madly, deeply, wholly, completely in love (visit that link for a falling in love song -zing!) with green,

and red, (and that link for this love song -gling!)

and orange, (and yes that link too for another la la love song -- sing! along.)

and yellow, (ok - gold -- sting.)

and blue.  (swing -there's one in the video and it rhymes)

crazy, crazy (two, make that three, different crazy links. schwing!) about peachy (she is way too gorgeous to be bitter. and she does say "fell" in the song she sings.) pink. (martini almost rhymes with zing~) insane about purple (no need for bling if you just wear purple) and purple and red together -- swoon. (ok - no more rhyMING. you get the picture.)

ah....  and don't even get me started on people.  I am swooning over several right now.  and my sweet husband doesn't even disapprove.  he loves me when I'm madly (um- it's worth watching that one.  it's cake.  in the kitchen.) in love with my wonderful friends and family.  I'm more fun when I'm over the moon (with the cow and the dish and the spoon) over.....   anything and anyone. 

this collection of pixels from this photograph is here because the sight took my breath away on my way back to work (for the man?men?women?) in front of the library (one of my greater loves) after a walk to the post office to buy stamps---  I went the long way with the camera and much, much magic ensued in that one little lunch hour.  ah life.  I'm head over heels in love with life at the moment.  head over heels.  and so grateful.

I think colors are deeper when I breathe deeply. 

to me home is a feeling more than a place.

home is love and playfulness, solitude and joy.  home is a laugh, a hug, a book and a blanket, a candle, a cup of tea.  home is a bubble bath, a giggle, a warm place in a snowstorm.  home is a foodfight involving strawberries and whipped cream or mashed potatoes and gravy on thanksgiving.  home is the way a deep breath of sunrise makes my heart soar, the way warm encircling arms make my muscles melt at dusk. 

what the heck does that mean??  just look at the picture.  that's home......   for me. 

ahhhhhh.  I am a connoisseur of synchronicities, or serendipities....   of the way words, events, people, songs and images go together with a certain play of light, shadow and color. 

as I was stepping one agonizingly tired foot in front of the other several days ago at the end of a long, long walk up and down a mountain, I was in love with each molecule, each atom that danced in front of my exhausted eyes.  I was so thankful for that kind of tired, that quality of light, that solitude that was so far from lonely.  I sang thank you songs to the trees, the air, the sunlight setting, the rocks, the leaves on the ground next to perfectly shaded dirt, my feet, my heart, my lungs, my eyes, my ears, my skin.  I laughed and could have cried from the sheer beauty of it all.  

I am a connoisseur of a certain shade of blue glass and the way candlelight reflects in it.  I am a connoisseur of the way certain girls laugh and the way certain women carry themselves and the way certain men are quietly knowing.  I am a connoisseur of honey and chocolate and other things that melt on the tongue. 

I am a connoisseur of life, mountains, air, clouds and words etched in stone by those who loved a singer of songs, a lover of mountains and trees and lovers.

"Rocky Mountain High

He was born in the summer of his twenty seventh year
coming home to a place he'd never been before.
He left yesterday behind him, you might say he was born again
might say he found a key for ev'ry door.

When he first came to the mountains his life was far away
on the road and hangin' by a song.
But the strings already broken and he doesn't really care
it keeps changin' fast and it don't last for long.

But the Colorado Rocky Mountain high
I've seen it rainin' fire in the sky
the shadow from the starlight
is softer than a lullabye

Rocky Mountain high,Colorado Rocky Mountain high, Colorado


He climbed Cathedral Mountains he saw silver clouds below
he saw ev'rything as far as you can see.
And they say that he got crazy once and he tried to touch the sun
and he lost a friend but he kept his memory.

Now he walks in quiet solitude the forest and the streams
seeking grace in ev'ry step he takes.
His sight has turned in side himself to try and understand
the serenity of a clear blue mountain lake.

And the Colorado Rocky Mountain high
I've seen it rainin' fire in the sky
talk to God and listen to the casual reply

Rocky Mountain high, Colorado
Rocky Mountain high, Colorado

Now his life is full of wonder but his heart still knows some fear
of a simple thing he cannot comprehend.
Why they try to tear the mountains down to bring in a couple more
more people more scars upon the land.

And the Colorado Mountain high
I've seen it rainin' fire in the sky
I know he'd be a poorer man
if he never saw an eagle fly.

