Appreciation of our Mother

CAMILLE DAVID·SUNDAY, APRIL 22, 2018

*Picture of Portage Lake taken by Mindas Ar’ran yesterday during motorcycle ride*

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It was requested that I write something up for Just Jedi concerning Earth Day as a community wide effort in recognizing our planet earth. I'll be honest...I don't really celebrate it, or any of these side holidays on a calendar. Earth Day to me is kind of like how Christmas has become...a commercialized excuse to get people buying there spring products and pretend for one day that people actually care about the earth.

The thing is. The planet earth should be taking center stage at every day of our lives...not just "Earth Day." And thus the question here today is, how? How do we - as Jedi - take action to supporting and helping the home that we have all been born and raised within?

Here are some ideas that are quite commonly well known no matter what label you call yourself, yet just as important to practice. And believe me, even I could stand to remember them.

Plant a Tree (...Or...Anything)

Yea, this is the common Earth Day practice ;) Where everyone feels special after they beat down earth over the roots of a treeling they bought down at the local hardware store. And yes! Sarcasm aside - If you have the means, time, tools, supplies and knowledge to plant and maintain the effort - I fully endorse it!

Tree's is natures natural air purifier and tiller. It's leaves reaching up to the sky cleans the dirty air and depending on the tree provides nutritional food sources to the life around it. It's roots dig down deep turning over the soil and keeping it aerated for other plants to grow.

But if you can't maintain what you begin, it is most likely your efforts will die. Because tree's un-naturally planted and un-cared for are likely to wither and not grow to it's potential....not to mention how many years it takes for it to accomplish what you first intended of it.

But its not just Tree's that should be planted...

Even a small tomato plant on your porch is a great start towards efficient nurturing of life's little miracles and is quite healthy for you and your family.

Don't like tomatoes? Try Flowers that bee's can benefit from by harvesting pollen from the plants you grow and spread throughout your community for a rich and nutritional growth of plant life all around.

Community Gardens

For those of you not stuck in a city of cemented floors and little porches. Extending your one tomato plant out into a raised garden bed would not only feed your family, but perhaps a neighbor or two as well.

As Jedi, it is a Key Stone to provide charitable service to our local communities and those unable to tend to themselves. Fresh Zucchini, Potato's, Peas, Carrots and Beans are all natural, nutritional and bountiful resources that will be more beneficial to your local community.

Community Clean Up

Litter of harmful plastics is a growing problem. It is everywhere and it is harming our plant life and the animals that live among us. It's not just in the oceans, but in your own backyard, In your neighbors yard, along your sidewalks that you frequent daily, and in the parking lots of the stores you visit. By taking two moments to stop and pick up this trash as big as a plastic bag to as small as a plastic straws and bottle caps, you are doing a greater part to your environment than ever before.

With that in mind:

I would like to resurrect an old Just Jedi tradition that fell by the wayside when facebook became more popular than forums. This challenge came about in a round about way when Mindas Ar'ran created the Club 1000 in the early year 2008 (round about’s).

Those of you Old Guard enough to remember might recall that Club 1000 was a challenge to get Jedi physically active by performing 1000 push-up's in one months time. It was really alot of fun and many Jedi participated in it back in the day.

Just Jedi expanded upon this by adding other challenges. 1000 crunches, 1000 lunges for example....but also other practices. But in the spirit of Mother Earth and our environment, we will stick with this one below. Its really quite simple....

In one months time, challenge yourself to pick up - 1000 peaces of trash from your local community....Write about your efforts. It doesn't matter where, that’s up to you, I don't need to see it. It just helps you to re-enforce your goals and efforts...or you can do that in the comments below. Up to you! Take pictures!

Connect with the Force

And finally. I feel it is important to be reminded of what "Mother Earth" and our "Environment" really means. Its easy to go through our daily lives without really recognizing the significance of what it means to be alive. To breath the air that surrounds us, to drink the water provided to us, to eat the food we consume, to feel the sun beaming down upon our skin, to hear the sounds of chirping birds, rustling leaves, ruffling of the wind and rolling thunder storms.

In the spirit of Club 1000 Community Clean up. Let us also Meditate. Meditate upon life and how it "Binds us together"

Meditate in whatever method and/or manner you desire for 1000 minuets over the course of a months time. Write about it in your journal or the comments below. Draw a picture of you and your environment, your home and surroundings area - It doesn't have to be perfect ;) stick figures will do! But use that time to really be aware and appreciative of the life you have here on earth.

----------- Suggested Meditation ----------- First thing in the morning before your day begins, step outside with bare feet so that they can feel and embrace the earth beneath you. Close your eyes and raise your face up to smile at the morning rays of the sun. Like a cat basking in the beam of light entering your window, feel the warmth spread over you. Raise your hands up over your head in a “V” formation. This will open up your chest for deeper breathing and excite the energy surrounding you.

Listen to your environment. Hear the sounds it carries, try and identify what they are. Smell the scents and determine who is cooking that bacon or burning leaves. Feel the breeze and try and guess what it’s whispering to you.

Lower your chin so that you are looking forward and slowly open your eyes. See what you heard, smelled, and felt. Take it all in.

Finally. Recognize how everything you felt, heard, smelled and saw is all apart of you. How it all effects the way you live and interact with the Mother Earth.

When completed slowly flex your fingers, move your arms, roll and stretch your neck. Stretch out your body and shake out your muscles until you are ready to begin your day.

May The Force Be With You The Keeper of Just Jedi 2018