'Tis The Season...

We have all heard of the concept of peace, love and understanding, the comfort and joy thing as well as the rest of the myth that gave rise to the holiday season. Although being jolly has many of it's own rewards, we find ourselves facing some pretty serious times, that require a serious look as well as some fairly drastic action. I am personally accused of being "too happy", with no explanation or elaboration. I'm still not sure what that means, but I am sure that without a healthy dose of humor and levity, I would have devolved into a hopeless state long ago. I fear that many have forgotten the good that comes with our shared myths of giving and re-birth, focusing instead on acquisition and intransigence.

Especially in the United States of America, there seems to be a mood of dis-ease. Often, it is blamed on one group or another with little attention to the larger picture. We seem to delight in letting people help themselves to "resources", even human ones, cash, greed, government hand-outs and nature's many bounties. Frequently we point to their successes as proof that capitalism works. When greed, exploitation and self serving ways bring our economy to it's knees, we turn away, not wanting to face capitalism's failures, telling our people to "spend our way out" of economic decline. This is the time of year that we see this most poignantly. Our leaders are short-sighted enough to continue tilting at windmills obscured by the media fog. Endemic misunderstanding has led to institutionalized ignorance. As we have seen, most issues are couched in inflammatory rhetoric, rather than insightful reflection on where we have come from or indeed where we might be headed.

Trying to get a grasp on reality in the maelstrom of media snippets can feel like a drowning man trying to grasp the greased hull of his capsized boat. At least if you are set adrift on a raft, there is the possibility of hope. When everything we grasp seems to fall away like sand on a steep slope, we can't help but take two steps back for each one forward. During the seventies and eighties, many of the social change advocates chanted the mantra, "Kill your television". Today, the times have changed enough to shout down this basic admonition. Many folks believe that they are informed and educated by the idiot box. The entertainment that this technology provides, and the constant advertising that is given life in this media format, both dull the senses and couch lies in the guise of authority. Without a highly developed sense our own value, of analysis, of truth, much of what passes the censors can lead to artificial truth, manifestation of the imaginary or even a sense of self-loathing.

The technology that took us light years beyond Guttenberg has devolved into a source of universal values that, for the most part, detest fact and turn their backs on reality. Oddly enough, our comedy most clearly resembles life itself, but the heroes are frequently trite dupes, boorish idiots or out of control consumers. Through marketing, we highlight the seedy side of these characters, and their ability to ally themselves with our own "reality" and sense of self. I have tried to pour myself into this mold, unsuccessfully as you might have guessed. The stories that grew out of this attempt could be inspiration for an entire book, but my hope is that others who think critically about what we are doing will have the same experience that I did. I am not stronger for the effort, nor proud of the time that I spent in search of complacency. Instead, the fire that was kindled in me during war protests of the sixties, has been tended and indeed fed by the things I have learned by participating in the current consumerist culture.

Standing in line, waiting for a store to open, the day after Thanksgiving, hoping for a "chance" to buy a two-hundred dollar television three years ago was possibly the lowest point in my search for the New American Dream. Even as I grabbed the box that held the device, I felt like a disembodied agent of consumption. By the time I had straightened my knees, from squatting down to pick up the box that held my reward, an entire pallet of identical items had disappeared and their purchasers had turned to the next "quarry" on their list. I guess my only wanting one item was my nemesis, because once in hand, I had time to reflect on the feelings that came with my action. Turning from where the pile of televisions had been, I could see dozens of faces of people who arrived too late. I saw the faces of those who I had run past on the way in who were disappointed. I nearly gave my television to one of them, but then I realized that the same expression might come across my wife's face if I came away empty-handed. If I had only waited, the same television is now half price, but the folks selling them cannot stimulate the "demand" that Black Friday inspires.

Lest I leave you with a sense of foreboding or despair, there is a move toward sanity taking place. It is the un-televised revolution that we heard of in song. An inspired marketing campaign has begun this year in which the Saturday after Black Friday is being billed as "Buy Local Day" I think Sane Saturday is a better name, but whatever we cal it, the sentiment is the same. We need to build community to overcome the exploitation and desolation of our consumerist culture, share our own abundance and reward those we care about, our neighbors, rather than faceless and unnamed corporations. We are part of an interconnected web of life, whether we know it or not. This post is my plea for everyone to start living like it, rather than acting like we are apart from that which gives us life. The give away is the most powerful tool for magic in the world. It has the power to change lives for the better, both those of the giver as well as those of the receivers.

