Processing our emotions

Every year at the gathering, I feel the universe is teaching me a new lesson. If I fail to embrace and learn the lesson, then it comes back to haunt me at another gathering.

I feel the same about this year. Not gathering taught me new lessons. I learned how strong our family really is, how we clung to each other when we didn't know what to do, how we created ways to discuss and listen to each other. I learned that using our hearts and our minds, we could manifest right action and focus on the needs of the human family instead of our own heart's breaking.

I saw the power of consensus by foot. The consensus to not gather was not made on the land, but it was made by foot and by those thousands of feet oming from home or in small clusters of people.

I saw the powerful emotions of my sister who truly believed praying for world peace on the land was the most important action she could take and who was willing to die to pray for peace on the land.

Even my own little July 4th movie was derailed by an all night conference call, lack of sleep, and the powerful energy that inhabited my being.

I've missed a lot of gatherings over the last 30+ years due to care giving challenges, graduate school, and trying to create a career for myself that I value.  Gathering isn't the only part of my life but during June and July, it is all consuming no matter if I am on the land or not.  No matter where I am, my heart is on the land and with my family. If I'm working I get nothing done. If I have local projects, they fall by the wayside. It's much easier to go to the gathering because non-gatherers understand going camping in the woods. What they often don't understand is that I am not paying much attention to my local community when I stay at home.

We are complex creatures and need to love and nourish ourselves.

Image by Lisa Runnels on Pixabay

I want to honor everyone who feels safe enough to express their emotions. We feel the way we feel and our feelings are not right or wrong, it's just the way we feel. I know many of us, myself included are working on processing these swirling emotions. I also know in my hearth that we understand each other best when we are sitting together on the land and can listen with our breath, our ears, our eyes, and our energy. I long for us to be together again and share with each other so we can heal as a community.

I know many one-on-one relationships will be damaged for a long time.  But, I got to "know" people I had barely met before by listening to their heart song on the phone or online.

New relationships have sprung up. Old ones have withered. This is the circle of the world. What decays provides nutrition for that which is growing. May all be relationships be processing and growing.

I'm writing an article on this year's gathering and would love to hear your thoughts

The working title of my article is "The Rainbow Gathering and COVID-19: How a physically dispersed anarchist community addressed the pandemic" and it has been accepted for the December 2020 issue of
Communities: Life in Cooperative Culture magazine.

Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

The article addresses  how COVID-19 impacted our annual gathering that takes place July 1-7. The article will focus on how participants responded before, during, and after the event as well as the aftermath for our community and those impacted. I am doing my best to gather responses from individuals with different perspectives on the course of events created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

I have created an online survey that you can take for your opinions to be included.

Feel free to reach out to me if you would prefer to respond via telephone eight five eight four zero five seven five zero three or email (kzirk at earthlink dot net).

Statement from Facebook by a member of the Nez Perce Tribe

This message was copied from Facebook without permission of the author at this time as he is on the land and cannot respond. I hope to reach out to him soon and obtain permission. Until then, I have removed his name for privacy concerns. The message is important.

************Begin Message **************

My name is XXXXX and I am a member of the Nez Perce Tribe. I am the one who gather the Nez Perce protectors together to try and stop this event from occuring against the wishes of my elders and my community. There are many sensitive and important resources within our traditional territory that are not found on our reservation itself which is why we must protect the area in our traditional territory as much as possible. We spend thousand of man hours and millions of dollars every year to protect and heal our environment and culture. This gathering is a direct danger to that culture and our identity. We can not survive without our cultural identity. The Nez Perce tribe was misrepresented at spring council and never gave any consent to this gathering like we have in the past in areas not so sensitive. The disrespect has been very damaging to my community, and further more this current pandemic has recently hit my community in a second wave and the entire community could have been exposed. This virus could have the potential to kill off all of the people in my tribe as we are only less than 2 thousand on and around the reservation. We are pleading that anyone planning to come or are on their way to the gathering to reconsider and take into context the real serious issue we are facing here in my community on all fronts. We are asked to bring our people to the site to help mitigate issues but that only further exposes our people to possible virus spread. We are concerned, we are scared, we are angry, but most of all we are hurt by the actions of this group on site and their presence in our country. I pray that we find peaceful resolution and the two communities do not become enemies when all is said and done. May love and peace be with you all.