Rocky Mountain high,

It's a Colorado Mountain high
I've seen it rainin' fire in the sky
friends around the campfire
and ev'rybody's high

Rocky Mountain high, Colorado
Rocky Mountain high, Colorado
Rocky Mountain high, Colorado
Rocky Mountain high, Colorado"



they want to bring drilling rigs right now, to the mountains that farland and george and I live our lives in.  more natural gas drilling right now they say.  and more buildings and more airplanes to bring people who will pay to sleep and eat in those buildings for a few days a year. 

I heard on the news tonight that americans are using their credit cards less and it's bad, bad news for the banks, for the economy -- but I'm happy that we're suddenly capable of living within our means.  I'm glad we might stop consuming for consuming's sake.  I don't want to use up this wonderful earth.  And gas prices are dropping because consumer demand has gone down.  bad news for the oil companies.  good news for mother earth.  what if we all kept conserving the precious resources that mother earth so selflessly shares with us.  what if we suddenly shared all that we had with one another and found out that we have more than enough anyway.  what if we all found out that the mountains and air and streams and clouds and oceans and prairies and valleys all hold more joy for us -- freely given -- than a new pair of snazzy shoes or jeans or a phat new gadget?? 



like John Denver, Adam, the love of my life, moved to Aspen in his late 20's from Alabama and we find so much joy in our life in the mountains.  I wouldn't want to deny anyone the opportunity to share the love of this place, I just don't want them to destroy it.  

the link on John Denver's name above takes you to john-denver.org and an interesting article about the john denver memorial peace cloth and the windstar foundation. 

Well, at first I thought there wasn't anything particularly that I wish people would spend more time discussing.  At first I thought that it might be nice if people were more quiet (I do work in a place that is almost never completely quiet.)  But then I was thinking how I would really like to have some discussions with people who I know are likely to vote differently than I on what I think are really important issues.  Of course you might call me the most bleeding heart liberal western tree hugger (and, yes, river hugger) there is and it's not a secret.  so many people who like me as a person, but distrust some of my ideas, are reticent about talking politics with me.  Many of them are gun shy, they've been on the receiving end of my sharp tongue about certain policies before.  I have not always been the best diplomat when it comes to my precious environment or education or the idea that health care and access to healthy food and clean water should be rights, not privileges, for everyone on the planet.

I wish I hadn't come across as so righteous and judgemental to those that disagreed with me in the past.  They might be more willing to have a discussion now. 

Recently i came across a quote, "The difference between a child and a successful adult is that while a child wishes for something to happen, the successful adult knows how to make it happen."  -by James Howard Kunstler in The Humainst Magazine.   I would like to add, "or is able to find out how to make it happen and has the courage, determination, patience and stamina to make it happen."

i do get frustrated when I bring up a postitive, great idea in an appropriate forum where ideas have been solicitted and I get, in response,lots of reasons why it won't work and lots of reasons why we should think smaller instead of ideas about how to make it work.  I'm beginning to learn to hear and understand those concerns as fear and respond to those concerns and naysayers with compassion, nurturing and reassurance that it's okay to try even the big ideas.  To show solutions to their concerns instead of attacking the person who is behaving in a frightened way.  Also I'm learning to understand my own fear of having my ideas criticized and to understand that criticism offered to my face is really a gift to help me flesh out those ideas more completely and make them better.  These have been valuable lessons for me. 

Yesterday and today I have been utterly enamored of this article, The Island in the Wind by Elizabeth Kolbert in the New Yorker.  It starts out with an in depth look about how a conservative farming community on the island of Samso, Denmark reduced it's carbon footprint by 140% since 1997 whilst stabilizing and energizing it's economy.  Wonderful. 

While googling to find that one I also found this....  Island uses wind, hydrogen to go green.
about an island in Norway that is making great strides as well. 

What I would like to see is people discussing and implementing best practices for the environment, our human habitat as well as the habits of countless species that our behaviors have brought to the brink of extinction.  I want us to discuss ways to be our best, in our homes, our workplaces, our communities.  I want to know how we can support one another, joyfully.  I want us to share our successes as well as what we've learn from our own mistakes. 

To that end, I want transparency in our government.  i want access to be able to read the entire bill that my representatives are considering voting for or against.  I want to see the entirety of bills they have voted for or against in the past.  I want each representative in his or her own words to be required to write a summary of his or her reasons for the way they voted in each instance.  I want this to be all in one place online, available to any citizen.

 Now -- as a responsible adult, how do I make all these wishes come true??  For starters, I belong to plenty of grass roots organizations that help me put my money where my mouth is.   And in the realm of conversation, I've discovered that I have more power that I previously beliieved.  As a matter of fact, while writing this blog I realized that I need to make some phone calls to a couple of people and just say, "I know I've been a bit overzealous to make my own point in the past, but I'd really like to hear what you think on several pollitical points and I'd really like to understand your perspective and share my own with you in a respectful way." 

