About the artist Diane Szymaszek
I am a retired high school art teacher, retiring in 2011. I loved my job working with young people and did so for thirty-seven years but was ready for something new. I have known of Joanna Macy through a small woman’s group I attended in the past. After retiring I had the privilege of attending an IONS conference and took Joanna’s day long workshop and heard her speak to the crowd. Last year I attended a nine day Intensive on Vancouver Island. Both experiences have been life changing and have motivated me to create art work that connects with WTR. I am hoping to facilitate WTR in the future and may want to work with young people (high school/college), as they are the future. I am sure the Universe will help direct me in this area. I am passionate about our home planet Earth and doing my part to help the environment. I am trying to remain hopeful and want to see the beautiful version of my painting come true for all the future beings.
Year 2223
Dear Ancestors…My Great Grandparents-Seven Generations Past,
We have heard the stories of your time and how hard it was for you, who loved the Earth.We know you were activists and did all you could to change the course of the Great Unraveling. But the system of power, money and greed won at the expense of what was best for sustainable life on the Earth. We know about global warming and how island nations became submerged and whole communities were forced to move inland. Countless species of plants and animals lost their habitats and became extinct during your time. We know about the radiation and cannot even believe there was a time when things were not contaminated with radioactive fallout. Nuclear weapons and power were created, in spite of the knowledge of the life altering and destructive power of both. Now all of our ground water and air are contaminated, unleashing endless death and destruction. We fear that soon there will be nothing left. Our hearts ache when we see photos of the beauty of the Earth that is no more, and when we imagine there once were healthy people, healthy plants, healthy animals. We know “if only,” doesn’t change anything, but if only the people in power in your time could have foreseen the results of their actions and listened to those who were fighting to stop the destruction of our beloved Earth,we would be living in a different world today.
In Deep Sadness,
Your Great Grandchildren…The Future Beings
Year 2223
Dear Ancestors…My Great Grandparents-Seven Generations Past,
We have heard some of the stories of what life was like in the timein which you lived. The Earth was on the brink of great destructionbecause of wars, climate change, nuclear radiation, pollution of the waters and air, corporate greed, severe economic inequality, and the extinctions of species. But in the midst of so many systems breaking down, you still realized and understood that all life was interconnected. Through your countless actions in the time of the Great Turning,you influenced the ourse of history. You acted so that future generations could live in a sustainable world. People today are so thankful to you for making the necessary sacrifices and thinking of us-the future ones. We can barely comprehend what would have happened had you forgotten us. People today honorthe Earth as you did–its beauty and all the species that survived.We have pictures of the polar bears, pandas, elephants, tigers, andcan only imagine their majesty. But we are deeply grateful to stillshare the Earth with so many animals, plants, insects and otherlife-forms. All new nuclear production stopped during your lifetime and was replaced with renewable energy, and for this we are mostthankful. You taught us to be nuclear guardians, and we know we have to pass down this terrible knowledge and responsibility into eternity. But even with so much that has been lost, the Earth is still rich and bountiful. We have learned to live sustainably, so that future generations of all forms of life will have a home here on Earth.
In Deep Gratitude,
Your Great Grandchildren…The Future Beings
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