Plunker's 2 Cents (Guest Post)

Today's Guest Post comes from Barry Plunker

***************Begin Guest Post*******************************

For the record: I am not in solidarity with event going on in idaho using rainbow name vibes...

Without a doubt Incident Command LEOs are all in on having an event... bottom line each LEO makes some 35 to 45 thousand a year for weeks work at such events... only I.C. command & these people are pushing this event...
Dang that this event is on Tribal traditional lands... Dang this event is of covid-deniers, etc... pose a potential danger to Tribal AND people of Idaho, other places...

This will/is being called "rainbow", by those attending, media, especially the cops, LEOs, Incident Command, etc...
It will make little difference but folks can write letters to News, media, Forest Service AND, especially letters to Nez Perce, etc...
Letters and prayers, good vibes...
These people attending this event actions have shown their words mean little... respect for others other than themselves is little, if any... certainly, it is likely their inter-actions will be the same.
Whatever the event, whatever these folks put out as their words will lack credibility with me. At times thru the years, individuals and/or groups have

sought to roll the Rainbow in their chosen direction. Some signed permits, cozed up to the Feds, started up events, called "rainbow" AND, after awhile showed their true selfs... people realized how ridiculous, even rude, and people continued on, with the people, along the Rainbow Road.
During the fire, Wyoming 1994, while people with common sense, concern for safety, health of the people rolled against the fire -- hundreds of people joined in the effort...amazing!
While people were engaged in the effort, Feds wanted people to stop, let fire rage, while waiting for a plane coming from Utah.. Some of people joined in with the feds... tried to help Feds stop fire-fighters ( not many) AND, there were "holy" guys who prayed.. a few offended that people did not stop passing water, throwing dirt etc... And simply join in their prayer to save the family... AND, even a couple of guys wanting to sacrifice themselves to the fire to save the family -- one was talked to, changed his mind -- other young guy, big stronge and certain God was commanding him to join the fire to put it out, to save the family (people) ..
Finally, I had to say to this young guy that I would not accept him doing this sacrifice AND, if necessary I would struggle with him and his god, and stop him.. I, with help of couple others got him to sit down, drink some water.. and, after a bit, fire was out, feds plane arrived, dropped load on people standing back from where fire was OUT!
Having an event calling people to come, be close, during a pandemic... Not just an epidemic.. is wacko!

I am in solidarity with Om from Home... Rainbow Gathering in heart & mind...
I am praying, vibing, as I have stated before, for safe, healthy event with good clean-up... If these eventers put out a Where for next year... I'd hope they go there...
Their words will mean little... If no one gets sick, dies, or is arrested ... good. It don't mean event should have happened, certainly not on Tribal traditional lands... Even their own raps are double-tongued... Dang!
Peace, Love Respect see you on the Rainbow Road... Beaplunkr

Letter from Nez Perce to USFS

These are images of a letter that was sent by the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Council to the United States Forest Service. I know there are parts that are hard to read.   I will try to get a better copy.

Statement from the Nez Perce Tribe Executive Committee on Gathering in Idaho

Download the PDF version from NezPerce.org

Peace and the Planet (Part 5 of 5 of "Creating Peace")

In order to live in a peaceful world, we need to treat our planet, Gaia, with the respect, love, and attention to her sustenance with which we treat our children. Climate change is the result of mistreating our amazing planet. Climate change is about changing weather patterns that make it hard for people to find drinking water for their children, that create flooding of homes and agriculture land, and that wither our crops under relentless sun.

When people are hungry or thirsty, violence can easily erupt over food and water. Not just in Dafur but everywhere including the gathering.  How then do we show with our actions that we are actively working to protect Gaia from climatic changes that threaten world (and local) peace?

Reduce the number of campfires. Burning carbon increases global warming. Plus if you see the cloud of wood smoke in main meadow at a gathering, you'll realize that reducing the number of campfires will improve the health of every gathering participant. Click here to learn more about the negative impacts of campfires on human and planetary health.

