chairs. The third kink was, well. At least I was laughing.
In October I taught a group of young adults about the power of ritual. I told them the most important point of any ritual was clarity and intention. That’s why we were celebrating the Day of the Dead on October 26 instead of November 2. That’s the reason they could join me by proxy during my full moon burning bowl ceremony. They wrote their intentions on cards: I blessed and released the intentions a few weeks later.
Another thing about ritual is that after a time, traditional rituals need to be revamped. Change is a good thing. If the kids are gone, do you really want to decorate? If not, a poinsettia or bowl of pinecones as a centerpiece is festive enough. I love, love, love decorating. I even have two mini Christmas trees: one for each room. But due to creative projects, I’m going to set my nativity-in-a-coconut-shell on the table, step back and announce, “I have achieved good enoughness!”
Ritual can be tiny. Maybe I’ll memorize another Mary Oliver poem. The one that starts, “One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began, though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice…” That way the words will be handy whenever I feel obligated to sacrifice my spirit on behalf of an outdated idea.
Celebrate. Create. Appreciate. Rituals are for grounding your soul into your sweet body of life. Trust your Inner Wisdom to light the way and leave you laughing.
Dorothy Segovia is a certified Life Coach who facilitates group and individual workshops. She is currently writing a magazine series based on her coaching work.

What Texas Oil Giants Have To Do With California Politics?

PROP 23

The renewable energy economy in California is under threat by two Texas oil companies, Tesoro and Valero. These out of state corporations put Proposition 23 on the November ballot and paid millions in support of the initiative. Prop. 23, deceptively called the Jobs Initiative, will suspend the Global Warming Solution Act of 2006 (AB32) and stifle a sustainable future for our state. This so called “common sense” and “temporary” solution to current economic problems is nothing but another attempt by dirty energy suppliers to try and increase business interests at the expense of the public interests.

The “temporary” set up means that AB32 would be suspended until California’s unemployment rate (currently at 12.3%) drops to 5.5% for four consecutive calendar quarters. Prop 23 advocates fail to inform voters that the unemployment rate has only met this mark in the parameters specified three times since 1980. Using the state of the economy, officials can claim to merely “suspend” AB32 while remaining vague about when or if it will ever be re-established.

A Huffington Post article written by Laura Bassett demonstrates some of the complexities of the issue. A Missouri nonprofit group, The Adam Smith Foundation was recently accused of abusing its tax status for having donated $498,000 to Prop. 23 without disclosing its donors. So why are so many out of state interests pushing for Prop. 23? As the Adam Smith Foundation President John Elliot said, “Anything to do with energy affects Missouri, No. 1 because we rely heavily on coal," (www.huffingtonpost.com). Every year, California coal plants release 67 million tons of green house gases (www.serriaclub.org). AB32 puts California on a road to sustainable solutions, which naturally concern dirty energy suppliers. California is a leading supplier of green and sustainable energy; getting 11.8% of energy from renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, geothermal, and hydroelectric in 2007 (www.ca.gov).

The United States can’t exist on oil infinitely. California is looking beyond the finite to long-term sustainable solutions and AB32 marked a huge step for environmentally conscious individuals across the nation.

Currently, CALPIRG students, a statewide bipartisan organization is forming groups of dedicated Cuesta and Calpoly students to get active on their No on Prop. 23 campaign. CALPIRG students are collecting pledges to vote no on 23 at colleges and universities across the state. The fear is for people to be misled by the ‘Jobs Initiative’ and go to the polls not realizing the anti-environmental implications of proposition 23.

If you support sustainable solutions, clean air, or just don’t want to see out of state corporations interfering with California’s affairs vote NO on Prop. 23!

COMMENTARY

“You must give back for the space you take up on this Earth.”

There, in a few simple words, was the life philosophy of my friend, Mina Vaughn. Mina was one of two friends who passed away unexpectedly in the last few weeks. Like my other friend, Estelle Wall, Mina lived her life philosophy to the fullest. These two women, on the surface, appeared to be totally different. One was tall and slender, with the grace of a dancer (and she was). The other was shorter and rounder. Both women had seemingly endless amounts of energy to devote to their passions: community groups, politics, and children – always children. They both doted on their grandchildren, whether they achieved the title by birth or by “adoption”. They both gave back to our community much more than the space they took up.

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Thom Hartmann