Haloween #2 With A Bullet

Now, it has been a few years since my favorite holy day surpassed Easter as the second largest holiday based on consumer spending, but here at The Otherfish Wrap it has been noted that major media outlets have no qualms about reporting twenty or even thirty year old information as "news". At first it seemed unsavory to rehash old information and present it as news, but the more we thought about it, the more we realized that people rarely pay attention to information that makes a difference in our lives, or forget it once it is heard, so we forgive the major media players for their untimely coverage. Now we must humbly ask that you do the same for us. Fact is, several years ago, The Otherfish Wrap was still a dormant fanzine. So, please allow us to turn the wheel of time back to a time when some of the best news we have heard in a while came to light.

In our consumer culture, people often judge things by how much money they generate. Halloween, on one level, is just one more thing that has commodities associated with it. When it surpassed Easter as the number two holiday, pagans were elated. Because the Christians co-opted so many of our holy days, the thought of Hallows Eve making such a strong showing was both comforting and exhilerating. Now don't read too much into this, because the gaudy and skull infested celebration that passes for Halloween has about as much to do with the pagan calendar & pagan values as Christmas has to do with the rebirth of the Sun. In our day, we have lost sight of many of our traditions because it is economically expedient to have us just buy things without asking why. The fact that the veil between our world and the other is thinnest at this time makes no difference to the majority here in the U.S. but to ancient people it was a time of ancestor appreciation and recapitulation. Celebrations included the give away, revelry and the release of self in honor of greater forces that we wished to invite back into our lives and psyches.

We all know the power of costuming in creating characters. Who wouldn't want to be a superhero, princess, witch, or zombie? Heck, it seems that any and all manner of beings come to life on this night, many of which we fantasize about all year long. When I was a child, I was Captain Hook to my sister's Tinker Bell, The Tin Man to my sister's Dorothy. The heartless, or villainous characters are, for some, the most fun to try on because they are the most different from our normal selves. For many years now I have transformed myself into Jacob Marley's Ghost for Halloween. You may know him as the famous character from A Christmas Carol who says the immortal line, "I wear the chain I forged in life." For him, each link was a chance that he had to help someone else, that he passed up in his diligent quest for wealth. Each of us bears the burden of the opportunities overlooked, friends not made, promises not kept, and ignorance based in pursuit of money, so in this way I remind myself and hopefully others to make the best choices we can in our daily lives, being the best we can be day in and day out, in honor and respect of our fellow humans. Jacob Marley knew that we all deserve it, he just learned a little too late!

The repressed or neglected part of ourselves is free to take center stage on this holy day. Inexplicably, we are drawn to these dark recesses of self, looking for release from our ego-induced captivity. Who hasn't felt the release of putting on a mask, channeling if you will, the disembodied spirit of some one or some thing else? As you may have seen, this is the one night that folks can mix humor with seriousness, desire with abhorrence, and beauty with disgust. For many, this night of the living dead, or fright night is looked forward to much more than Christmas or for that matter, their Birthdays! Pagan rites serve deep human needs. That's why the conquerors used so many of our sacred sites, virtually all of our equipment, so many of our rites, and nearly all of our practices to dominate and subjugate us. Bell, Book and Candle to name just a few. The fact that Halloween may one day surpass Christmas as the biggest holiday makes some quiver with fear, while others quiver with expectation. I for one am of the latter camp.

It is a bit ironic that the number three holiday is Easter. For pagans, Oestara may be the rite most clearly stolen from us by the Christians. It is one of the only Christian holy days that is based on the moon cycle, and it is all about the fecundity of the earth being coaxed out of hibernation by the returning Sun. The fertility symbols associated with it are the egg and the rabbit, one, the essence of reproduction, the other one of the most prolific creatures known to humans. I'm sorry for lecturing, but the time has come for us to reestablish ties with our ancestors, to get in line with earth centered approaches to our lives and to begin again with a new perspective, recreating relationships with people, profits and our planet.

A wise friend told me once that the environmental crisis would be over when folks from Florida eat oranges and drink their juice rather than eating apples and drinking apple juice and folks from around here (the Western Great Lakes Region)enjoy the apple and drink it's juice rather than that of the orange. Appreciating what abounds where we are is the first step in bio-regionalism. Interestingly enough, most of the costumes that you see out on this night will be fashioned from whatever we have on hand. Why else would bobbing for apples, or oranges, be so popular? How else to explain the great traditions of the season? We use what we have in new ways and create something bigger and more profound than we ever though possible in our daily slumber.

