I hope to inspire more people to stand up for themselves and their planet. —Patty
Photo by Romolo Tavani
In January 2024, I learned I would need open heart surgery to address a heart defect I was born with 63 years ago. Swirling with the unknowns and stresses of upcoming surgery, I found it hard to concentrate on other things in my life. Of course, I thought about what dangling matters needed tending in case I didn’t survive—like oversight of my book, Empowered: One Planet at a Time.
As youth dedicate Fridays for Future in some places across the globe, other places are blown to smithereens. What’s wrong with this picture?
Nature does wonders for us. Beyond providing the building blocks of life--our air, water, food, and shelter--Mother Nature offers us a bounty of other benefits. I tapped a few of them this week in honor of my 60th birthday…..As we face truths related to the Black Lives Matter Movement, I am aware of how privileged I am and how fortunate I was growing up….
With the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing as a backdrop this week, I’ve been contemplating what makes a good citizen of Planet Earth….
Forty nine years ago, U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson put a call out to those concerned about protecting our environment. Over 20 million people answered his call on the first Earth Day, April 22, 1970. (Earth Day Network, https://www.earthday.org/about/the-history-of-earth-day/.) That day in a speech in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Senator Nelson asked: “Are we able? Yes. Are we willing? That’s the unanswered question.”
On some dark days, I find myself in search of hope for Earth. You know, “the thing with feathers that perches in the soul” per poet Emily Dickinson. My college ornithology prof told me that he gave up his study of birds because it was too depressing to see the the future of so many bird species in trouble. My goodness, this was the chosen work of his life and he was giving up? Deeply admired, he was a walking encyclopedia on everything birds….
“I just want to go home,” she said. “I just want to enjoy the days I have left at home.”
This was her wish in the hospital today. No more medical tests. No more attempts to push the limits of life and find another scientific miracle to extend it. No more pretending that there could be any other kind of ending to this story.
It was time to get back to the basics. To simplify. To make the most of each day. To spend her remaining time in as many quality moments as possible with family and friends. Peace….
