So much destruction from storms that were not seen just a few years ago.  So many people killed by the storms, homes and whole towns lost, it is scary to think that this could be our weather now.  I was in my basement last week one evening for the first time ever due to tornado warnings in our area.  We don’t speak the language of tornadoes here, don’t know how to think about that the way the people raised in plains do.  But even those people who are as well prepared as people can be, were not prepared for what was coming to them.

Floods, taking whole towns and killing people.  Millions of acres of farm land under water.  Our weather can kill us, much more likely to kill us than just a few years ago.

We have ravaged and raped the earth for many years.  There is great debate about whether what is happening is due to that, or natural changes in the earth.  Either way, I think each person can still do things that would help: the natural conservation things that we read about all the time, and so many people don’t do.

Whether you believe that it would help, depending on which side of this debate you’re on, it makes sense to try to change something about the way we live.  If nothing else, it will make you feel better. It will give you some sense of hope, and I like to talk about hope a lot, cos we sure need more of it.

Conserve something, reuse something, recycle something, something more than you were.  Plant a tree,  grow some of your own food. Get some water from the tap instead of loading the land fills with plastic bottles that last there forever.  Shop locally and support your neighbors who are  producing food in your own area.  Get involved in your own politics and get out and vote for the people you believe have your best interests at heart.  Volunteer somewhere where people less fortunate than you could use some help.  Give some blood to the Red Cross.  Be nice to somebody who looks like they need somebody to be nice to them today. Give something of yourself, and there will be hope in you that will make you feel better.

Send good energy to the earth and its people, so many of whom need help right now.  Pray, meditate, light candles,  have ceremonies: whatever you do to send something positive from yourself to something or someone who needs hope and help.

Above is a yucca, a desert plant that shouldn’t really be in PA.  They are called Century Plants, cos some people believe they only bloom once each 100 years, but that is not true.  The bloom is a good thing that happens when the plant is ready.  All over there are good things happening in the face of disaster, and we need to find and hold on to the good things.  Search hard, cos they are out there.