Saturnalia Wishes

This Holy Day Season, it is well to reflect on our past and renew our commitment to the future. In times past, prior to the injection of Christ into the season, (Whose Birthday, by the way, was nowhere near the solstice) these were times of great festivities, gift giving and rather than being a commercial extravaganza, it was a time of rest for business. No commercial business was allowed. A jar of preserved plums, candles or other small token was the rule for gift giving. Useful items that showed your friends that you were thinking about them were given. Re-gifting carried no stigma. (This was like, two thousand years before Seinfeld) Slaves were allowed to wear the best clothes of their masters, and slave owners were obliged to serve their charges if only for a few short days. It was the topsy-turvey time of year when children were allowed sweets, to stay up late, and to make the rules. The period of time between the seventeenth and the twenty-third of December was set aside for rest and relaxation, renewing personal ties to friends and family, letting by-gones be by-gones and Partying.

The Roman Saturnalia was timed to reward the mostly agrarian population after fall planting, and after harvest, with a grand celebration, honoring the God of Growth & Abundance. In times of old, the chance to revel and relax was no less necessary than it is today. Sadly, it seems, the push in modern times is toward making everything perfect. Norman Rockwell may not have created the unreasonable expectation of universal bliss and the perfect family but he definitely codified it in the psyche of most Americans. This in turn has led to tremendous feelings of lack, isolation, ambivalence, and for many, depression. We hear about commercial interests during this season ad infinitum, yet the things that matter most, the needs of people we care about, are glossed over or ignored. I would hazard a guess that in the days of honoring all men, the eternally giving nature of each of us was rejoiced in, and no one felt that they were "from another planet." Feeling part of a larger community, especially one that was whole and aligned with the Gods and Goddesses must have been resplendent. Military exploits were suspended, war could not be declared during this time, "normal" behavior was frowned upon, and all were able to abide by relaxed rules regarding social class, etiquette and decorum.

It seems that we have reached a time where if one has significant resources, these rules are relaxed at all times. The slaves never get to wear the master's clothes, not even for a week, and the idea of suspending our expectations never occurs to us. Week-long revelry is suspect, frowned upon, and considered a little too hedonistic. The idea of encouraging everyone to do it on a specific week seems to us to be over the top. Maybe if we could associate it with football, or perhaps basketball, it could be placed in context, but to get things right between the individual and a community, or to get things right between humans and the Gods, now that's nearly treasonous! It is at least anti-capitalist, and that is who happens to be ruling the day. The "Keep Christ in Christmas" people are to be commended, but capitalism has subverted and co-opted the holiday beyond what yard signs can undo. Unbridled greed and consumerism have taken the last vestiges of sanctity from the Christmas Story and are morphing to increase revenues by appealing to other faiths as well. I believe that it is high time that we put our attention back on the solar cycle, the ancient reality of restful reflection, and honoring friends and family in ways that do not encourage depletion of resources, frustrate the primal urge to have fun with the people we love or cause us to flit about in search of "deals" on the very things we hope will create an accord with folks we are obliged to recognize.

The perverse twists and turns of logic, the convoluted rhetoric and the ultra-hype of the Christmas Spirit today have taken on a new hue. Many would welcome the return of gifts like a candle, or preserved plums over Mp3 players, digi-cams, or Best Buy gift cards, but how do you fight the urge to "prove your love" when the daily fare in advertising is to give diamonds or a car? This is where we need to get creative. Recognize where the urge to make gifts bigger and bigger each year comes from. Realize that through re-aligning ourselves to things that are eternal and that really matter, may put us at odds with the current culture of "have more for less". Many may not understand at first. We must be willing to stand up for what is right, even if we stand alone at first. It may take years, but if one spends their holy days stressed out and exhausted, trying to be all things to all people, nothing is going to change. People who love you will get more and more disillusioned, and feel ever more isolated. Have fun, unbridled joy at visiting with friends and bring a tiny gift rather than a huge one. Your unrestrained joy may turn some heads at first, but it may change minds as well.
I am going to do my part by buying a few dozen candles, perhaps some figs, or walnuts to share, and invite over a small number of friends to drink a toast to life, perhaps play a little cards, or dice, and nosh on some snick-snacks. I urge everyone to take a break from the elaborate rituals of modern Christmas, and return to something you can believe in, a well deserved break from keeping up with the Jones'. Take a break from work, at least a week, from bills, they can wait, from your senses if you prefer, but most of all from expectations, for that is the most sublime. When you come back to the life you knew before the holy days, you will see it with fresh eyes. Things you liked about yourself, and your life, you are welcome to pick up again. Those you do not, will be easier to let pass. New Year's Resolutions anyone?
It has been said: "You have to be out of your head to be in your right mind." What better time to do it than just before a long winter's night? Or during one for that matter. It is time to start realizing the dreams that have carried us through the dark oppression of Capitalism. It is time to honor or neighbor and friends. It is time to take our place in Nature's chain. Instead of continuing to suck resources from the planet, repeatedly buying gifts, no matter how useless, extravagant or inappropriate, let's get down to basics. We love one another and appreciate spending time with the folks we care about. From this foundation of love, all things will grow. Economic factors have no place in holy days. Give them no quarter and they will find their rightful place among banality and vulgarity. Blessed Saturn, thank-you for our continued wealth, our overflowing cornucopia, our fertile soils, our sustenance and the opportunity to serve the planet for another year!

