Gandhi, We Are Grateful

The Sierra Club and Citizens Climate Lobby both had to toss out their executive directors this year for failure to manage their organizations appropriately during Trump's second term.  I'm very glad Rachel K's tenure at CCL was short.  But really, who can effectively guide organizations to make real progress on climate change in this environment.  Funding for NOAA, USAID, NPR,  Medicaid is being shunted to ICE so they can bring brown shirts wherever to do whatever.  A non violent revolution is needed. 

In this year's UTOPIA skit for my Bellevue chapter of CCL, I tried to depict CCL throwing over the US gov't but settled for us starting a chain reaction that led to a GENERAL TAX STRIKE, something that Quinn K seems to support. In my skit, we did it like Julia Butterfly Hill who said: I actually take the money that the IRS says goes to them and I give it to the places where our taxes should be going.  In her letter to the IRS, she said "I'm not refusing to pay my taxes. I'm actually paying them but I'm paying them where they belong because you refuse to do so."   

Anyway, I've had lots of time to think alone and the above is what happens.  Tonight, Eric and I watched "Gandhi" (Richard Attenborough, 1982, starring Ben Kingsley). At Nathan H's suggestion, I read Srdja Popovic's Blueprint for Revolution bringing Gandhi's methods to countries plagued by dictators.  For CCL book club, I just finished Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet.  Even practicing a  Rheinberger piano quartet felt like a quiet steady drumbeat punctuated with purposeful outbursts. 

My conclusion is that I must take care of myself in order to help anyone else.  I don't have to sit on a cushion silently for hours but I need solitude, walks, bike rides, free time and conversations with people who inspire me like Sylvia P, Eric, my sisters, my daughters, and the CCL volunteers leading the "democracy action team" charge. I need more time to practice the violin and piano.  They're not just perpetually on my to do list.  They are me. I need unscheduled time.  Also, we "inter-are".  This language sounded dumb in Zen and the Art....but we do have more bacterial than human genetic material, we wouldn't survive without consuming water and plants and we are part of a river of warmth that started with our non human then human ancestors.  I feel all my grandparents (Sol too) and my parents inside me and whenever I wish I had loved them better, I can love myself better.  They are  me.  

I'm incredibly grateful for CCL.  I never dreamed I'd have the opportunity to truly partner with more adults and students than I can count to work on climate change.  I want to stay healthy and inspired and continue to go everywhere my friends and imagination lead me. 

I'll  know what life on Earth looks like after 2050 as I'll be part of Evan and Caroline.  I pray for mutual kindness between all living creatures and Mother Earth.   Gandhi showed us how. Let's act. 

 Eric and I are not ready to retire.  Everyone asks. But he's been meeting with India early in the morning and Singapore late at night and squeezing first his run and then his shower in between meeting. And yesterday, I was yawning sleepily during my first 2 patients and impatient when my last (of 10) patients was trying to nail down the exact order and timing for his complicated vaccines for a Sri Lanka vacation.  Scott Medley retired when he got sick of his patients.  Yesterday was a rare glimpse of that feeling. My office building is celebrating Maxine Bailey's 90's birthday soon. She's still massaging patients 5 days a week. I won't work til age 90 but I'm definitely not retiring soon. 

Summer is practically inseparable from Quinn.  They bike camp, won 2nd place in an Alley Cat Bike race, and have tons of friends, parties, weddings, book clubs, bike commuting...  He works for Seattle 4 long days per week.  She is still working for Coffee and Cycle but I haven't been hearing a lot  about her work lately. When she once again decides to pour some fraction of her energy and imagination into her career, she'll  be an exciting success.  Right now, she still hasn't fully recovered from EcoCollective's disastrous leadership.  Also, they aim to find  their first home together by the end of July. It's a project especially since they want to live with others as well. 

Trying to pry the video games away from Emily has taken a lot of emotional and mental energy.  I finally understand that encouraging her to rebuild the parts of her life that make life worth living is the only project that might one day succeed. Instead of ME trying to demolish the part of her life that covers up all its deficiencies, SHE is building a loving relationship with Jake, starting school after her successful pre requisite unmatriculated spring quarter, taking charge of meals including a low FODMAP diet which is helping Jake, and dealing with her lack of money with food stamps, medicaid, and selling Amazon stock which she found while searching for her retirement money which she might also have to use.  And I scored weekly scheduled phone calls with her:  Thursday nights at 9 pm which make me so happy. 

I skipped talking to Lauren for a couple of days engrossed in my second reading of "An Introvert's Guide to Life and Love."   Mallory (protagonist) prefers to let family conversations fade into background noise, she abhors talking on the phone and isn't big on talking in person. But the hard work of ripping up carpeting and the challenge of truly helping her grandfather build her self confidence and lead to an exciting new relationship.  I worked super hard on "Utopia Skit 2025" for my chapter and was rewarded by everyone laughing as we took 30 minutes during a meeting to read the whole thing. 

Eric is a dream husband.  He offered to buy me a massage chair for $5K and He stoically cleaned up a disastrous kitchen last night and complimented the meal even though the vegan alfredo sauce was possibly not worth all the work.  Judy and Sierra are in Ontario, heading to New Brunswick as Judy's taking concrete steps towards relocating her family's life.  Retirement seemed like such a natural plan for Solly and Mike in 2026 but my brave sister is running for city council again and winning her fight for truth, goodness, and responsibility. 

Should I buy yet another 5 minute journal to keep a positive mental routine every morning and night? Or just write whatever I wish?  Or not write at all?  I choose options 1 and 2.  

But who care about all of the above.  Today, I'm biking to Wallingford to play string quartets with Larry G, Laurie S and Christy J and then Summer, Eric, and I get to babysit Evan and Caroline for a long wedding: 3:30 til whenever.  Can't wait!