The Game

There are lots of comparisons to life itself being a "game." But the greatest example I am aware of is played in our area and was being played this week not as a ritual, but I would say as a celebration of life.

As such "it is a game of amusement to our Creator as one of His gifts to us to think of Him in a sociable way. For one thing as they have always taught us, when we play a game, whatever it is, is to remind us also that the temptation of anger is something that we have to overcome," as told by Rudy Diebold.

One day this week I experienced a range of rarely used emotions.

Beginning with surprise as I fell flat in the garden when my feet got tangled up in some electrical cords I had left laying in the open. And if you have ever experienced that kind of falling flat, so fast, one of the first things to do is see if you can in fact get up from it, next, look to see who SAW you fall! I did both.

Pride and satisfaction, grief and compassion, teaching and story-telling voice and listening mode, physical action and the joy of sitting with dear friends to share stories. Making new friends and connecting with old ones. Experiencing the excitement of children as they beam with pride over knowing new information and becoming ready to tell it.

Anger. Is truly the end of the scale for me, but yesterday I rang that bell.

All of these emotions, the range were mine to share with the Creator on a day many others were sharing theirs during the annual Peace Seed Game just off Highway 10 down next to the lake.

But that anger generated enough Adrenalin, or maybe even the fall's untapped Adrenalin kicked in and the LEAD Agency Community Garden got a good dose of work done. Several beds worked up, tilled, and readied for children who were part of our Youth Activist Camp who took up the work to ready a series of beds for planting.

We are truly connected spiritually and ultimately by the earth and water. The theme for the Youth Activist Camp could have been environmental one, but water was the over arching theme.

This year's gentle leaders were Moriah and Stefan, proactive Water Protectors. The campers first experience with water began with the rain barrels in our Community Garden and filling up their watering cans and learning how to water to help plants and not to drown or bear down with too much pressure on the youngest members of the garden: the just then sprouting seeds, learning that too much water can be harmful.

Not all the plants in the garden are for human consumption, some are there to attract the pollinators and provide for them. They learned to observe and by doing so began to find the other beings living in the garden, the insects and a toad! June Taylor's milkweed corner is getting ready to bloom and will provide for the monarchs but also has a tray of water for the "little ones" hidden beneath the leaves.

We loaded the Campers up and took them on a 2-part eco-tour where they learned that not all water is protected or safe for them or other species. They learned about sad George Mayer was when his horses were harmed by the bad water that spewed out of the bore holes on his property in Commerce and no one could or would help him so he had to sell his horses. But learned how Bob Nairn figured out how to make that water better by removing metals and ORANGE color before it ran into Tar Creek.

They saw the remains of Picher and met the Gorilla and loved him! Chat piles became real things and the trucks carrying it were really big. They stood on the Douthat Bridge and saw Tar Creek actually turn colors under their feet. They held there signs up for the slow moving trucks telling them and the world they wanted Tar Creek cleaned up! They took home their very own Horse-tail plant, in honor of George's ponies.

We then took them near NEO, walked by the city's Pollinator Garden to Tar Creek where one of the campers noticed she was slowed by little dams that had been built, but the only ORANGE was on the pillars for the bridge, even though the water still had plenty of metals.

To protect their clothing while painting some of their projects, the campers took on the orange "I Flood, I Vote," to design the banner now proudly displayed over the LEAD front porch, perhaps not knowing that just wearing the shirts they were making a statement!

In a place with so many environmental issues, we are going to need these and more Youth Activists to be the Water Protectors for the future.

Respectfully Submitted ~ Rebecca Jim