Earth Day 2018
It is Earth Day, so called, though every day is that. And on this exquisite day, where the breath of spring is in the air at last, I am heartened by many kindnesses, large and small that I hear tell of and experience for myself, and I remind myself of them in the face of such news as this:
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Traditional healer and elder Olivia Arevalo Lomas of the Shipibo-Conibo Indigenous people of Peru who was 81, was shot twice and died at her home in the Ucayali region of the Peruvian Amazon rainforest on Thursday.was shot and killed at her home by an unknown assailant or assailants.
Arevalo Lomas was a leader in the community, an Indigenous rights activist and a traditional healer. Her killing has sparked local outrage following other unsolved murders of Indigenous activists who had repeatedly faced death threats related to efforts to keep illegal loggers and oil palm growers off Indigenous peoples' lands.
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We, the many, can and must continue to grow in consciousness and generosity, and with our laughter and tears, take a stand and gather our goodness and our skills and talents together, and with our arts and our hearts, and our votes and our passionate determination, take back the Earth as the precious, exquisite living being that she is, for the good of the many from the predatory few who would kill everything and everyone, especially those who are most vulnerable, for some imagined gain. We are capable of responding to the challenges of our time, together. We are doing it. And we humans are not alone, we can find help and support from the plants, birds, animals, land and waters, too, as we remember how to ask, and how to listen. Together, now, we are finding and reclaiming the power of our collective voices singing YES and NO loud and clear. And together we will continue to rise in empowered love and fierce dedication to all that truly matters on our beautiful, beloved planet Earth. If not us, who? We are the ones, as the saying goes, that we have been waiting for. So let's work hard and have fun doing it, whenever and wherever possible .
