Excitement building as the project grows

There was a hiatus in posting here through the week of March break, when we did not gather at the Conservatory for our usual evening of collaboration. From some of the emails being exchanged after last week's regrouping to work on the project, it's obvious that it was an exhilarating evening. Unfortunately, I couldn't attend. One of the many hats I'm wearing these days had dominated my life -- the great big storyteller hat that is completely preoccupied now by the 30th Toronto Festival of Storytelling that begins Friday March 28 and continues through to Sunday April 6 all over the city and where I'll be telling environmental stories in a set called "Tales of the Blue Planet."

In that mid-project lull over March break it seems as if people came back to the next gathering inspired by the anticipation of spring despite the continuation of wintry weather. The feeling of powerful connection with the earth and all its elements has proven to work as both an individual and collective creative force, with everybody's art, music, and drama interacting in truly fruitful ways. One participant, inspired by the positive energy of the collaboration last week, afterward sent out messages to others with the idea of naming our performance "Eco Loco: The voice of Gaya Emerging" and quoting the poet Rumi: "Let the beauty we love, be what we do. There are a hundred ways to kneel and kiss the ground. "

I recognize that the people participating in this project are self-selected through their existing concern about and care for the health of the planet where we share our lives, and that no doubt the enthusiasm and creativity that are blossoming on these evenings at the Conservatory are exceptional, are not the "norm", are not reflective of the entire population. Yet when individuals who have been involved with the ecological artmaking for only about 6 weeks have responded by sending this message: "I love the way exploring and expressing the arts" can inspire people about the environment.

Now there's the very real possibility that those who see the perfomance on Earth Day and at the Green Living Show might be infected by the energetic creativity and passionate involvement of our group proclaiming our devotion to planet care.

Tonight I will be with everyone there again, and will report on what we're working on -- in other words, telling the story of how to live well and wisely and creatively on the earth.