It’s been an action packed week and I’m sorry I haven’t been able to write any posts but as you may have read, it started with D and I attending an Urban Farm Symposium last Saturday and continued with a long awaited visit from my sister B and my brother in law J. Life has been rich with new ideas and insights and I’m thankful, since I wouldn’t have much to write about without the abundance of both in my life.

Before I move into the meat of this blog, I want to give you a bit of the back story so you can appreciate the whole picture and some history. My sister B lives in Victoria on Vancouver Island. Not too far from my homestead, only a days drive and ferry ride away but far enough so we only see each other a few times a year. And that is when she generously comes to visit. I remember our visit in the summer of 2013. She was chiding me for walking everywhere barefoot. I told her that putting shoes on was too much of a hassle since I was often running after the little ones. We were down to the garden, or play area,  or swimming in the pool, several times a day and it’s not like we have a yard with obstacles like chicken droppings or even dog waste. But still, she cautioned me on being careful walking in the dirt as there are pathogens that could enter through broken skin etc and cause infection.

Did I mention she is my BIG sister. She was just shy of 13 when I was born, so she has always been a bit protective and always nurturing towards me. This past summer, she and her daughter, T and two granddaughters, H and M, came for a visit. We had a lovely visit with lots of laughter and some moments of deep soul talk. The kind only sisters can share (and nieces). My sister always brings gifts that are useful and some that I wouldn’t go out and buy myself. For instance, on one of her shopping trips, she came home with a lucky bamboo plant in an elephant planter. Since I study the art of Feng Shui, I knew she was giving us a gift full of many blessings. She is always bestowing the best of life upon me and my family.

 

This is my lucky elephant bamboo, full of blessings that B gave this past summer

I’m also thankful, that she is highly organized and is often clearing clutter, another wonderful Feng Shui practice. There have been many occasions where I have benefited after one of her space clearing sessions. This past summer was another such time when she left a box of “things” for me to peruse after she left. Some of my most treasured pieces of clothing have come second hand from her, so with tears still in my eyes wondering when I would see her again,  I unearthed the contents piece by piece,  trying on this and that. When I came to the bottom of the box there were a familiar pair of shoes I had often admired her wearing. They are a pair of lovely brown, Josef Siebels.  They are what my  mother in law D would have called, “sensible walking shoes,” when she herself lived in Victoria watching women walking their dogs in such footwear.

WOW~ I was thankful to have a new pair of shoes. On the first day this fall, when it was particularly cold, I wore them when taking the little girls to preschool. I was chatting with J, our children’s preschool teacher. We go WAY back, since she taught our oldest son, Clark, 18 years earlier and every little one since then. She knows our family really well and we have been fortunate to have her in our lives.

I don’t really know how our conversation took off but I think it had something to do with the weather finally growing colder and I was having to ditch my sandals. I told her I had spent most of my summer barefoot and that my older sister must have felt sorry for me as she gave me these wonderful shoes to wear, as I motioned towards my new, high end shoes. J, said she knew someone who also enjoyed going barefoot and commented about it being very good for you.

My sister B and brother in law J arrived at our home last Monday. While the weekend had been gloriously warm, the weather had shifted on Monday which was decidedly colder. We hadn’t started the furnace yet this year, so after giving my sister a big hug and chatting briefly, I noticed she was uncharacteristically barefoot. I asked her if I could get her a pair of socks or something. She looked down at her very tanned feet, (did I mention they had been on holidays down the Oregon Coast etc for the past month?) and said, “no thanks, I’m doing the barefoot thing.”

We talked about their trip etc and then it finally came around to her feet once again and I asked what was up with the bare feet? It was then she told me about a book she and B had read while on their holidays. It was called, “Earthing.” They also had the DVD, which they had brought along for us to watch. She showed me pictures of her and J walking barefoot with my other sister, J and her husband B. (hey, just now I noticed that the couples share the same first letters…but in reverse)  They had been visiting with them for 2 days and they were “grounding” themselves at their acreage all weekend.

Grounding or Earthing is defined as placing one’s bare feet on the ground whether it be dirt, grass, sand or concrete (especially when humid or wet). When you ground to the electron-enriched earth, an improved balance of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system occurs.

The Earth is a natural source of electrons and subtle electrical fields, which are essential for proper functioning of immune systems, circulation, synchronization of biorhythms and other physiological processes and may actually be the most effective, essential, least expensive, and easiest to attain antioxidant.
 
Modern science has thoroughly documented the connection between inflammation and all of the chronic diseases, including the diseases of aging and the aging process itself. It is important to understand that inflammation is a condition that can be reduced or prevented by grounding your body to the Earth, the way virtually all of your ancestors have done for hundreds if not thousands of generations

I had to laugh at first. Here was my big sister first telling me to put my shoes on, actually giving me a pair of shoes and now she was telling me to take them off. In addition stressing that going barefoot was the way to go. I could have told her that.

