“No matter whom we elect, nor by what process, no single president, prime minister, king, or queen will solve our problems for us: it is part of the initiation that citizens roll up their sleeves and take part in the process.”
~ Anodea Judith, The Global Heart Awakens
I had the luxury of learning from Anodea Judith last weekend; a weekend that I’ll be writing about a lot in the future. Anodea is fascinating, kind, incredibly smart, accepting; she’s the essence of Mother Earth. I learned about her during my yoga teacher training when we studied Wheels of Life, a book about our chakras. Since then, I have read many of her books, but the one I quote above affected me the strongest.
I’ve had this book for many months now; I have a whole pile of books that I gather from used book stores and online that I have not yet opened. Every time the pile gets smaller, I add to it, and make it bigger. I know I’m in good company here – it’s hard to say no to another book. My books are almost like my friends: I want more. I’m never done with the ones I have, and the ones in my life teach me lesson after lesson after lesson. I cherish them. The time I have with them is wonderful, and I never seem to have enough time for them all.
So, The Global Heart Awakens, I began it after our current president became elected. Because I’ve been incredibly distraught, angry, saddened, in a state of complete shock and despair. I need to know that we as a society are really, truly in our heart chakra. I need to know that there’s good out there. Of course there is, right? It was really hard for me to see, though. So I opened this book, and could barely put it down. Since then, I’ve been telling everyone I know to go buy it.
I talked with Anodea this weekend about this book, after I bravely went up to her and asked if she would sign it. I mean bravely, I’m still such a shy little kid at heart. She of course said yes, because she’s about the sweetest person you’ll ever meet. And she said something else – I am so glad you brought this today. This book never sold like my other books, and I don’t see people talking about it as much. It means a lot to me that it had this kind of effect on you.
And just like that. Little moments create sparks. I was nervous to ask for an autograph, and she not only said yes, but was appreciative that I brought the book to her that people aren’t talking about. And then she went through it, looking over my notes, my underlines and turned down pages, making sure I actually did indeed read it, that I was for real. It was a very sweet, funny moment.
The sub-title of the book, Humanity’s Rite of Passage from the Love of Power to the Power of Love, sounds like a joke these days, right? And someone even laughed about it during the workshop – of course we’re not getting more loving, look who is about to be our new President. But we are, globally, placing love over power. It may not seem like it, definitely not in North America at this time. But if you look back, century after century, we’re working towards love. And clearly, we are still a long way off.
Real progress takes decades, centuries, lifetimes. We might not see much change in our short little lives, but it’s happening, globally. Anodea is right in that we must roll up our sleeves and get working, and not rely on our rights to be in the hands of one person. These days, we must absolutely do this; we have no other choice.
I’ll end with this quote from TGHA:
“Politics without love becomes tyranny. But love without power is childish idealism. We don’t give up our power to move toward love. Instead, we stand firmly in our power, our feet planted together on commonly held sacred ground, our collective will aligned with purpose, guided by informed and educated minds reaching toward the infinity of the stars. What shifts is the primary organizing principle through which we see and organize the world.”
The Power of Love Butternut Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 c. cashews, soaked
- 1 3 lb. butternut squash, peeled and cubed (about 8 cups)
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 4 medium carrots, chopped (about 1 and 1/2 cups)
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1/2 sweet onion
- 12.8 oz. penne rigate pasta
Additional topping suggestions
- 1-2 handfuls kale or spinach (shown)
- 2 tbsp. dried sage
- red chili pepper flakes
Instructions
- Soak the cashews: boil a small pot of water, place the cashews in a medium sized bowl, and pour the boiling water over. Let sit for at least 30 minutes, an hour preferred.
- Heat your oven to 425 degrees. Place the peeled and chopped butternut squash on a baking pan, and pour the olive oil on top. Coat well, and then roast for 20 minutes.
- Turn the butternut squash in the pan in order to prevent burning, and add the chopped carrots. Roast for an additional 20 minutes.
- Fill a large soup pot with water and bring to a boil. Add a dash of salt (or more, to your liking), and cook the pasta according to package directions.
- Rinse and drain the cashews.
- In a large blender or Vitamix, add the onion, garlic, carrots, butternut squash, and 1 c. of the pasta water. Blend on high until smooth.
- Drain the pasta, and then place back in the soup pot. Mix the butternut sauce with the pasta, and add in any additional ingredients you prefer. (We enjoyed this on it's own, with spinach added one night, and with sage added another night). Serve immediately.