Reduce/reuse/recycle - adopt a zero waste lifestyle. Only buy products that you will consume or that will last you for a long time. For example, buy rice in bulk with reusable containers instead of throw away plastic packaging. Buy reusable forks and knives for a gathering not single use plastics. Packaging and throw away junk contributes to climate change. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that by cutting the amount of waste we generate back to 1990 levels, we could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 11.6 million metric tons of carbon equivalent (MTCE), the basic unit of measure for greenhouse gases. To learn more about how what you buy creates climate change, click here.

Plus the less stuff you bring to a gathering, the less stuff YOU need to haul out when you leave. You would be amazed at the amount of camping gear that gets left behind at a gathering.  Re-use that tent or find a loving home for it if you do not want it anymore. Don't leave it behind for the cleanup crew.  YOU are the clean up crew. The less we buy and bring to the gathering, the less clean up we have to do. Buy food in bulk, bring gear to keep you warm and dry and forgot about the rest. Recycling of aluminum cans takes energy which contributes to climate change.  Use reusable stainless steel containers for your beverages and stop giving your money to the multi-national conglomerates like Pepsi and Coca Cola who don't care about the seventh generation and are wrecking your health and the health of the planet.

Put your money where your mouth is. Walk your talk.  We can change this world by spending our money in ways that create the change we want to see in this world. Shop at your local co-ops. Buy locally grown produce. We can make a difference, one person, one family, one clan at a time. Let us follow the wisdom of our Lakota siblings and heal this beautiful planet that gives us so much.

We are the people we have been waiting for to create a future for the next generation. How are you going to step up and create the change for which Gaia is praying?

Together we can change our future

Read the rest of the series here.

What is Peace? (Part 4 of 5 of "Creating Peace")

A common point of discussion when working towards peace is defining what peace is and isn't, what it looks like, which activities are considered "peaceful" and which are not.

I think at the extreme ends of the spectrum, most people can agree on what peace is and isn't. For example, most people would consider dropping bombs on other people to be the opposite of peace. Most people would consider the silent prayer/meditation for world peace and the om to be examples of peace.

That's the easy stuff. In fact trying to define peace can cause even the most peaceful among us to be less than peaceful.  So what do we do if we say we want peace, but we can't even agree on what peace looks like, feels like, acts like or talks like?

I'll throw out a couple of high level ideas, but even these are subject to much discussion. I hope you continue these discussions in the circles in which you find yourself.

In Creating Peace, Parts 1 to 3, we looked at some of the foundational aspects of peace (click on the topic "Creating Peace" under Gathering Topics on the right hand side of this blog).
  

What is Peace?

 
First graders have a very good concept of peace (image from Miss Krug's Our Grade One blog):

 
Some people view peace as the absence of war or violence. Perhaps this view comes to us from  Ancient Greece in the goddess Eirene the goddess of peace, who also celebrates decisive battles that end wars. If we subscribe to this paradigm, we probably are following the axiom "the ends justify the means."

Another high level view of peace is one that focuses on harmony and tranquility that can take the form of an inner state or a state between people. We can say she is always tranquil and peaceful or they have a harmonious marriage.

Peace can be considered as cooperation between people in a social group or culture to maintain a certain level of social order. Keep in mind that slavery existed in the USA during times of peace and for me, slavery does not equal peace.

Liberian Women for Peace

The Global Peace Index (GPI) attempts to identify countries by their level of peacefulness focusing on various formal military measures, prisoners per capita, refugees, wars, etc. 


In the last hundred years, peace has been tightly coupled with the idea of non-violence. So now we have to define what non-violence is and how non-violent  methods contribute towards creating peace. Now I'm sure most of you are familiar with the teaching of the Dalai Lama, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr. -- all of which emphasize non-violence --another problematic concepts. Defining non-violence is just as hard as defining peace (but I think by now you know how to approach this issue.)

The Dalai Lama offers these words, "Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where the people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free." Of course now we have to figure out what "free" really means. For example, do we include the freedom to harm others in free? Or are your freedoms curtailed when they impact my freedoms? How does your pollution impact my freedom?