Although I didn’t know there were any significant health benefits, I knew how I felt after being at the ocean, walking on the beach for a week or burying my feet in the sand while the children made crab castles. Also, walking in my garden barefoot or sitting and meditating on the earth felt restorative. When we listen to our body and how it’s reacting, we are never wrong.

Well, throughout the week that B was visiting, when we had a moment we would go out into the yard barefoot. The little people were thrilled because they knew intrinsically what felt good and were baffled at why I had been harping at them to put their shoes on since the weather turned cold. As long as they were bundled up with a sweater etc, they felt great barefoot and surprisingly enough, the earth still held a lot of heat from our long hot summer.

Our little girls, Victoria and Kate grounding with their Auntie B.

And so, my dear blog friends, from my big sister, now to you I say, “to shoe or not to shoe?” that is the question. Maybe, if more of us went barefoot on the earth, communed with nature, our whole world would be healthier and more balanced. At the very least we would be connected to our roots and care for Mother Earth as she cares for us.

AND

That brings me to another insight I had during the week. As you probably know, unless you are living off the grid without any contact with the outer world, during the past week there were several acts of terrorism in my country, one which occurred on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. A lone gunman, Michael Abdul Ehaf-Bibeau, who was a recent convert to Islam, killed an unarmed soldier, 24 year old Cpl. Nathan Cerillo, who was standing guard at our National War Memorial. He then went on to enter the Parliament building and after a round of gun fire was shot and killed himself. My heart just weeps and I know this sounds crazy, but I am so sad for everyone involved…even the shooter.

There have been so many horrific events of terrorism around the world but I think for many reasons this latest was particularly disturbing since Canadians are known to be peace keepers and this act occurred in the heart of our political system…close to where our Prime Minister and MP’s were debating choices we as Canadians uphold. Freedom, justice, equality, etc.

With the thoughts of growing food swirling in my head from last weekend’s Urban Farm Symposium and the idea of  grounding/earthing and its benefits, along with this news story settling in my heart, I have to wonder if most of the world has its head in the clouds. For many on earth being in a dream state is how they maneuver through life. Asleep to the fact that we are all connected and unaware that if we don’t wake up now, our precious Mother Earth will be destroyed and humanity along with it. Cracks are forming all over the earth.

For many humans the light is being turned on and through their environmental concerns they are starting to see the bigger picture. As if they are out in space and looking with awe at the beauty and peace within our grasp. Understanding that we can’t heal the earth and all the damage we have done to it, without addressing people’s suffering at the same time.

Something I read this week in a book by Pema Chodron called, “Taking the Leap,” resonated with me and I wanted to share it here. She wrote,

“Working on ourselves and becoming more conscious about our own minds and emotions may be the only way for us to find a solutions that address the welfare of all beings and the survival of the earth itself.”

She further shares this,

“There was a story that was widely circulated a few days after the attack of September 11, 2001, that illustrates our dilemma. A Native American grandfather was speaking to his grandson about violence and cruelty and how it comes about. He said, it was as if two wolves were fighting in his heart. One wolf was vengeful and angry, and the other wolf was understanding and kind. The grandson asked his grandfather which wolf would win the fight in his heart. And the grandfather answered, “the one that wins, will be the one I choose to feed.”


She continues,

“So this is our challenge, the challenge for our spiritual practice and the challenge for the world~how can we train right now, not later, to feed the right wolf?”
                                                                                        ~Pema Chodron, from “Taking the Leap”~

I want to thank Pema Chodron for that. I finished reading my Sacred Sister’s book club selection earlier in the month. It was called, “The Places That Scare Us” by Pema Chodron. I enjoyed it so much that I started reading more of her writing and it has settled in my heart. She is right on.

I know the wolf I want to feed.

How about you?

Every day we make choices to wake up. Sending understanding and kindness into the world seems the only way to heal.

Another way to stay awake though is being grounded and so, that ties in to the benefits of EARTHING….it just feels like a constantly flowing circle, we keep coming back to ourselves and the answer seems so simple. Take care of the earth, and the earth will take care of us.

If you want to learn more about Earthing, I thought I would give you a link to the YouTube full movie. It’s called, “Grounded.” (click the highlighted word) and it is a light, easy to watch documentary of one man’s story and how Earthing changed his life and the little town of Haines, Alaska.

Well that was my week in a nutshell. As I said a sad goodbye to my sister, I wanted to share a picture she took of D and me with Will. I’m wearing another of her gifts…..what she called, “grandma’s apron” and you know what? There could be a revival of these lovely things as it’s really useful. A blog for another day. Hey, and notice my fantastic shoes in the picture below. Thanks B! I’m blessed to have cool sisters!  Also, so very grateful that I have people actually reading my blog so thank you to you…my dear blog readers!

Peace out!

D, and myself, with our sweet William…saying goodbye to my sister B and brother in law J

Until we meet again, may you be well, peaceful and happy.

Blessings from Hope