Julia Butterfly Hill
Environmental activist Julia Butterfly Hill spent two years living in a redwood tree she named "Luna." Her goal was to save it from being cut down by a logging company. She succeeded both literally and mythically. Luna was spared from death, as was a surrounding three-acre swath of trees. Hill became an inspiring symbol of artful, compassionate protest.
.
Later she told Benjamin Tong in the DVD "The Taoist and the Activist": "So often activism is based on what we are against, what we don't like, what we don't want. And yet we manifest what we focus on. And so we are manifesting yet ever more of what we don't want, what we don't like, what we want to change.
.
"So for me, activism is about a spiritual practice as a way of life. And I realized I didn't climb the tree because I was angry at the corporations and the government; I climbed the tree because when I fell in love with the redwoods, I fell in love with the world. So it is my feeling of 'connection' that drives me, instead of my anger and feelings of being disconnected."
_________________________________________________________________________________
I love this as it resonates so deeply with me right now.
Often, when people get involved with a cause, a non profit, or an organization who is fighting for the preservation and/or conservation of something there is a stigma that gets attached to that. Assumptions are made and often a toxic ‘label’ as to who you are and how you live is applied.
You're a bleeding heart. You're an extremist. You hate whatever it is you're fighting against. You're 'crazy', irrational and uneducated. You have a "one or the other" kind of mindset. You aren't open to hearing other points of view or being educated in areas you're unsure of. And to be honest you often get treated differently by those around you because of such. Lashed out at. Eye rolls. Ignorant comments. I can't speak for all, but for me those above statements regarding who I am and why I stepped into a space of ‘rescue’ couldn't be further from the truth.
For me it’s a ‘spiritual practice as a way of life’. It’s rebuilding connection to something we’ve lost touch with. It’s about moderation, awareness and openness to transformation. It isn’t driven from a place of hate or aggression but rather from compassion and the desire for communication and connection. It’s about bringing together not dividing us apart.
I love what I do. Even on the hardest of days I still love every single moment of it. Because I do it from a place of deep gratitude, love and a genuine desire for a more connected and open community. You can label me however you choose, it doesn’t really matter. I know who I am, why I’m here and what my purpose and passion is behind my work and my goals. And I’ll continue to do it for as long as I’m humanly capable.
Because “a life lived for others, is a life worthwhile” – Albert Einstein.
Dayna Hammond, Founder and President of PARF