I have to go get ready to hear Robert F Kennedy, Jr speak in Aspen on behalf of Barack Obama right now, but here are some great links to national, international and local organizations that I support and respect.  Enjoy and thanks for reading. 

-dawn

http://www.wecansolveit.org/

http://www.one.org/

http://www.avaaz.org/

http://www.wildernessworkshop.org/

http://www.cleanenergyeconomy.net/

http://www.truemajority.org/index.php

http://www.ucsusa.org/

I'm going to miss the bus if I stick around and add anymore so that's it for now.

xoxo
-d

ps - here's the letter I sent before writing this blog, I sent it to the local newspaper editors too....

Dear Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc of Arlington, Virginia,

I received your mailer asking me to vote against Mark Udall in Colorado because he doesn't support Oil Shale drilling here.  You say he wants to create jobs in other states but not here.  This is simply slander and fear mongering.  Please do not send me anymore of your propaganda.  I very much support Mark Udall.  He is very much for creating jobs in Colorado.  He will support an energy bill that supports the creation of CLEAN and SUSTAINABLE energy jobs in Colorado.  Oil shale development is one of the least smart uses of energy we could choose at this time.  Besides being incredibly destructive to our amazing landscapes, it will take significantly more energy to extract the oil from the shale than that extracted oil will produce in the long run. 

I appreciate that your organization exists to support builders and contractors.  Perhaps you could support them into the future by helping them be ahead of the learning curve as we transition to a clean energy economy.  Bringing an end to global warming and facing the end of oil does not have to mean the end of human commerce or the end of prosperity.   It does have to mean smart choices for our future and continued or even expanded reliance on fossil fuels is not smart. 

Here's an example of a great look at a healthy, sustainable prosperous future.  The Island in the Wind, Samso, Denmark ....  http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/07/07/080707fa_fact_kolbert
What if all of America could do what this little island in Denmark has done?  We have the ingenuity, the will, the resources.  Let's go together into a bright future. 

Here's one positive, local organization that I support wholeheartedly.  http://www.cleanenergyeconomy.net/  I live in Western Colorado.  I love this place deeply.  I want the oil shale to stay in the ground where it will do the least amount of harm.

I support creating clean, sustainable, healthy jobs in Colorado.  I support a prosperous, sustainable, healthy future for Colorado, the United States and the World, so I will continue to support Mark Udall.

Thank you for your consideration. 
-Dawn Dexter

and I want him to be President."   -Rob Brezsny   www.freewillastrology.com

and I agree and here's what Rob has on his website about the image......

Artist Scott Siedman created this painting of Barack Obama, titled "The Man from Illinois," as a tribute to this extraordinary candidate. By placing him within the traditional American "heartland" mythologies, he celebrates Obama as a son of the Midwest, linked in metaphor to the land, to books, and to the possibility of connecting to Lincoln's "angels of our better nature." Prints are available at scottzart@earthlink.net.

clouds in skies

sunrises

sunsets

mountains

trees

reflections in water

meadows

forests

jungles

friends

foes

fiascos

kisses

music

yerba mate

honey

chocolate

weather

winged creatures

wild cats, especially black ones

lyrics

fables

empty spaces

maps

fire light

bubbles

some art

certain shades of red, blue, green, white, black, not so much yellow or purple lately

motion - walking, biking, dancing, sashaying

sensuality - big time

orange - bright and pale

stillness

quiet

solitude

generosity

determination

intelligence

strength

avocados

blueberries

new moon nights with clear skies and no light pollution

frozen water

flowing water

mist

ancient civilizations

ingenuity

vegetable gardens

libraries

the softest, prettiest coat made of recycled plastic bottles

people who can stand on their hands and put their feet on their heads

grapes

lovingkindness

french toast (I just like to say it, not eat it.)

fiddle dee dee (I like to say that too.)

deep chords from a stand up bass

the ocean (la mer)

the moon (la luna)

the sun (el sol)

play

giggles

compassionate ones

passionate ones

savasana

light and shadow play

coffee

huevos rancheros with green chili and black beans and avocados

brezsny's free will astrology website

ravi and ana's kundalini yoga videos

innovations in urban planning

magnolia trees

listening to robert kennedy jr. speak

wind, solar, mircohydro power

endless possibilities

breathing fresh, clean air

hearts

songs

love (& love songs & lost love songs & broken heart songs & happy heart songs)

you gaias

pretty much everything -- I think inspiration depends more on my state of mind and receptivity than it does on "out there".  like some days - something a friend says makes me fall into endless fits of laughter and some days I might find the very same thing painfully annoying.  it's internal, not external -- maybe. 

whenever i see this blurry picture of a statue I took in the nyc public library when I went there with jordan and farland, I think maybe I can be anything I want.  and maybe once I even was that girl that inspired that statue and maybe she comes to life at night and dances around and sings and plays and giggles, reads all the books and rewrites some of the endings.