Peace is often negotiated between groups of people. For example, a family, school, city or state negotiate what they see as peace.

International Alerts writes, "Peace is when people are able to resolve their conflicts without violence."  

If the absence of violence is our definition of peace, we end up with enforced peace. Sometimes peace is enforced by governments and when the force disappears so does the peace. I would argue that this is not a true peace. Perhaps it is a moment when true peace can take hold or perhaps it is just a halt to the fighting for a short period of time.

Working towards peace is nothing new. In 1915, the Women's Peace Party traveled to Europe on the Peace Ship to try to negotiate peace during World War I. We all know how that turned out.

Even clowns get into the mix with World Peace Clowns. Check out the link to Patch Adams - an early gatherer.

Am I always a peaceful person?  That's a good question. I try to be, but then again, what seems peaceful to me, may not be peaceful to another person. How then to resolve all these paradigms of peace?

One method we use at the Rainbow Gathering during a conflict is to sit in a circle and give everyone an opportunity to share their thoughts and feelings, recommend solutions, discuss options and try to find a win-win solution. 

Another method that works well both within the gathering and outside the gathering is the idea of zoning.  Some camps like to be up late at night making lots of noise. Other camps prefer the early to bed, early to rise model. When these two camps are next to each other conflict arises which then removes peace. Neither camp is right or wrong. The issue is that they just are not compatible in close proximity. Zoning is what this is called in the big city.

 The Answer to the Question: What is Peace?

The short answer is I do not have one answer.

The long answer is that I hope I've gotten you thinking about your own actions and peace as well as the community around you and peace.

I believe in peace as something we "practice" much like meditation rather than something we "get" such as a new pair of shoes. The more people practice peace, the strong the peace becomes. The more experience we have with the practice of peace, the better we get at it.

The muse of peace invites you to come to the gathering and practice your peace with this crazy family I so dearly love. This family will test your patience, change the way you look at the world and yourself, teach you new things, and provide a wonderful opportunity to "practice peace" with others. I hope to see you at the 4th of July Silent Prayer/Meditation for World Peace in Main Meadow practicing your peace.

"The most valuable possession you can own is an open heart. The most powerful weapon you can be is an instrument of peace." ~~~~ Carlos Santana

Sustenance and Safety (Part 3 of 5 of "Creating Peace")

One of the foundations of creating peace is making sure people are prepared, in the right mindset, and able to do the hard work that creating peace entails. Sustenance and Safety are the building blocks of peace.


Sustenance takes care of our bodily needs. We can't think well when our blood sugar is crashing or when we are dehydrated. Adequate food and water is a must for all in order to be able to even discuss peace (stay tuned for part 4 of Creating Peace).

One of the most important actions a person can take at a gathering is making sure everyone is eating and drinking plenty of water. This year we will be in the Idaho and that generally means dryer gatherings.  One gallon a day of water that has been boiled for 20 minutes or filtered with a 0.2 micron or smaller filter is a must.

When people haven't eaten or are dehydrated they act out. When they are in these conditions for too long, they get sick.  When you combine these issues with over-indulgences, we have a recipe for problems that can impact the entire gathering.

Prevent the problems by making sure you and the people in your vicinity are eating and staying hydrated. Be on the look out for people who look like they aren't getting food and/or water and help them before they start breaking the peace. 

Now for the tough topic: safety.

Safety is a bit harder to come by because what constitutes a feeling of safety is a very subjective and emotional feeling.  To explain what I mean, we'll talk about the estuary by my house.  The salt marsh and estuary have been channelized to prevent flooding and on either bank is a trail. The east side is a paved path that hooks up with bike paths to the north and south. The west side is a dirt road with trees providing shade on a warm day as shown in the image.

The Estuary

People in my neighborhood have very different perspectives on the estuary. Some people view it as a haven for criminals and are afraid to go down there especially after dark. Other people loving taking their kids down to watch the Great Blue Herons and Osprey trying to rustle up a meal.

