I got to thinking about the aura and vulnerability. I actively cultivate vulnerability in my way of being. I think it is essential for feeling connected to all living being. I do find, however, remaining vulnerable around a lot of humans is depleting.

I’m thinking about cows. As a cheese eater, I’m attached to the illusion that there is no suffering caused by my choice to buy and eat dairy products. If I let go of the illusion, I have to face the cow with her clamped teats and bellowing calf and give up cheese.

Humans have a place on this earth as a species. When we look at the world, it is easy to see we have lost our sense of it. We spread all over the globe and are fixated on the needs, purpose, and suffering of each individual human. This has us staring at each other to the exclusion of the myriad other species with whom we share the planet.

I am in the preparation phase of a new project where I will use the floral essences to heal myself as I meander along the trail of life. The idea is that as I heal myself, I bring peace to the human animal. As the human animal (we) calms down, we will be less destructive to the environment.

A short way down the Tomales Point Trail, I stopped dead in my tracks. I could not believe what I was seeing. It was a long-tailed weasel! He poked his tawny head from a hole in the middle of the trail.