Hold Me To This
First of all, please hold me to this: I would like to start writing blog posts again. My brain has been so full with all the new things going on that I just haven’t had the mental space to write. I miss it!
On another note, I am here in Ohio at the fifth annual Jubilee Peace Fest. You might think the name seems a bit frivolous but this is anything but. Here is a brief description of meaning of the word Jubilee and the connection to this gathering.
History Lesson
(Read this if you are a history buff.)Celebrating the end of the civil war, more than fifty thousand people attended the National Peace Jubilee Concert in 1869 in, of all places, Boston Massachusetts. Because of the concert’s success, it was followed by the World’s Peace Jubilee, another music event that in 1872 marked the ending the brutal Franco-Prussian war. Featured singers at this event were the Jubilee Singers from Fisk University, a predominantly African American college located in the southern US. Starting in Cincinnati, Ohio ( right near where I now I am), the Jubilee Singers went on a concert tour following the path of the underground-railroad. Their persistent and triumphant journey inspired and captivated audiences unaccustomed to African American culture and freedom, all across the country. This conference jubilantly continues this tradition of celebration, forgiveness and peace. More than a conference this gathering celebrates as in the past, a future where all are forgiven and beings enslaved everywhere are happy and free for all.
Integrity
What this conference represents for me is a culmination, no, an integration of many if not all of the most important issues for me. The event features speakers and teachers of yoga, vegan cooking and lifestyle, and peace activism. The cool thing for me is that they are really all the same and treated as such here at this event. I was invited to speak and teach and very humbly accepted. I am thrilled and honored to be amoung such incredible people. This is really the general story.
Torn Apart
The more in-depth story is this: I am simultaneously inspired and absolutely torn apart. I feel as though I am wide open and all of my experiences and feelings are exposed. I know they are not really visible but quite frankly, giving a shit really sucks. I wish I wasn’t so sensitive and I have worked for many years to not be so vulnerable to images and ideas that are disturbing. That doesn’t mean I have shut myself down. It simply means that I have tried to be more productive with my energy. On a trip to Spain many years ago, my brother and I were driving through the countryside and we came alongside a truck filled, stuffed really, with baby cows. Their little heads were sticking out and they were making the most terrified sounds. I broke down and as the truck pulled away my brother said to me, “you know that won’t help them. It won’t help them for you to feel sad, devastated, and defeated. All you can do right now for those little babies is send them all your love right now and work to make the world better.”
Pulling Myself Together
He is right you know, and normally, I really am able to be joyous and positive as I move forward with what I believe will help make this world a better place for all beings that don’t have a voice of their own. This applies to people and creatures. That said, right now I feel overwhelmed with obstacles. It has been a while since I have been in an environment such as this, among so many people who are making such gigantic change in the world. Rather than making me feel like I can sit back and relax, I feel like I really need to crank it up a notch. Damn it! Here are some of the things that have begun to materialize here in just a short 3 days. I have been asked to be involved with a brand new yoga accrediting body called Ahimsa Yoga Association, yoga retreat and vegan cooking trip to Mexico with Chef Jason Wyrick, I have begun the process of becoming a World Peace Diet Facilitator, and a number of other connections that have yet to be realized. All the while I miss my family and would love to do nothing more than hole up with them for a good long time. I am gearing up for a big week next week with the Boston Vegetarian Food Fest (we will have a booth there!!) and a monthly intensive and an O2 Yoga Teacher Training Intro session the following. For now, I will try to pull myself back together. I know this is all really good stuff but I also feel like everything under my feet has been shifted. Okay that’s kind of an understatement. Earthquake is more like it, um a good one?
