MayDay Cermony 2008
2008 Tree Of Life Ceremony - La Ceremonia Del Árbol
De La Vida
The Tree of Life is pregnant! Prepare the way! What must we do to
ensure safe passage for the future beings? Our ceremony this year chronicles
the Great Turning* - the evolution from where we are to where we must
go. Let’s prepare a healthy nursery for the pregnant Tree of Life!
*The Great Turning refers to the epochal transition we are
making to a life-sustaining society. One place to learn more about this
is at
www.joannamacy.net.
Les Filles Circus
Welcome to Les Filles Circus, an integral part
of the Tree of Life Ceremony this year. Les Filles Circus is a new
troupe created by two young Powderhorn Park sisters, Aliya and Taiga
Ultan, who were inspired by their encounters with international trapeze
artists, acrobats, clowns and magical characters on the streets of
Montreal. Les Filles Circus is an emerging group of performers ranging
in age from 6 to 14, entirely run by the youth themselves. Welcome!
Nursery
In a time when we are running out of soil as fast as we are running
out of oil,
Still, the forest trees and the perennials of the prairie stretch deepest
roots, grip the country which threatens to slough away.
In a quiet place we nourish these our most ancient allies until they
are ready to hold their ground to hold our ground.
In the nursery we carry them through and beyond their birth with
grafting and other woodsy arts of the nurseryman and woman until they
are ready, until they burst forth fruits and nuts, shade and wine, beams
and roofs, and a thousand things that stand upon warmth and strength
and food and solid ground.
In a time when we are reaching for safety and health at our table we
find more and more of us must become growers
Growers who must first things first give attention to the protection
of smallest things a clean place, free from contamination water and
nutrients in constant supply warmth of the sun gathered and held.
We bring forth these plants who feed us, slowly in an intangible uprising
of mutual and enduring protection.
Reed Ellis Aubin
A Living Bridge
On the southwest shore of Powderhorn Lake rise three
great cottonwood trees, their roots reaching into the moist lakeside
soil to draw water for their exuberant growth. The largest tree reaches
out a long slender limb which appears to rest on a high branch of its
smaller neighbor. At closer look, these trees in fact have grown together,
fused through their bark.
You can best view this 1-foot-diameter limb
from the surface of the lake. I, being neither bird nor fish nor turtle,
first noticed the grafted bridge while ice skating, on a cold February
day.
What are the subtle negotiations which allowed these two to join
together as one?
We do know that by force of gravity and windstorm,
these two leaned on one another, rubbed against one another, and finally
made the bond secure. The stout branch steadies them both.
Reed Ellis Aubin
Do their roots entwine below ground in a great circle?
Let's Be Like These Trees!
In every deliberation,
we must consider the effect on the seventh generation.
Great Law of the Iroquois
We have been born
into a moment
of unprecedented danger
and opportunity.
Our failure to act
is in itself a choice.
There is nowhere to hide
from this awareness.
It is time.
Our purpose here
is to build a bridge.
The purpose of the bridge
is to span the distance
between our present
situation
and our vision of a
better world.
The beauty of a bridge is
that,
once it is in place,
anyone can walk on it.
A few people can build a
bridge
that can be walked on by
many
.
. . .
I am speaking today of a
great possibility
a chance to return to life
a chance to create a world
for our children
not worse than the one we
have
. . .
There are bridges to build
new maps of consciousness
to be delivered
to every planetary address
in every planetary
language.
The truth is, we have the
skills
and we have the courage
if we could only keep our
minds
on what we really want.
. . .
How to prevent world
catastrophe:
1. Admit that it could happen
2. Decide that it will not
happen.
3. Commit your vision and
energy to number two
without ever forgetting
number one.
To choose to build a bridge
is the essential act of love.
Paul Williams, Excerpts from Common Sense found in Some Poems I
Love at joannamacy.net