Now you would think there is some logic as to who feels safe at our estuary and who is scared, but so far I haven't observed any patterns.  I see people with small kids down there watching the sunset and in the early morning many seniors walk their dogs. Then I meet other people in their thirties and forties who are scared to go down without a large group of people because once upon a time someone had a bike stolen (maybe 10 or 15 years ago).

In addition to the herons and hawks at the estuary, one finds the differentially housed: people who live in tents or throw down a sleeping bag under a bush for the night.  Some people are scared of people with different lifestyles then their own, others exchange pleasantries with everyone. Some people who live in non-portable houses are scared of the differentially housed. Others make friends.

Every time I speak at a community meeting, some people go off the deep end on how dangerous the estuary is and others talk about how it's an asset to the community.  I know that I can't change people's opinions about which is which. Plus trying to address how people feel is tough. Your feelings are neither right nor wrong, they just are.

Low crime rates do not make people feel safe. Community makes us feel safe.

So having said all this, how do we help everyone feel safe at the gathering?

One way we can do this is to treat others the way they would like to be treated -- not the way you would like to be treated.  Try finding gentler voices. Look out for each other in peaceful ways and make sure the people in your vicinity seem comfortable. We all have different levels of tolerance, sensitivity, and fear. Honor that.

If someone looks uncomfortable, they probably are. Introduce yourself. Smile at someone you do not know.  We all feel more comfortable when we are around friends. Share your gathering wisdom. Pay more attention to body language. Learn to pick up vibes from the people around you. If you sense that someone is afraid of a situation, help them to feel comfortable by either staying with them, removing yourselves from the situation, or talking to the other person about their fears in a supportive way.  Just because the situation is comfortable for you, doesn't mean it's comfortable for everyone.

Honor our differences and our need to be treated accordingly. Help each other on this journey.

Please pay special attention to law enforcement officers. A scared cop is a dangerous cop (remember Wyoming 2008?). Turn down the volume on negative energy by oming instead of cussing when you do not like a situation.

Think about how you would like others to act around your three year-old child and your ninety year-old grandmother and act accordingly.

Love (Part 2 of 5 of "Creating Peace")

The rainbow family is full of love. We shout "we love you" to the sky, to other gathers, to the earth upon which we gently walk.  I have many friends whose children were conceived at the gathering.  We shower love as best we can on people who are unhappy about our presence in their neighborhood. We love all our siblings (brothers, sisters and transgenders), even the ones we do not like all that much.  We love the person who didn't pick up their dog shit, but we want to talk to them about it as well.

We even have a somewhat sarcastic phrase "loven you" to indicate our concern without being too mushy. With all these types of love floating around, how does love contribute to creating peace? Does the manner in which we love matter or does it matter more how we express our love?

In English we are limited as we have one word for love. The ancient Greeks had four separate words for love:

• storge - kinship or familiarity
• philia - friendship
• eros - romantic and or sexual feelings
• agape - self-emptying or divine love

Spanish has many words for love:

• encantar - indicating strong like
• gustar mucho - indicating strong like
• querer - to love romantically, to want
• afición - enthusiasm
• amado - sweetheart 
• amor - pure love, romantic love
• caridad - charity

Love is also an emotion. A very strong and powerful emotion.  How many of you have made decisions based on amar, agape, caridad, eros, and storage? I'm guessing everyone.

For the romantics among us, love is what creates beautiful art, amazing music, and sleepless nights.

For the biologists among us, love is a biological function like hunger or thirst that creates attachments between people, thereby insuring their survival in a dangerous and hostile world.

For the psychologists among us, love is not only a feeling, but a series of actions. 

Unconditional love is a common theme of most of the major belief systems and is one of the often unspoken foundations of participating in the phenomenon commonly called the Rainbow Gathering.

So what does all this have to do with creating a culture of peace?

Well besides being a slogan from the 1960s, using love as a way to create connections strengthens our interpersonal relationships. If we love someone with whom we disagree, we are highly motivated to find a solution that meets the needs of everyone.  If we have no personal attachment to other living beings, then we can more easily ignore their perspective and we often do not care about their  happiness.

Yet loving each of our siblings all the time is challenging. Some of our siblings act out, behave poorly, don't clean up after themselves, steal, fight, or are just downright mean. What then?

