Pictured above: Radical Joy Bird made from found plastic pieces next to a dead shore bird. Placed on ancient native American shell midden on polluted beach Richmond. Layering of ancient and contemporary- eternal and ephemeral refuse.Having compassion for the unloved parts of ourselves and the world is the first step to healing. This is what this wonderful organization Radical Joy for Hard Times is teaching us: embrace the sad and unloved places and you offer them the space to heal. I recently took part in their Global Earth Exchange where I went out to a place in nature that is neglected and polluted, created some art and offered the spirit of the place a bit of love.
Here's a quote from their work:
Here's a quote from their work:
"Weʼre all aware of the damage that pollution, mining, urban development, and other environ-mental assaults do to the places we love. Yet still we feel deeply connected to these places. It is by actually seeking out these wounded places, sharing our stories, and opening ourselves to the possibility of finding and making beauty there that we transform both ourselves and the place. We do this through a simple, yet deeply meaningful process called the Earth Exchange.
We call it an Earth Exchange because in the process of enacting it, an exchange is made between people and place. People receive meaning and beauty from a place they might previously have seen as spoiled or even worthless, and the place receives compassion and creativity from the people who care about it."
We call it an Earth Exchange because in the process of enacting it, an exchange is made between people and place. People receive meaning and beauty from a place they might previously have seen as spoiled or even worthless, and the place receives compassion and creativity from the people who care about it."
The beach where I made these Radical Joy Birds is just near my house in Richmond. On a recent day of trying to clean up the garbage on the beach I was totally disheartened by the futility of my efforts. How could it possibly make any difference at all, it's never ending! I know that any real positive change in our environment has to start from within us. I realized that the polluted beach is so deeply connected our inner pollution. This is what we've manifested by being so disconnected from nature. Doing this Earth Exchange and actions like it help to heal this disconnection on a deeper spiritual level and has really given me some feeling of being empowered and hopeful. I know that when we notice the beauty in nature, even in the saddest places, Mother Earth smiles upon us with infinite appreciation that she's not forgotten.
Pictured here: this Radical Joy Bird is made from sharp pieces of rusted metal I found here. The heavy winds we've had lately uncovered lot's of this rusted metal I've never see before here. It's very sharp and dangerous. 
Above: My radical joy doggie- always showing me how to love being in nature
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