Fireworks and Spirituality

Fireworks & Spirituality
We honor our relationship with the Earth, ourselves,

one another and the Divine.
Living intentionally, we do as little harm as possible.

If you love the environment and critters of all kinds (and your own health) you may want to help us ban fireworks.
I live in Leelanau County, MI., an area known for quiet, natural beauty. We have many wildlife sanctuaries and wetlands. And yet, every year, people from down state come to these natural areas and shoot off extremely loud, toxic, illegal fireworks over the water which is the drinking well for deer, fox, raccoons and opossum and home to many muskrats, otters, water birds, turtles and fish.

We must be informed. Let's learn together about the effects of fireworks on people, pets, wildlife and the environment.

We must take action. We complain about oil leaks in the gulf yet, for fun, we destroy the natural environment that sustains so much life and brings people to Leelanau County, MI.

Here is what you can do:
1. Educate. Share the links below with neighbors, friends and family.
2. Call the police when illegal fireworks are shot off by neighbors.
3. Write to your local newspapers informing them of the devastation caused by fireworks.
4. Be aware that this campaign to ban fireworks may take a while. Committ yourself to doing a little each month to educate, inform and promote the ban.

What Fireworks are Legal in Michigan? Did you know that if it goes up in the air or makes loud noises, its illegal? click on link below:
http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=news/local&id=7524934

What effect do Fireworks have on pets, wildlife and the environment? Click on link below:
http://www.all-creatures.org/oadl/art-fireworks.html

What Chemicals are released into the environment? Clink on link below:

http://environment.about.com/od/healthenvironment/a/toxicfireworks.htm

excerpt:
Fireworks Can Be Toxic to Humans Depending on the effect sought, fireworks produce smoke and dust that contain various heavy metals, sulfur-coal compounds and other noxious chemicals. Barium, for instance, is used to produce brilliant green colors in fireworks displays, despite being poisonous and radioactive. Copper compounds are used to produce blue colors, even though they contain dioxin, which has been linked to cancer. Cadmium, lithium, antimony, rubidium, strontium, lead and potassium nitrate are also commonly used to produce different effects, even though they can cause a host of respiratory and other health problems.

Thank you! Julie Chai
jchai@charter.net
http://www.juliechai.com/

Summer Fun?

Summer Fun?
The sacred silence of the evening
mingles with the sound
of frogs singing and crickets chirping,
lulling us to sleep.

This is the best part of summer.
And as I drift into a dream, I know that
somewhere in the nearby fields and forests
coyote pups are suckling,
deer are giving birth,
and the lovely fox we saw this winter,
living under a cottage porch
is now tending her young.

I fall into a deep sleep
resting for the next day’s work.
When it happens – again,
this year just like last year,
BANG! KABOOM! SCHOOOTA!
CRACKLE. CRACKLE

“Ohh,” I groan waking up.
The dog is whining, I lift him onto the bed.
He is shivering so hard our bed is shaking,
his hot, anxious breath in our faces.
My husband moans.

Crickets and frogs have stopped singing.
The earth seems frightened and strangely quiet.

Someone in a summer cottage is having “fun”
shooting off very loud fireworks.
If it is after 11pm I call the sheriff.

Sometimes I feel so violated and frustrated,
I fantasize going downstate to their home and
doing what they do up here,
the night before they have an important trial
or after a long day in the office or on call in the ER.
Or when they are sick or recovering from surgery.

It’s not my better side. I’m not proud of it.
I know we cannot force others to be compassionate
or see their actions from someone else’s perspective.
(And yes, I do know how pretty fireworks can be
and that it is exciting and fun to set them off.)

But it just doesn’t seem right – that
someone else’s “fun” causes so much pain
and is so destructive of what people
love about the area –
the abundant quiet and natural beauty.

For more information about the effects of fireworks
on the environment, pets and wildlife go to:
http://www.all-creatures.org/oadl/art-fireworks.html

The Promise of Spring

In the early warmth
when little snow was left on the ground
and streams were running strong,
before the tadpoles and turtles
awakened from winter’s sleep
or bats returned to their roost –
when the sweet scent of violets
and the song of the peepers
had yet to fill the air,
when baby robins and cherry blossoms
had yet to hatch or bloom,
we trimmed up the maples
and raked old leaves from the edges of the pond.

We ate lunch in the sun,
played frisbee with the dog,
walked in the woods and
rested in an old grassy clearing,
surrounded by pines
where the sun kissed the earth
And smelled like the promise of spring.

A Valentines Day Poem by Youngman Chai

When green grasses stretch their arms
from the earth-
Everything new and everything hopeful…
I think of you.
When the sweet sent of roses linger
in the air-
Everything dreamy and everything standing still…
I think of you.
When falling maple leaves emit sweet and
comforting aromas high above the blue sky-
Everything accomplished and everything content….
I think of you.
When puffy white snow flakes dance with angels
in the air-
Everything refreshing and everything tranquil…
I think of you.
You are my spring, summer, autumn and winter –
My lover and companion,
my circle of life.

Only in WInter Do I Get to See...

Only in winter do I get to see
What my dog is sniffing
On his walks with me.

Bunnies, deer, mice and opossum
Have left tracks that must really
smell quite awesome.

His actions tell me there’s value in the find
Of a tender morsel
An animal left behind.

He wags and rolls and rolls some more
To come up with a fragrance
I truly abhor.

“Oh you naughty boy!” I yell, shaking my head
“You’re not getting that smell
all over my bed!”

So at home he obliges and jumps in the tub
Shampoo and water
Scrub a dub-dub.

His soft Labrador coat now shiny and bright
With a fragrance less natural
He smells just right!

A Winter Blessing

A Winter Blessing

May
the still,
quiet beauty
of the earth
nourish your soul,
fill your heart with love,
and bless the world
with peace.

A Reflection on Fall

Let the Seasons Flow!

What if the maple
held onto its leaves
and refused to release the past?

Or a cedar kept
its clusters of nuts
firmly within its grasp?

Or geese said, “No,
we won’t fly south,
for it should
stay green all year!”

Would new leaves ever
grow from maple trees?
Would cedar trees be born?

Would squirrels have nuts to tuck away
and eat while winter storms?

Can geese too stubborn
to take to flight find
grass beneath the snow?

O’ little ones,
please learn from the earth
to let the seasons flow!