Then we muster our agape and our caridad and try to make that connection. We try to befriend our siblings. By finding a connection, we are creating a relationship. It may be storage it may be afición, but if we can love another person in the worst situation, then maybe we can use that relationship to work towards peace.


But to be clear, loving someone does not mean you accept all their actions.


True love is being able to love your siblings while calling them on their bullshit (in a loving manner). 

True love is being able to communicate in a loving way why specific actions are hurting you, the planet, or other living creatures.

True love is a meditative practice we undertake as we deal with the frustrations, interruptions, disappointments and annoyances that fill our lives.

 Let your mantra for this year's gathering be I love all my siblings and this beautiful planet we call home.

Love is the path towards peace.

Respect (Part 1 of 5 of "Creating Peace")

The gathering of the tribes is dedicated to creating peace on earth and the positive evolution of the planet. Sometimes peace seems so hard to attain, it can be helpful to focus on strategies that create opportunities for peace.  Today's concept is "Respect."

From the beginning, the gathering included concepts of respect. The invite to the first gathering in 1972 started off:

We, who are brothers & sisters, children of God, families of life on earth, friends of nature & of all people, children of humankind calling ourselves Rainbow Family Tribe, humbly invite:
All races, peoples, tribes, communes, men, women, children, individuals -- out of love.
All nations & national leaders -- out of respect
All religions & religious leaders -- out of faith

 If I were authoring the invite today, I would modify it to:
All races, peoples, tribes, communes, men, women, children, individuals -- out of respect and love.

So how then does respect contribute to creating peace?

Peace needs nurturing and dialog to plant its roots and grow.  Peace needs food and water.  If we do not respect the needs of peace and honor those needs, we are doomed to failure.  So how then do we go about creating respect at our gatherings?

When we gather, we are a community with a diversity of backgrounds, religious beliefs, political affiliations, interests, hopes and dreams. Honor that diversity in each of us -- our differences are what make us capable and interesting. Our connections are what make us strong.


The following ideas are commonly shared ideas, I didn't invent them, but I find it helpful to be reminded of them.


Respect is one of the core values in our attempts to create an egalitarian culture. By approaching my family with respect I am laying the roots for a relationship. By treating people the way they wish to be treated, I can connect with others. If I offer respect to another person, that person is more likely to offer respect to me and to others. People who are treated with respect, learn how to treat others with respect.

We are all part of this big, wonderful planet called earth and hence we are all connected. Rather than trying to severe these connections, let's strengthen them. In 1994 at the Wyoming annual gathering, a forest fire occurred at the edge of the gathering up on a ridge. We formed a human bucket line from the creek at the bottom of the meadow to the ridge. None of us could have individually carried enough water up that hill quickly enough to put out that fire. But standing shoulder to shoulder and passing buckets hand to hand, we connected water and fire and extinguished the flames.


Separate issues from people in a respectful manner. When someone is engaging in non-respectful behavior, respect the person enough to explain why the behavior is creating an issue that needs to be addressed.  And always focus on the behavior that is the issue.

Acknowledge the emotions behind the inappropriate behavior and ask the person if they could refrain from the behavior and share their feelings with us instead. We all do this with our children when we refrain from saying "you're bad" and instead say "you made a poor choice"  or "please use your words to tell your brother why you are upset instead of hitting him."  Why can't we use this same method with adults?  Especially those of us who are children in the bodies of adults.

As the early gatherers (or earlies as they are more commonly known) wrote a long time ago "we are all of us children" as we are just now learning how to live with each other.  Be patient. Some of us learn more quickly and some of us learn less quickly. We all started from different places so we all have different journeys ahead of us. Let's be fellow travelers on this uncharted sea.

Everyone has an opinion and their opinion is no better nor worse than my opinion or your opinion. When we create space for people to freely share their thoughts without fear or judgement, we are creating a space where we respect each other.

Listen. We show our respect to others by listening to what they have to say. We not only listen with our ears, but our hearts, our minds, our souls, and our hands.  When people feel heard, they feel respected. When they feel respected, they are more likely to respect others.

Respect is an important starting point for creating peace.