Photographs:
The scattering dandelion seed, symbol of Le Nouveau Larousse Illustré
Tears of the World with dandelion seed shadow (credit: Patricia Watts)
. . . "I throw or sow" Je sème à tout vent (the seeds out to all winds) is one of my all time favorite logos depicted on the cover of Le Petit Nouveau Larousse Illustré in many versions since 1905. That’s how and where knowledge, as Monsieur Larousse understood it, should be disseminated.
The photograph on the right is of my performance Tears of the World for Israel/Palestine. Notice the shadow of a dandelion seed head projected onto the ground, with upward and downward rays implying that some knowledge should be sown.
Synchronicity is my guide. What do I want to spread to all winds?
It is my knowledge that expressing grief is a step necessary to release healing action. That has been my experience from the beginning of my speaking as an artist. In 1986 my heart broke. What was happening to the Earth was too much, and so flowed my first ritual performance, The Great Cleansing of the Rio Grande.
This is the experience of my friend Trebbe Johnson, founder of Radical Joy for Hard Times. In her words, “Since 2009, RadJoy has pioneered a way of reconnecting with the Earth’s wounded places by offering them attention and beauty. Even though we’ve been forging this revolutionary path for 15 years, the impacts of climate change and other world events are bringing a new urgency to our work.”
“Imagine people all over the world taking time to pay attention to places that have become damaged or endangered… visiting them, sharing stories, making gifts for them, and even ‘adopting them’ by caring for them on a regular basis.” (See https://radicaljoy.org)
What I am sowing to all winds is the need to feel grief collectively, an idea that Joanna Macy herself broadcasts. And unexpressed grief can be paralyzing. As a wise woman, scholar and activist extraordinaire, Joanna knows. We must first feel our grief. And from there, we will know how to respond in action. This is my experience. Joanna says it so eloquently in these few quotes.
“The heart that breaks open can contain the whole universe.”
“It is my experience that the world itself has a role to play in our liberation. Its very pressures, pains, and risks can wake us up—release us from the bonds of ego and guide us home to our vast true nature.”
“It is good to realize that falling apart is not such a bad thing. Indeed, it is as essential to evolutionary and psychological transformation as the cracking of outgrown shells.”
With the Earth in my heart,
dominique
P.S. My book, The heartist's Secret/A Memoir, is still available through my website, www.earthheartist.net.
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