My family's pain and dysfunction led me to question everything. "Ishi, the last Yahi" by Theodora Kroeber was the first book that enabled me to feel viscerally the pain of colonialism. I've spent most of my life trying to work on behalf of justice and equality through my vote, political action, my work as a teacher, environmental activist, and as a city councilor who initiated my city's first environmental policies. Though I first read Macy's books in 2014, I've returned to them, wanting to deepen my commitment, and to make TWR central to my life.
I've recently discovered that I am the descendant of European's who came to this country from Ireland, and Switzerland, some of whom were plantation overseers and members of the confederate army. The history of oppression in the US is tangled in the roots of my family tree. This discovery reinforces my desire to be a part of the Great Turning. I've heard members of this network describe where they're rooted by honoring the first people of that land and acknowledging the oppression that dispersed and displaced them. I grew up in the land where the Tongva first lived, the Los Angeles Basin. I moved to Northern New York, land of the Mohawk. Inspired by this network, I'll call my place on the earth Turtle Island, part of Gaia. Now retired, I have ample time to devote to this work, of which the most challenging and exciting part is to incorporate it into my daily life and all my relationships. I know this is inner work as well as work on behalf of all life. My goal is to become a TWR facilitator and bring this work to my community. I am ready.
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