What Be the Rewards?

A little over two years ago, I purchased a solar panel. It is the most low tech device that I know of. Imagine a large box low and flat, like the shirt boxes that will be found under the Christmas Tree in a few days. Of course, mine is larger, (seven feet by twenty) and air tight, except for a small inlet and a small outlet. The side of the box that faces South is covered with fiberglass, relatively clear. The rest of the box is covered with insulation. People who sell more high tech devices often call this type of collector "Scorched Air" because it removes air from the house, warms it up, and brings it back into the living space. Inside the box is a bi-metal thermostat that automatically turns on the fan that blows air into the device when the temperature inside the box reaches a predetermined temperature. To keep cold air from cycling back into the house when the fan stops, two automatic dampers close when the fan is off.

Yesterday, I spent a few minutes brushing the snow off the panel and was rewarded by the soothing hum of the fan. Even though our high temp was only twelve degrees, the panel was able to bring one-hundred degree air into the house. Warmed by the sun, powered by a twenty-two watt squirrel cage fan. The entire system paid itself off in under two years. In year one, the panel provided about twenty percent of the home's heat budget. Now, due to creatively changing just a couple things, the panel is making up about forty percent of our heating needs. Rather than using unheated basement air and pressurizing the living space as I did at first, we now use air from the living space to feed the panel, increasing the efficiency and increasing the hours that the fan runs each day.

I am saving money that would otherwise be spent on energy, but this is not what makes me happiest. Knowing that with no major upkeep, this panel should last another thirty years or more makes me feel pretty good. Keeping the place comfortable without burdening the furnace feels pretty good as well. My favorite part is knowing that the sun really will come out tomorrow. During the coldest spells we get during the winter, it is usually crystal clear and the panel works all day long. In the spring and early fall, we use the extra dry and warm air to dry clothes, veggies and herbs. When it gets too hot in the house, we just unplug the entire system.

The most curious thing is that this whole system was created back in the early seventies and has been providing heat ever since. I bought the system used when trees grew up in front of the panel for a second time. The former owner installed it outside his home that was in a suburban area. When trees grew too large to let the sunshine in, he moved to a different home further out in the suburbs. Trees there grew up there too and shaded the panel again, so I bought the thirty-five year old system for about what it cost to build back in the seventies. Where I placed it, in an older neighborhood, the trees are all mature, and there is still plenty of sun, so I won't have the problems that he did.

Why do we continue to deny the fact that solar is a good way to go? Why is the focus on producing electricity, which is more difficult and expensive? I am stumped by the inability of people to see the benefit that would come from requiring similar systems on all new construction in areas that need heat in the winter.

While our elected officials talk about making progress toward energy efficiency, hoping for a seventeen percent reduction in energy use over the next two decades, or by increasing efficiency over the next generation, I have done more than twice as much with virtually no funding, in less than two months. Those who make their money on things staying the same will never get behind the changes that will require them to live on less, or to re-educate themselves. Corporados want to talk about costs, the displacement, the turmoil that they hype as the "result" of doing the right thing. My belief is that doing things wrong because they benefit business as usual is both short-sighted and irresponsible. The workers that will be displaced when we change our goal to sustainability will have to get jobs that support and enhance our planet, and her people, rather than raping it, and them. No talking heads have cogent arguments for environmental degradation. The "powers that be" are, and have always been afraid of change. We must drag them kicking and screaming into the future that we can plainly see is possible. Corporate Welfare recipients will not let go of their billions without a fight.

I hope and pray that you too will one day know the beautiful sound of "free" heat coming from the sun. This is just one tiny piece of the puzzle of how to live in harmony with the planet. There are millions of answers to the question, what can one person do to make positive change in the world. "Take your time, think a lot, why think of everything you've got, for you will still be here tomorrow, but your dreams may not."- Cat Stevens. When we finally figure out how to mimic nature, creating no waste, living in community, with respect for all beings, we will be well on our way to solving many of the problems that plague humanity. We Believed in change. We voted for Barack. We even made him the President. Now we have to fight for him. Show the Corporate Outlaws that we mean business. Remember, The Constitution says: "One person one vote", not one dollar one vote.