Euology for Matt Coleman

It’s a dangerous world and being a mother I would worry about the fate of my children, especially when they were little. My mother, may she rest in peace, taught me that once they leave our bodies, our children are on their own path and we have to trust them, even if they die.

These words have comforted me throughout motherhood to this day. Fortunately my children are alive and well, but there are other mother’s who have lost their children. And though we may curse the timing of tragic events, no one gets out of here alive. In cases of inexplicable random violence, We can shake our fists at the heavens and demand justice, a refund, a guarantee but alas, this life business does not have a warranty, make any promises or respect contracts. What you see is what you get. This reminds us how deeply precious this very moment is.

Many of you have probably heard by now of the death of our kind and beautiful friend Matt Coleman steward of the land and beloved member of our community. He was murdered last Thursday night a mile or so from highway one 10 miles north of Westport. The Sheriff has no leads, no clues at this point. It’s just a deeply heartbreaking story. It was an ordinary day, one where a simple man, in love with the world went to work which brought him to the Old Thompson Ranch last Thursday to do his job, eradicating invasive species, watching out for the salmon, photographing the birds, taking care of the earth and her creatures. His path crossed with someone at the exact time, who was armed and willing to do harm, irrevocable harm. We can never know what happened at the moment, if Matt came to close to an illegal pot grow, a random crazed hiker, or at first what some rumored was a bear attack. Matt’s love for the world and passion for keeping it green and growing is what he has left us. Besides a loving family coming to bury their son, brother, friend but also an amazing partner in life who’s beauty and childlike joy has touched many of us.

With them we grieve. I would encourage you to allow grief to touch you. Grief is a profound human response to death that is crucial for compassion and healing. It is a virtue often forgotten, neglected in this tragic world. We tend to skip the grief and go for the depression, rage, vengeance, punishment, and revenge, but the act of grief is a synergistic. It’s a blessing and a beauty. And if you and I and you and she and we all take a moment to grieve, we are connected in that beautiful blessing. The Mayans say the Gods drink our grief, it feeds them and lets them know that something precious is lost, something of value. Someone who mattered.

Recently I saw a photo on the front page of the Chronicle. It was of a woman on her knees at an intersection in Berkeley. She was kissing the ground where her beautiful lover was shot dead on the night of his birthday last September. She makes a daily pilgrimage to the spot and grieves for her lover. This photo both touched and haunted me. There are daily, grizzly accounts of murder that are calling for our attention in terms of grief There are so many that perish each day, just think about Somalia. What if we had the presence to take a few minutes each day, perhaps at twilight and mourn for us all, for the questions that will never be answered and that question is Why? Why are some human beings so cruel and violent, heartless, and homicidal??

At this time, we are witnessing a rise in violence in our county where as for the last three weeks we have heard repeated reports of random gun violence and robbery, property destruction and generally scaring the locals. Yes, it is frightening and there is little we can do, but being afraid is not going to change fate or destiny, living our lives completely, staying on our paths and continuing our souls important work like the work that Matt was doing in stewarding this sacred Land trust. That’s where Matt put his trust, in the land, and He is in her arms now and we are left to grieve. We have little time to ask why? because there is no reason, there is no explanation here. It’s just the way it is. What can we do? Well it seems to me that Matt Coleman was doing exactly what he was born to do here on his true path. That his days were full of nature, life, celebration, love and surely a joyful path that he walked till it’s end. You can read Matt’s last contributions to the Mendocino Land Trust newsletters at Mendocino Land Trust.org. There you will also see his photos of the Great Blue Heron. May he forever fly with her and please, watch over us. At their website You will also find ways to volunteer and give to the earth and it’s restoration and pick up where Matt left off. We’ll do this together, No one should walk alone.

Hey You Gaias!

The 1^st Gaia Festival was born this past weekend on the sacred land called black oak ranch where hundreds of thousands have gathered over the last thirty years. From the Hog Farm Pignick to Camp Winnarainbow, to Kate Wolf Festival, Northern Ca Women’s Herbal symposium and Earthdance. Many have kicked up the dust in Laytonville’s hot sunshine and wondered at the moon in the cool starlight.

