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......pretending everything is alright



Behind the house, up on the hill there are hundreds of these beautiful Mariposa lilies...
they like it dry and hot.


Yesterday I picked my 12 year old grandson up from the school bus...

as soon as he was in the car he asked me about the Gulf of Mexico and the oil spill..

.a spill doesn't sound too bad, does it...
he wanted to know if it had been plugged up yet.



I told him that they had just finished cutting it and the cut was jagged so no one was sure if the cap would stay on...



He asked me if it was going to be alright

I thought for a moment he might cry and that I might too
...my immediate impulse was to tell him yes, it will all be alright
...but all the evidence and my inner knowing says the opposite


...It's not going to be alright...

this 'spill' is a big deal.....
we've all been taught that killing the ocean will led to extinction....
I needed to tell him my truth..

I don't want someone I trust to tell me one thing when all the evidence tells me the reality is really something very different...

I believe that's called gas-lighting and it's a powerful killer of trust...
and I don't do it....



but I didn't know what to tell him...

the possibilities are so horrific...


we will see a lot of the effects right away..

.many species are nesting and reproducing in the area...
we're talking about the extinction of hundreds of species...



We are also looking at health effects on people on countless people as the oil spreads along the coast...



But it's the cumulative effects over time that look so scary...it's becoming pretty clear that the immediate death and destruction is nothing like what may be coming down the road...




I was at a loss of what to say to my beautiful, concerned grandson...

the truth felt like too much of a burden to place on him, but a lie wouldn't work...

So I told him I didn't know...I just knew it wasn't good and that it was going to take few miracles to come out of this mess and that we,
as the people who make our homes on this planet need to demand accountability and do everything possible to let go our our oil addiction....



and you know what?
..... even that didn't feel good..

I don't see accountability happening, nor do I see a lessening of our addiction to all things oil,,,even if 'we the people' wanted change is there anyone listening?


...I think we may already be too late...it might take a while for the full impact to hit...but I see mass starvation as a real possibility and that might not take too long at all.




I couldn't tell my grandson that.

7 comments:

Healing Woman said...

Oh, that was so beautifully said. I hope it doesn't get to mass starvation. You did the right thing in not being too negative with your grandson. He is probably upset enough about hearing about it at school and on the news. But..you are right in what you believe may happen. It is serious.

michelleK said...

You know you are so right. A similar but to a lesser extent spill happened off the north western coast of australia not too long ago. It is so heart breaking it brings me to tears. You can almost feel the earth hurting when disasters like this happen.

Beautifully said and I think everyone feels with you. Hopefully we can all act too.

<3 Michelle

Tammie Lee said...

lovely flowers
this oil spill should be a huge wake up call, but only if it is in our face and we don't ignore it. So hard to feel the consequences and so hard to share hard realities with our children. My heart leans towards you.

Anonymous said...

I Love You Mom

merci33 said...

Powerfully stated and wisely edited for your grandchild who will learn soon enough of our stubborn refusal to collectively change the course of this run away train called addiction to fossil fuels.

julie said...

Thank you for your comment in support of my dealings with my beautiful grandson...I wonder how many children feel afraid of what's going on in the world around them? I wonder how they look at those of us charged with taking care of their Earth, safety, future? Today I saw a reporter up to his ankles in oil goop...to think that we can't go back or flush it away...the pelicans struggling to fly, breathe...Today I cry.
I love you too #1 Daughter, friend and inspiration...
hug, hug

angela recada said...

This whole situation is beyond heartbreaking.

I think you said exactly what you could say to a 12-year old. You told him enough of the truth, with honesty and love, leaving him with enough hope to move forward. It is children like this, intelligent children who care, who may save us from ourselves some day. I have no doubt that the world he will be an adult in will be very different from ours. The future looks bleak.

Love and hugs,
xoxoxo
Angela

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