Reading about polluted fishfarms in China amidst the growing demand for fish brings us back to the same old problem. Of course we want to eat fish — it’s a great form of protein, low in calories and filled with tons of Omega 3s. I wouldn’t want to discourage anyone from eating fish. The problem is, there are just too many of us humans. Overpopulation is the scourge of the world. We are the cancer growing on this planet.

The very first act of the George Bush administration was to cancel financial aid to international family planning clinics that endorsed any birth control method besides abstinence. Rising unwanted pregnancy statistics in our own country show us how well that approach is working! And yes, the same regs were passed here.

The Bible (Genesis 1:28) advises that we “be fruitful and multiply.” If you accept the Bible as the word of God, despite the fact that it was scribed by a bunch of different guys who all got their info through the grapevine over a period of decades, what makes anyone think this refers to procreation? Maybe it means multiply how many vegetables you plant. Maybe it means, multiply the number of good works you do in a day. These are acts that are incredibly fruitful.

But we’ve got to stop making so many new humans. Fish-eating humans. Cow-eating humans. Some day, at this rate, human-eating humans?

Cows? What, you aren’t in the moooo-d? Can’t be helped. I was just reading in The Nation magazine that our government — the one dominated by that political party that says it is opposed to big government — is tormenting American cattle farmers. A new edict insists that 1.4 million farms with “approximately 95 million cattle, 1.8 billion chickens, 60 million pigs, 93 million turkeys, 6.3 million sheep, 2.5 million goats and every other livestock species, including bison, camelids, cervids, horses and llamas. In all, more than 29 species and more than two billion animals” are going to have to, essentially, get dog collars. Every one of them is required to get some kind of ID tags or be injected with transponders” that will keep the gov informed about details like their health, age and DNA.

Great, you say. No more mad cow outbreaks. Not so fast. First of all, the gov doesn’t have a very good track record at administering large systems like this. Second, it’s a terrible burden for small farmers who just want to raise clean animals and feed all of us locavores and organic purists.

If you like organic meat and dairy products, this is a great time to support those farmers at the grocery store and farmers’ markets. And if you’d like to write a complaint letter?

Send it to the USDA at http://animalid.aphis.usda.gov/nais/contact_us/general.shtml.

Somehow it always sneaks up on me, and here we are, less than two weeks out. Yikes! I scrolled through the newspaper today, looking for gift inspiration, and came across one I know you’ll want: $125 pink terry cloth slippers by Juicy Couture. Raise your toe if you like Juicy pants! Of course you do, that’s why you’re raising your toe. They’re so comfy that you’re probably reclining. But $125 for pink terry slippers? Admittedly, they sport “chocolate embroidery and gold bow,” but the chocolate isn’t even edible.

Hmmm, let’s see, pink terry slippies or food for a family for a week. Tough choice.

These past weeks have been so thin as to be almost transparent… a time when the transition between physical and spiritual seems as fine as a fairy breath. I’ve had the honor of sitting at the bedside of someone I loved as she passed from Earth into death (wherever that may be). Barbara Williams was an unsung hero, one of the most loving and giving people I’ve known. She welcomed me as a sister and was a second mother to my daughter, and I miss her greatly.

Death is a curious thing. In one moment, our myriad intricate organs are functioning sufficiently to keep us alive, and in the next, it all comes to a screeching halt. Suddenly we’re just husks and the spirit is gone. It’s all so ephemeral.

I used to be sure about things like reincarnation and karma. Now it seems so random. Why does such a good person have her life destroyed? She had stopped for a deer. An oncoming car did not, and flipped the animal through her windshield. No airbag in the world could have saved her.

Her precious daughter, sitting in the backseat, survived and has thrived. We could say god was watching over her daughter, but that might imply god wasn’t watching over Barb. It’s all just random.

So many devout prayers being earnestly offered each day by the faithful, the hopeful… are they payments on an insurance policy that may never be collected? Investments in a happy afterlife?

When I thought about starting this blog, I wasn’t sure where it would go. I’m still not! Expect a peripatetic ramble through my travels (hopefully many), alternative health, progressive politics, metaphysical ideas, panic over the environment and even my favorite restaurants. At least for now. I’m happy to have you along for the ride.

Life is so diverse and stimulating that there’s not much incentive to lop off parts. How interesting that as much as the world changes, no matter how insanely fast life becomes, what may be most crucial to our human experience seems to stay the same. Not just our actual physical situation — need for food, shelter, love and so forth — but the way we deal with those things in our lives.

I’m hardly an expert, but maybe the sanest way to juggle life’s demands is to start by staying aware of where you are, both physically and mentally. By being present.

Present is an interesting word. Remember how we used to shout it out at roll call in school? “Yes, I’m here!” It was acknowledgement of being in the situation. But present also refers to a place in time. If you are present, you are not past and not future.

This is a big challenge. Our bodies may be in one place, but our minds are all over the map. That constant drift back and forth in time can be crazy making.

Meditation is sometimes called a practice, and I think what you are practicing is, essentially, staying present. I’m not convinced we all need to sit down in a quiet corner to do this.

Hello out there, whoever you are.

If it’s true that “Serenity is being aware of both what is and what can be, and having the patience to get from the former to the latter” (Sister Joan Chittister), I should be incredibly serene from developing this website. It’s been a bumpy road and were it not for the amazing Lisa at 2Dragons shepherding me through, it probably would still not be finished. But finally, here we are, and I’m thrilled to have a place to share ideas with you.

When I left Whole Life Times after so many years editing and nurturing a monthly magazine, I thought I’d be blogging within minutes. I can see now, with incisive 20/20 hindsight, that I needed time to regroup and figure out what was up next.

It’s been an interesting year, somewhat reminiscent of the Disneyland Matterhorn: lots of ups and downs at a brisk pace, a few gasps, but mostly just a fun ride. I’ve done some freelance writing of course, a bit of marketing and branding, helped start up a nonprofit, even led some exercise classes. I’m working on a nonfiction book related to alternative healing, but it didn’t help much that a broken foot had me on crutches for months.

There’s a lot to talk about these days, so I’ll be checking in regularly, particularly with thoughts about health, the environment and the scariest roller coaster ride ahead—the 2008 election.

Thanks for visiting. I’m not selling anything at the moment, but hopefully I can turn you on to some interesting ideas.