Strolling Along the Milky Way

It was a cold and dark evening in Vancouver. I decided to go for a walk by Jericho Beach anyhow. Unexpectedly, the wind picked up and I was magically whisked off to a strange and wonderful galaxy. Were they whirling snow flakes? A meteor shower?  I  believe I was strolling along the Milky Way.

Deep Serene

Fragile Organic Matter

Nature's delicate tapestry is being trampled upon. Let's reflect upon her fragility and protect her.

Block the Boat Vancouver

For fifty days between July 7 and August 26, 2014, Israel viciously bombarded the Gaza Strip. This was the third time Israel launched a massive military attack on Gaza in four years. By the time the peace treaty was arrived at (since broken four times by Israel and yet to be commented on in the mainstream media) at least 2,131 Palestinians were killed in this massacre; 80% of casualties were civilians, including 501 children. Entire neighbourhoods were intentionally annihilated.

108,000 people have been left homeless as a result of thousands of destroyed homes, including the deliberate downing of high-rise apartment buildings. Schools, hospitals, news-gathering agencies, UN facilities and places of worship were all purposefully targeted and bombed. 1, 500 children have been orphaned. Not surprisingly, the psychological toll on children who have witnessed such unfathomable atrocities is huge. The UN Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affaires estimates that 373,000 children require specialized psychosocial support. 

People in Vancouver, like indeed in cities around the world, protested these war crimes in large numbers. People of conscience were moved to action in face of the brutality, and demanded both that Israel stop the savage attacks and that our own governments cease enabling the assaults by providing, military, financial and diplomatic support for the Israeli aggression. 

While the full-scale bombardment of Gaza may have now ended, the siege and blockade of Gaza remains intact. Nearly half a million people remain displaced and the medical and psychological healing is long-term; if not life-long. Moreover, the violence of the ongoing occupation in the West Bank continues with Israeli troops kidnapping children from their homes and unchecked settler violence traumatizes Palestinians. Just last week, one thousand acres of Palestinian land were stolen by Israeli authorities from Palestinian villages in the Bethlehem area to create additional illegal, racist settlements; an aggressive move designed to further block Palestinian self-determination. 

The massacre and ongoing siege of Gaza, along with the occupation and colonization of the West Bank - all facilitated by the Canadian Government's unconditional support of Israel, has reinforced the legitimacy of the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign. Moreover as Palestinian trade unions issued an appeal to workers around the world to refuse to handle Israeli goods, a small coalition of Vancouver Palestine Solidarity activists decided to respond to the call by initiating an action targeting the Israeli shipping corporation, ZIM. Their container ships regularly conduct business in the Vancouver Area at Deltaport. Vancouver activists protested the arrival of ZIM ships four years ago and recently, the corporation had been picketted in three US West coast ports. A small group of Palestine solidarity workers decided to communicate to the firm that occupation profiteers are unwelcome in Vancouver and Block the Boat Vancouver was born.

From the onset, the group agreed that this was a long-term project and that the initial phase was one of public education. The plan was simply to have people standing by the side of the road with banners and handing out leaflets to workers on their way to the docks. The hand-outs outlined the reality of life under siege and occupation, the relationship between the corporation and the ongoing destruction of Palestine, and the role that civic society can play in ending oppression.

On Friday, September 5th, a day prior to the morning at the port, five activists (and a dog) gathered at the Tsawwassen ferry terminal (about 30 km south of Vancouver) to take a photograph with signs directly in front of the ZIM Djibouti. 

The ZIM Djibouti's cargo did not get unloaded in Vancouver. 

Comox and Chilco

At the corner of Comox and Chilco Streets in Vancouver's West End is this tiny community garden. The contrast between the soft yellow petals and the beard-like wild grass looks very pleasing to me.

Namaste

The rabbi sounded the shofar, that ancient musical instrument made of a ram's horn. The minister rang the Tibetan prayer bell. Ancient spiritual tools employed to awaken our consciousness to a larger, more inclusive reality; one where we can perceive and appreciate the spark of Divinity that resides in all our hearts. We came together in a multi-faith gathering to reflect and pray for those who lost their lives in Gaza and Israel. 1, 962  people were killed in Gaza - of whom 80% were civilians. We thought of their beloved, who must endure the lasting trauma of this massive, evil violence.  67 also died in Israel - 64  of who were soldiers.  For once and for all - can we stop calling this one-sided massacre a conflict. Or a war.  Or self-defense. The sign I made for last week's demonstration said it quite plainly.  "Want security? Lift the blockade. End the occupation. ( It's not rocket science.)"

 I find it unbearable that our governments have directly and significantly contributed to this  unfathomable pain, death and destruction. Their complicity has enabled Israel to unleash this sadistic military campaign with total impunity.

Tonight I thought of the Sanskrit greeting we say to one another in Nepal and India. Namaste.  As Ram Dass explains it: "I honour that place in you where the entire universe resides. I honour the place of love, of light, of truth of peace." And the part that I love the most; for he captures the essence of a soul to soul encounter perfectly: "I honour the place within you, where if you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, there is only one of us."

Perhaps if we could all hold onto the perception that in a deep sense we really are our brother's keeper - then how could anyone harm anyone else? If we literally all are One Self, and murder is thus suicide, then a felt universal compassion would make it impossible for humans to engage in such atrocities. "When one is weeping, the whole world suffers too."

How much calmer it was to walk in this delicate landscape.
Poppies amidst fields of wheat in rural Slovenia.

Bird's Eye View

Cycling across Vancouver's Burrard Bridge, I spot this fabulous cormorant. We both take in the dazzling view.  Coming from Granville market, I wonder if he has any idea that my backpack is filled with his favourite dish -  fresh seafood.