I have no idea.  It must've been by getting incarnated??? 

I just found this note to myself hiding in the computerl, so I'll share it here.  I don't know where I got it either. 

Good advice for life…..

1. Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day. And while you walk, smile.


2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.


3. Sleep for 7 hours.


4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.


5. Play more games.


6. Read more books than you did last year.


7. Make time to practice meditation, yoga, and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.


8. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.


9. Dream more while you are awake.


10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.


11. Drink plenty of water.


12. Try to make at least three people smile each day.


13. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.


14. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.


15. Don't have negative thoughts about things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.


16. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.


17. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.


18. Smile and laugh more.


19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.


20. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.


21. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.


22. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.


23. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about. Don't compare your partner with others either.


24. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.


25. Forgive everyone for everything.


26. What other people think of you is none of your business.


27. However good or bad a situation is - it will change.


28. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.


29. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.


30. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.


31. The best is yet to come.


32. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.


33.
Do the right thing!

34. Call your family often.


36. Each day give something good to others.
 

this is a piece of art/collage/photo/box that was supposed to be a postcard that was inspired by tink and her little bit and albert and his mom and neil gaiman and national geographic and iceland and india and stars and grapes and trees and apples and angels made of stone and love and life and death and music.

These are some of the people in my family.  This photograph was taken yesterday by a sweet stranger who happened to be hiking in the same area, heard Adam & I discussing who would man the camera and who would be in the photo and offered to take a photo of all of us together.  I put the camera on auto and handed it over.  He made one photo and this is it and I am so pleased!!  Completely spontaneous laughter and smiles on all of our faces and on one of the nicest days I've had this year. 

Every year since about 1976, my mom, brother, sister and I with various other family members, hike this particular trail.  We rarely miss a year.  A few times it has been without one of two of us, this year my brother is notably absent from the photograph, but we try to get together and do this hike as a family at least once a year.  We do other things as a family too, but this is the one tradition that changes little.  I remember carrying baby Jordan up this trail with my mom and sister taking turns.  Then a few years later, with my sister's son and then a few years later with my sister's daughter.  We have photographs of my brother and sister and I, all between the ages of 2 and 5 or 6 on this trail with patches of snow on the ground and counting how many bridges there were on the way up.  I've watched the trail become more heavily traveled and I've seen the subtle changes in the rocks as the water continues to flow and flow and flow, year after year. 

Yesterday my sister's husband picked up trash all along the way.  He hiked a little off the trail at different points when he saw a bit of garbage.  Jordan gave his youngest cousin a piggy back and then shoulder ride most of the way down.  She kept saying on the way up and on the way down how much fun she was having.  My nephew found numerous caterpillars.  My niece threw "leaf parties" by picking up as many leaves as she could and tossing them into the air and singing, "leaf party".  Up at the top near the big waterfalls, Jordan was a monkey like rock climber.  Adam was the main photographer yesterday.  He made tons of photos of water falls- the trail is about a mile and a half of pretty steep climbing along a creek.  I coped with my camera separation anxiety by taking close up pics with my phone and focusing on human interaction.  It was good for me.  :-) 

I think of my immediate family as my mom, brother, sister & her kids and husband and me and my son and husband.  I think of my extended family as some core friends and their families, my grandmother, my husband's family, my sister's husbands family (which is huge), several co-workers (friends too) and their families and on and on.  Family is a word which for me is expansive. 

When I am with this group in this photo (and my brother is there in spirit), I feel a tremendous sense of peace and gratitude.  I feel that everything is as it should be.  I feel whole.  I feel such love and I'll say it again, gratitude, for these people in my life.  I often feel those feelings when I am not with these folks, but it's it's always there when we are all together.  I certainly hope that these feelings are not unique to our family.  I think they must be universal.  We are a family that is quick to smile and I was thinking yesterday during the hike that we are a generous group, but I think (hope) that is universal in families too.  Maybe, for the U.S. it is unique that Jordan is as close to his cousins as I am to my brother and sister??  I'm reaching for straws in the uniqueness department.  I suspect that we are unique in a universal sort of way, as families go, we are a group of individuals who are more than the sum of our parts.  I love my family and I don't think that is unique at all.  :-)