I don’t think there is one person in the aware population of the world that hasn’t at least heard something about the sad state of affairs taking place in the Gulf of Mexico region of the United States today and over the past 58 days. One would have to be blissfully separated from the realities of the everyday world not to know the sad truth of this horrific event. Be that as it may, my weary soul tells me to write about it here, if for no other reason than to join the multitudes of mad and helpless Americans who feel frustrated in the wake of this terrible thing.

XIII. Death ~ Sedna ~ Meaning: transformation, rebirth, renewal, new beginnings.

Just a few weeks ago I received a phone call from my sister-in-law.  Her voice was frantic. “Has the oil reached your beaches yet? We are so worried…”. Well, no. Not yet, that is. As absurd as her question sounded at the time, it is becoming more and more of a reality here and everyone I know and meet are scared to death of this big, black oily monster headed to the Florida coastlines and beyond. I watch with tears in my eyes as the horror stories unfold in the media of how the wild life and the ecosystems are being destroyed, one after another after another. the residents of these areas are crying in pain and fear over the loss of their lands and heritages as they are consumed by the crude. My heart sinks at every report and my heart cries out in disgust at the images revealed by every news report, the by-product being unadulterated anger. How can this happen? Why did it happen? But most of all, why are the people responsible for this, and those who are their supporters (and visa versa), not doing something about this? I cannot imagine if this were to happen in another country the outcry our country would be emitting if the shoe was on the other foot. How sickening.

Having recently moved from the coast of Lake Michigan to the coast of the Atlantic ociean, and having grown up on or near natural water ways my whole life, I thought I was “aware” of my surroundings and its delicate nature. Only now, in the wake of this catastrophy, have I begun to realize just how messed up things can be – especially when man gets his fingrs into the works.

The waterways are medicine for our souls. Every human sense is stimulated by it. The smell of the water, suntan lotion or a barbecue; the feel of the ions in the air and the sand between our toes; the sight of the wild life and the colour of the sea, the awe as we watch a surfer catching a wave; the taste of the salty water on our lips when we swim; the sound of the gulls and the crashing waves, the air horn of a passing ship, and the laughter of children being carried upon the winds of the shore; the lifting of our very souls when we are near the water…all these things we take so much for granted will be silenced by the greed of other men, men in power and hungry for more and more money, so much money they don’t even know what to DO with it all. Makes me sick. Makes my heart cry out for justice and resolution to this awful thing that has happened.

XI. Justice ~ Maat ~Meaning: judgement, balance, legalities, making decisions

I know I am not alone. I can feel the presence of a multitude of other souls just like mine carrying the heavy burden of this unspeakable thing that has happened within them. And more closer to home, the looks on the faces of every resident and visitor that we pass at any given day or evening tells the story. No need to be psychic to know how everyone in our area is being effected by this event. Which may have an upside, and this might give me some hope that this oil spill will help to set guidelines and the implementation of safe guards for future generations, and – better yet – spur the development of cleaner energy solutions and get us away from our dependence on oil and its byproducts. Just think of it: this is just one oil well in a mighty plethora of them all around our planet. This is a warning and a reminder that we need to work harder and faster at adopting better and wiser fuel and energy choices. Now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Now. What more needs to happen to open our eyes?

What really angers me is how we as individuals are trying so hard to make wise choices, and to consider and use alternative energy in our daily lives. We ride bikes,walk or take public transportation instead of taking the car. We recycle and reuse and reinvent uses for things we would normally toss into the trash. We are urged by the media (and the powers that be) to do our best to make lifestyle changes to make a difference, one little person and one little household at a time. And then along comes some mega company (BP) that just throws caution to the wind to save a few extra bucks (while they are the ones who have more money than they know what to do with! *see above*) and the end result -> Catastrophe. Doom. Poison. Suffering. Waste. Loss. Death. And all in huge proportions. Every American I know does what they can and sacrifices when and where they can to make a difference. But to what avail when in one fell swoop a huge corporation screws up so astronomically as to wipe out every little effort we make? How can they do such a thing?! I am deeply appalled…

XXI. The World ~ Gaia ~ Meaning: the state of wholeness, self-awareness, oneness with all living things.

 So…where do we go from here? What do we do? I, for one, am not going to let this break my spirit. I am stubborn. And I am not a real fan of big business nor big corporations. My household has decided to not do business with BP any more, which is a bit of a Catch 22. Surely, they need our support to clean up the mess and fix this problem some may argue. But I really have no sympathy for this corporate monster. The oil companies are no different than the pharmaceutical companies or the tobacco companies where their commerce and ways of getting money from people are concerned. They don’t need my help. The world, however, does. So this is where I am starting. With the world, and especially my little world. Our household has already vowed to step up our awareness of the earth, our environment – especially the immediate environment – and make our best effort to clean up our act even more. We will continue to remain ever diligent of our way of life and how we impact our surroundings, both immediate and beyond. We will show respect to the earth, ourselves and especially others by being mindful of what we are doing and what we are leaving behind during and after we are doing it. We will be more aware of where we are putting our money and more educated about the companies we are doing business with, both on a local and more wide spread scale. We will donate to wildlife and environmental friends more often. They so need our support. And, finally, we will be keeping the soul of the earth and all its inhabitants in our thoughts and prayers in an ongoing way, so as to aid in the healing that is so desperately needed at this time. I encourage everyone who is reading this now to do the same. Don’t let all that anger and frustration go to waste! Convert that energy into healing prayers and thoughtful and loving action for our planet and thus ourselves and our plant, animal and elemental families. Let’s make a difference now more than ever! I hope you will join me in this…and thank you for listening to my rant.

Namaste, my friends… 

[*note: The Tarot used in this blog is from the Animals Divine tarot by Lisa Hunt. She is a tarot genius! ~L.]