Excerpts from Rev. John Boonstra's Eco-Dharma retreat talk. for the full talk you can contact Rev. Boonstra at johnboonstra@msn.com What did you do once you knew? "It's 3:23 in the morning and I'm awake...because my great great grandchildren won't let me sleep. My great great grandchildren ask me in dreams, What did you do while the planet was plundered? What did you do when the earth was unraveling? surely you did something ...when the seasons started failing? As the mammals, reptiles, and birds were all dying...surely you did something? Did you fill the streets with protest when democracy was stolen? What did you do once you knew? I've got the voice of the Milky Way in my dreams I have teams off scientists feeding me data daily and pleading, I want just this consciousness reached ... It's 3:23 in the morning and I can't sleep Because my great great grandchildren ask me in dreams What did you do while the earth was unraveling? I want just this consciousness reached by people in range of secret frequencies I have worked for all my life in the ecumenical & interfaith movement. I have been with and learned from people of creation spirit and radical community organizers from throughout every region of the planet. And now I am struggling hard to put all their teachings into my life. And there are some unsettling lessons that keep reoccurring. For starters: we are remarkably disconnected. That is all ironic, isn't it? Because this is a time when we pride ourselves in high speed internet, GPS devices, I-phones/I-pads and apps and Facebook and Twitter that connect us with anybody, anytime, anyplace. Yet, with all these connections, we are profoundly disconnected. And what is worse is that we are connected with things that don't matter: We can quickly recognize the golden arches of McDonalds, the symbols for NIKE, the six-stars of Subaru and the green goddess of Starbucks --- but many of us can't identify more than 4 types of flowers or 4 types of trees... Most of us cannot name the children living on our block..... We are a disconnected bunch of folks. We don't see the connection between burning fossil fuels and droughts. We don't see the connection between rising levels of obesity and diabetes with corporate agribusiness and toxic food profiteering. We don't see the connection between melting ice caps and acidification of oceans with our unchecked carbon footprints. It is last summer for me. I am trying to settle my nerves about all the disconnect My neighborhood is divided! My country is fragmented! My community wounded! My relationship with the environment is distant! It is only my spiritual journeying that reminds me that who I am is supposed to be intimately tied to the great dramas of the world and of creation. | 
