Widening Our Circle of Compassion

If you couldn’t tell from my last blog posts, I fucking love animals. I find it absolutely insane that we live in a world where animals (and the natural world as a whole) are continuously mistreated and utilized for our own (human) ends. While I can go on and on ranting about all the ways in which we are destroying the earth and all living things on it, the point of this blog is to stay positive. Thus, i’ll leave it to Albert Einstein to keep it real…

“A human being is a part of the whole, called by us “Universe,” a part limited in time and space.  He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness.  This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us.  Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.  Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security.”

Way to be Albert. Way to be. 

Namaste,

Gina

 

Nurturing Life Part II: From the Mangey Mut to the Rookie Pookie

In August of 2012 my partner Dean got a call from an old friend saying that her boss found a “border collie” mix out on the Apache reservation and that she is trying to find a home for her. This couldn’t have been better timing as Dean was entertaining the idea of getting a dog. The catch: this dog had a serious case of mange. On top of that, she was absolutely wild. Her first night sleeping inside was with us kind of wild. Her behavior was awful and people were literally afraid to touch her. Regardless, there was just something about this pup that we absolutely loved. I remember the first time I saw her I was making ceviche in my kitchen. She walked in and sat down right in front of me with one ear up and the other floppy. While I foolishly mistook her desire for the raw fish I was chopping for good behavior, I knew she was the dog for us. And we were right.

 In the beginning Ruca was smelly, hairless in most areas, didn’t listen, ran away often, chewed our roommates Ray Ban glasses (sorry Geoffrey) and did I mention the stench?

 While this picture does not do it justice, you can kind of see the missing hair in some areas.

 

Domesticating this dog was no easy task. It took a lot of patience, unconditional love, salmon oil, forced baths (Ruca despises baths to this day), super salve and training. But you know what? We did it. I guess Dean and I just knew she would be worth it because now we couldn’t ask for a better dog. She is beautiful, hilarious, obedient (most of the time, squirrels don’t help), and just overall awesome. Her favorite thing in the whole world is tennis balls. And salmon. And squirrels. And her uncle Nevin, who I have the upmost gratitude for as he saw the potential in her too and put forth effort to make her the angel she is today. 

Look at her now!

 

 

 

 

 

Best. Dog. Ever.

Nurturing Life. Part One: From Chicks to Chickens

Here at the Clay Casa we thrive off of taking care of living things. Not only are there 9 humans; we collectively have 5 dogs, 1 cat (the king of the house) and 8 chickens. Not to mention the plants when the garden is blooming (although we do have a nice window garden year round). Needless to say, we have our share of responsibilities on a daily basis. While sometimes I lay in bed wishing the chickens could un-coop themselves, I remind myself of how lucky I am to have undying motivation to get out of bed in the morning. So this post is for my girls out back, who give me something to smile about as I open the door in the early hours of the morning and watch them trot out one by one.

 My urban chicken keeping life began in the spring of 2012 when I had three hens shipped to me from Texas. At the time I was living solo in a two-bedroom apartment in the southside of downtown Flagstaff. My yard was a decent size but the outdoor coop wasn’t finished yet so as they grew older they lived their days outside and spent their nights in my kitchen-chicken coop.

 From right to left: Nathalie, Tangerine, and Fuzzy Q.

 

 The excitement of having chicks was unreal. My days literally revolved around them. To no surprise, I soon became known as the “crazy chicken lady”, a title that I proudly hold to this day.

 Anyone who is thinking about getting chickens, my advice is: do it! They have brought so much joy to my life and I have learned that chickens, while pretty dumb, have the funniest personalities and if you watch them grow like I did you will come to love them as you do any other pet. Plus you get eggs!

Tangerine, for example, was the only one of the three that would sleep head down like a human. What a nut.

 

 As time went on these three little birds turned into full-grown egg-laying machines. (who like to sit in chairs).

 

and sun bathe…

 

And chill on the couch (tangerine has maintained her head on the ground thing to this day).

 

Fuzzy Q, Nathalie, & Tangerine all grown up!

 In December of 2012, Me and the girls moved to the Clay Casa, where they were happy to be living a more normal chicken life outside full time. That following spring we got a new batch of chicks (6 more), creating our current backyard flock. Sadly, however, little deb turned into (deep-voice) DEBRAH (sHecan be found in the center looking at the camera in the pic below), and her rooster crows were just too much for our urban neighbors. Thus, eight remain in the backyard today.

 

 

This little ball of sunshine won my heart from day one. Her name is Penelope and she is the friendliest chicken I’ve ever encountered. Her breed, Rhode Island Red, is one I highly recommend for backyard chicken keepers. They are friendly to humans and chickens, cold tolerant and just stinkin cute.

 

I could quite literally go on for days showing pictures of my chickens but ill save you the time. If you’re interested in getting a flock of your own, do it. They are awesome garden workers as they turn compost and eat insects. They are adorable and they give you the most delicious eggs you will ever taste.

 Cock-a-doodle-do! 

Finding Truth

“Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth” -Thoreau

 

My first blog post dropped the ‘socially constructed reality’ mind-bomb so I thought I would expand on that idea a little bit..

 

As a Communication scholar I believe our reality is constructed by our social interactions beginning as soon as we pop out of our mothers womb. How are these social constructions formed you might ask?

Culture.

Our culture tells us how and when to think, act, speak, eat, sleep, fuck, fight and so on. In other words, our “reality” is structured by the symbols (language) we are taught. This, to me, helps explain a lot of things with regards to American culture. Born a girl in classic Western suburbia I was given an obscene amount of pink shit, taught to ‘act like a lady’, and questioned when I wanted to play street hockey with the neighborhood boys. Shopping became a desire and consumption was my happy place. Then I grew up and started taking communication courses at Northern Arizona University accompanied with a lot of yoga and mediation. I began to question all of these silly ‘norms’ our society holds, observing how easily people (myself included) buy into what media outlets tell them, accepting this as truth.

 As we have entered 2014, I am witnessing more and more Westerners waking up to the grim fact that people are becoming sheep moving together in masses, working some bullshit 9-5 job, consuming the land (and Monsanto corn of course) and believing whatever they are told. These ‘awakened’ ones are leaving the heard in search for their own truth beyond all the illusions provided by American culture; a sort of modern Thoreau if you will. This makes me very happy. While I am in no way enlightened, I too have realized truth cannot be found in a socially constructed reality. As yoga has gracefully taught me, truth can be found within. To find our true Selves (capital S!) we must not search externally, rather, close your eyes & connect with your breath. This, for me at least, aids me in the realization that we are all interconnected via our breath: prana (life force). As I sit within this interconnected web of life I find peace in my existence, something I never felt when fulfilling my sense desires. Thus, this is my call to my fellow Americans: find a comfortable seat, close your eyes and invoke a conscious breath. Happiness, joy, bliss (Samadhi) can all be found within if we begin to listen to our hearts instead of our minds.

I am not this body, I am not this mind. I am pure consciousness.

 Namaste. 

A Blog of My Own

My housemates and I have a blog (http://barefootinflagstaff.wordpress.com) which has inspired me to start a blog of my own. My intention for this blog is to remind my readers that life really is beautiful if you allow it to be. Our “reality” is nothing more than our perceptions. Thus, if you can transcend your socially constructed reality you are given the power to create your own, and that is beautiful.

Namaste,

Gina