Living here on the Gulf of Mexico continues to be a mixture of many experiences negative and positive. I’m remembering the Native American story about the two wolves, the good and the bad. The one that becomes the strongest is the one that is fed. So I try to stay as focused as possible on the positive things that are happening here and look for the blessings that are indeed coming out of this very intense experience. The EMT’s that save so many lives didn’t exist before the Vietnam War. Also before Vietnam, the collective consciousness was unaware of the existence and power of the military industrial complex and the profits made by a huge war industry.
So what blessings can be seen from this catastrophe in our Gulf? Here are some I am beginning to see:
1. When I was in Ecuador I saw the rainforest communities being polluted and trashed by the multi-national oil companies. I have also read about how parts of Nigeria are not habitable where oil has been drilled for years. We are still hearing about how Alaska still isn’t over the destruction and toxicity that resulted from the Exxon Valdez accident. This stuff has been going on all over the world for a long time. Hopefully the Transocean/Halliburton/BP oil “spill”
( gusher ) will shine light on the destruction that is happening across the entire earth in our voracious appetite for cheap energy.
2. Hopefully the oil companies will be urged to monitor themselves more carefully and to improve their safety.
3. Those of us who live on the Gulf are having to learn how to stay strong and healthy even in a toxic environment. This can be a very empowering experience for us all.
4. I am realizing how much I have taken for granted. I grew up on the Gulf and never would have imagined that the beautiful waters that were the home of such abundant sea life and the air that supported our pelicans, blue herons, sea gulls, and all of the other shore birds would one day not be the same.
Dr. Bonnie McLean www.spiritgatemedicine.com
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