I am water.

So. I got told I was water.  I stuck out my lip and pouted, feeling somewhat offended. Watery? Not terribly exciting, is it? I mean, it’s a bit like being told you’re a pig in the Chinese year thingy – when really you wanna be a dragon or a snake or a tiger or…anything really but just not a solid old pig.  And, well, water is so...wet.  

Water? WATER? I mean, I’m a Capricorn, for heaven’s sake. Well, not so heavenly. Cardinal Earth. Okay, so the Capricorn goat is a sea goat. Okay okay, it’s half a fish. But I can just about handle that.  Believe it or not, I can keep my feet on the ground. Sometimes.  And an astrologer once stared at my chart in amazement and said it was “unusual”.

Apparently I have five planets in Sagittarius.  Which could explain my wanderlust (wonderlust?) I suppose – and the odd impulsive ‘slash and burn’ feelings that rise up from time to time.  But then again, my moon is in Pisces.  And they (the infamous They) often say that one's moon sign is more telling than one’s sun sign.  And Pisces, of course, is very very watery. Downright fishy.

And then, I pondered, in the I Ching, I appear always as Tui, the Lake, the youngest daughter (as indeed I am). And “many strange things can push up from the depth of the lake, whose surface lies so quiet” (Diana ffarington Hook).

Dead Moon I Ching...

And, the more I thought about it, the more I thought it was probably true. This water thingy.  Cos, really, I’m more than fluid.  My ego boundaries are so rubbish, so pathetically permeable, that I can become almost anyone, anything. Like the robots in Terminator – but without the knife-hand things.  I talk to someone and I pick up their intonation, their speech patterns. I read a book and the author’s voice often infects my own writing.  I can nearly always see the other point of view – no matter how strange or odd it might seem. I can put myself into nearly anyone’s shoes and not just walk in them but do a marathon.  I’m rubbish in debates as I can always play devil’s advocate.  And other people are all so certain, so sure, so knowing of who they are and for what they stand and in what they believe. And that makes me feel...if not watery, then at least amorphous.   

Do I really have no shape of my own?  Do I just spread out, filling the container into which I’m placed? Do I exist only to show other people their reflection in my glassy surface? 

Sometimes I feel so very unreal.  J

And you? Which element describes you? Summons you? Truthfully. In(tui)tively. 

Shyman saves the world...

Jakey (aka Si Jakeman, aka Shyman) is another great guy I met on Twitter.  Probably via Hen, if I recall.  We don’t chat a lot but we have the odd exchange on shamanism, on dreams, on the earth, on deep ecology, on the concept of the 100^th monkey. J I love his open heart and mind, his enthusiasm, his huge desire for understanding, his respect for the world and everything in it, his total lack of ego.  I also share his frustration that people just don’t open their eyes and see what we’re doing to this beautiful world of ours. 

Anyhow, the other day it popped into my head that I’d ask him to do a guest post for the blog. And he said, sure, what do you want me to write about?  And I said, how about How to Save the World? And he said, Crikey, is that all?  And he laughed and said he’d go away (probably to his allotment) and think about it.  And this is what he said…

“HOW TO SAVE THE WORLD? 

Sounds like something you would ask Flash Gordon, James Bond, Superman or Wonderwoman to 

help out with. Arctic melting, floods, Trees being cut down in the Amazon; Animals and Birds facing

extinction, overfishing and bees dying. You know the drill.

You’ve been preached to and teached to over the years. We’re all aware of the problems the world

faces. The trouble is, it all seems so separated from our everyday thoughts. We are all on an

increasing speeding treadmill trying to keep plates spinning as we juggle our busy lives.

There is so much information coming from different directions, the little voices in the wilderness are 

often drowned out by views from others with more power and greed-biased agendas.

We are in strange times at the moment. Economic and social collapse seem to be heading towards 

us like a huge tidal wave, which our politicians are obsessed with controlling, like King Canute (even 

though he was actually showing that even a King couldn't control nature.) - it always seems like we 

are on the verge of impending doom, a new fear factor. The trouble is, it makes us hide away our 

thoughts.

A few years ago, on a spring morning, I was pondering all this mess. In a split second of clarity I 

realised none of this really mattered. Just out of the blue, I noticed I was not outside but in and 

amongst nature. Bees buzzing, Birds singing, Trees about to burst back into leaf and clouds racing 

across the sky.

I just realised it was all Interconnected and I was part of it all too… not in a tree hugging or a

religious way…more of a smelling the coffee kind of way. As a child of the 70’s/80’s, a scout, 

a cross-country runner, I grew up outside. My dad always taught us names of Butterflies, Birds

and Trees; looking at the Stars etc. My grandad grew fruit and veg and my godfather’s family 

even owned a farm… It all just flew into place. As kids, my generation was always outside, 

the kids that stayed in were the strange ones. I started thinking about how could we expect 

the next generation to protect nature, if they didn’t know it?

While our politicians were banging on about Economics and Society…I was thinking that the 

environment was the keystone that held them together. I wanted to play my small part in 

changing attitudes towards it. As a frontline Firefighter for nearly 20 years, I’ve been one of 

the bods in the boat evacuating people from flooded houses; I’ve chased wildfires through the 

woods and picked up the pieces of storm damage. I’ve stared natural disasters in the eye. 

It all seems a bit personal. I wanted to do my little bit in slowing this, but how?

An idea of growing a bit of locally grown fruit and veg with family friends and neighbours was the

start, a way of getting everyone back outside, meeting the odd Bird, Bee, and Bug along the way

and reconnecting with nature. I even started growing a small amount of food at work on the 

fire station roof, and eventually became a green champion. Turning the odd light off, recycling, 

getting a cycle rack installed etc., etc. - all little actions slowly adding up to make a change. Even 

by putting recycling bins and a few signs in the right place has made a difference.

I’m now studying for an Environment Studies degree so I can get more informed. I’ve never 

preached to anyone, just tried to set a quiet example. It’s amazing how many people have come

on board in their own time…

It’s been about planting little seeds so people change without knowing.

People hate being told what to do, especially about how to save the world. But if everyone could

just be mindful that everything is Interconnected… things will change. Even if it’s not taking a 

plastic bag to carry bread and milk in, on the way home from work. If you think about it they’re 

already in containers.

Every little action counts: a marathon starts with one small step.

So… How do you save the world? Well I’m not sure… but I know there are heroes with 

thousands of different faces..

Thanks for listening…….laters.”

Huge thanks, Jakey! 

Check out Jakey’s website here – and then, well…it’s up to you. J

Also check out these sites he recommends…

Save our Woods

Incredible Edible Todmorden

Take a look at what Todmorden is doing...