final blog post

Well this is it, the end of the semester. I have had a really great time from working at the Park to the English Language Students, to the classroom portions.
On the last day at maymont we weeded a lot, and I talked with my fellow workers on a lot of things dealing with nature. Of Course I shared my feeling about Japanese mythology and whales. However the most important thing that has culminated with the work I have done at Maymont is going to come in the future. I will visit the park and notice things more, I bet I may even be able to name some of the plants and weeds I see. I Have a new appreciation for the natural world around me. I had always felt really close to nature but now I have a feeling that people and the natural world really are meant to live together. The world is our responsibility just as the world's responsibility is us. This Kinda goes along with the articles we discussed on Buddhism and the words of Pema Chodren. That we are all connected. this may sound hokey but I feel really comfortable in this blog so I will go ahead and say this. If you sit and listen to the world around you and really take in the things you do throughout your day, you can learn so much about the world and why it is important to protect it as well as learn about it.
Today was the last day of class and it really got me thinking: I bet I could have just coasted by without putting much effort into this class, but why would I do that. I learned more in this class than I have all summer. I learned the importance of a leaf and the humble nature of greatness. I am still hoping that Dr Kisstle-ito will let me TA for her sometime because I really want to be involved with showing other students the great things she has to teach. I leave you with an Image of a whale, grey whale to be exact, and if you know me at all you will know why.

Thank you again for reading my rant. This blog is dedicated to Dr Kisslte-ito and those who desire to share their knowledge!!! Thank You

Thoughts on Native Americans, and tree spirits

Last week we read a few articles on Native American World view. This got me thinking about my world view and it is pretty similar. It was either Hughes or Fixico who discussed that the Earth's water is like the "Blood of the Mother". I could not agree more, and I am a big mama's boy. Now I like to think of the Mother earth as my mother. When I went to Maymont I laid in the grass and pretended that I was being cradled by the earth. That sounds really hokie but I don't really care. I could not help but feel that I was more in tune with earth. I have always believed that the universe works because of the energy that the various things within it give off. I really feel that we are connected that way. I mean I get the same sense of hunger as the Hawk I saw a couple of weeks ago.
as I reflect on the last two weeks I have a few things to say. I feel really honored to have Dr. Kissle-ito as a teacher. I feel that she has so much to teach, I mean, next week she is bringing me books on Buddhism to help me try to find a set of beliefs I feel comfortable with. How cool is that? I have always felt spiritual and green, and instead of this class showing me how wrong I am about that. It is teaching me to better understand the world. I am going to have a hard time finding a photo that properly says how I feel.
I found one. The picture to the right is of Kodama in a tree that is drawn by the 18th century scholar Toriyama Sekien. The reason I choose to reflect with this image is because of the significance of the Kodama. They live in trees and bring good fortune to the forests and the creatures that inhabit it. This to me is symbolic of the good fortune that we need to think about when we cut down trees. The good fortune that we are loosing because we do not honor the forests, and we do not stay in balance with the universe. I felt that this was something we could all take a moment to think about