Producer, Susy Barsotti had the big idea to take the best of all their years of festival production and the occasion of masses of people gathering together to put some strong intention around it. While it is altogether delightful to celebrate with food, dance and music, with that many people the time has come to gather our energy and turn it toward action, beauty, sustainability, network, connection and healing. It was with that intention that the Barsotti’s gathered the most diverse profound artists from near and far, multicultural, young and old to join us together at the heart. The indigenous presence was deep and quite moving from the Native Pomo dancers, to John Trudell and Bad Dog, youth and elder councils met at the medicine wheel lodge put together the women of the herbal symposium, all of the stages were adorned with sacred creatures, bear. Owl, Raven, each evening we joined in enormous circles and sang down the sun with the voices of Bobi Cesbedes of the Yoruba tradition, Zili Misik bringing Haitian sounds and spirited longings of Ma Muse.

I had the truly extraordinary privilege of being the Mother of Ceremonies on the Earth and Sky Stage along with the inimitable presence of Visionary Activist and Weaver of Context Caroline Casey. . She benevolently mentioned President Obama’s birthday and asked us to see him to live up to his name, the translation of which is “bless the good” and see him in ancestors cloaks, innocent as the day he was born as if in his “birthday suit”.

Her lightning storm dispensation of ancient cosmic consciousness and present day reclamation was enough to make our heads spin and spiral and we both unglued the language and put it back together to fit with the quality of life that we would much prefer. One where we are called Gaias instead of Guys, One which we add the missing l to words like peacefull and beautifull, to fill our mouths and psyches with the completion of our ideals. One which we are willing to give up our addiction to having an enemy visualizing a global community called, Imagine Nation. We repeated the Gaia dream of zero waste, toasted every band with a prayer for the water and constantly reminded everyone that we are in mercury retrograde for another two weeks

Mercury retrograde is a challenge of communication which may lead to confusion and chaos and when one finds themselves in mercury’s mayhem it’s helpful to employ words that start with re- Remember, recall, relate, rehearse, realize, retreat, reorganize, rehabilitate.

We had a birds eye view of the festival audience from that robust Main stage position and could literally see people awaken with new thought and direction. Here’s one of the offerings we made from the stage. Close your eyes. Now imagine you are a dandelion gone to seed, so your head is completely full of the puffiest of puffs giving you the most marvelous hair do. Ok. Fill each seed with the loving message you like to send into the world. Every seed jam packed. Now, feel the wind in your puff, just gently blowing you to and fro. Now you realize you are surrounded by thousands of other dandelions just as poofy. And at the count of three we’re going to blow. Just the look on their faces was priceless was consciousness rising. We counted to three and blew…..and the laughter filled the bowl as we could surely see those delicate envoys sail away with the gentle winds. We remembered that Joy is power and laughter is the antidote to so much toxicity.

The consciousness at the festival included a stage for the children and bands sent there to perform specifically for the little ones. Usually it’s just a play area, but these were main stage artists singing for the children. Paul Stamets was there with his fungi magic mindfulness. We were offered A cannabis forum with Sheriff Allman and John McKowen and others. A psychedelic medicine forum and the morning mystic physical healing of Qi Gong. The Gaia invitation was to play and re imagine our world at the very same time Gov. Rick Perry gathered his minyans at Reliant Stadium in Texas to pray for God’s interference in a women’s right to choose and gay lovers to marry, Caroline advised us to inhale leadership and suck the g out of the word kingdom.

All within the sound of our broadcast were moved and brought to their senses. It was an awakening of a new festival in the heart of Pagan celebration of lamas, the harvest. In answer to the madness, the lies and twisted consciousness that is flooding the mainstream with terrible noise, piranha consciousness and the illusion systems of Dow Jones and Standard and Poor’s ,we laid ourselves down on the Gaia, our mother, and held her as she held us and we knew it was the truth, that we call come from the mother and to her we shall return. Re-member