Iran and Israel – Flashback Friday

In 2004, I had a vision - a dream, if you will.

I had a vision that the Rainbow Family Gathering could happen in the Middle East - in a place where both Israelis and Iranians (and Syrians and Lebanese and Jordanians and in fact all the world) could come and gather together in peace.

I shared my dream at the council at the World Rainbow Family Gathering in Costa Rica (this is the council where it will be decided in which country the next World Rainbow Gathering would be). I said Turkey (the country, not the bird).

A lot of people argued against me. A lot of people said I was crazy - they said you can't have a Rainbow Gathering in Turkey - Midnight Express, Muslims, Military state... They said there is no way any Middle Eastern people would come. They said it would be a disaster and that there was no way Israelis would be able to be at a festival peacefully with Iranians.

At that time, I didn't personally know any Iranians, but I held my vision, I spoke my dream. And some people caught on. The council reached consensus, and the gathering happened.

I got myself to the Middle East, I walked my talk and went to Turkey to help find the place for the Gathering to be held. I spread the word, I promoted it. And I went there, with Littletree – she was two at the time.

It was a beautiful place in the mountains of Southern Turkey. There was people from all over the world - Australians, Americans, Canadians, Germans, English, French, Italians, Kiwis, Turks... about 40 countries were represented, in fact. And lots of Israelis. We all had fun, we sang songs and at food together and camped out.

And then one day, about a week into the month-long festival, a big truck drove right up to the main fire area - we ran over to ask the truck driver to leave, because Rainbow Gatherings are car-free zones; there's a car-parking area a short walk away, but we had problems with locals driving in all the time.
But before we could say anything about the truck being in what we feel is a sacred space, people started pouring out.

Iranians.

Twenty-one Iranians, men and women. They'd heard about the gathering and come together, caravanning all the way from Teheran. They'd been travelling for a few days in trucks, and they'd brought a king's ransom of food to share (dried fruits and nuts from Iran, and spices to start a chai tent).

They poured out of that truck, and kissed the ground, and we crowded around them and hugged them, and cried "Welcome Home!" (because that's what you say to newly arriving people at Rainbow Gatherings.)

And before I knew it, there was a mob of Israelis hugging Iranians hugging Israelis. And Germans. And Aussies, and Dutch and South Africans and Turks and Danes and Swiss... And we were all just people.

In the days that came, the Iranians set up a camp and started hosting parties and serving food and chai (in Rainbow Gatherings, everything is shared freely; there is no commerce). And friendships were formed.

Someone called for a "talking circle" (basically a group meeting where people sit in a circle and take turns talking) to discuss Peace. It was mostly Israelis and Iranians that came.

Virtually every one in that circle - Iranians and Israelis alike said the same thing:
"I grew up thinking the others were evil people who just hate us and want to bomb us, and we only want peace, I had no idea that the others are people just like us, who also want peace."

So many tears were shed, so many hugs were shared, and so many deep friendships forged.

This was my vision, and it carries on today - the "Peace in the Middle East" Rainbow Family Gatherings are still happening every year, mostly in Turkey, and I now have many friends from Iran, and from Israel.

Let go of your politics, let go of fear, let go of assumptions and media scaremongering and hate. Let go of fear, and see that we are all just people who want Peace.

And I’m not the only one

http://youtu.be/mYjuUoEivbE

Brave

We took Littletree to see the new Disney movie Brave last week, and I have to say, I’ve finally encountered a Disney princess I can get behind.

Littletree loved the movie; well, I probably enjoyed it just as much. Most definitely the first time I’ve sat through a Disney Princess movie and not been cringing at all the princessy messages they drill into girls.

Basically, Princess Merida is set up, like every other princess, with a bunch of princes competing for her hand in marriage. And then she gets up, grabs her bow and quiver of arrows, and announces that she will be competing for her own hand. Awesome.

And of course she’s a gorgeous redhead full of strength and determination and entirely un-girly.

But most of all, she reminds me so much of how Littletree looked when she was about three years old, before she got dreadlocks. Especially in the opening scene which shows Merida when she was about that age.

Oh how I miss Littletree’s wild, flowing red curls! And it turns out she misses her curly red hair now too. So funny, after she so determinedly convinced her hair to grow straight – the day Littletree decided that she wasn’t going to have curly red ringlets any more, she said she was going to have “princess hair”. Which is apparently light brown and straight with a little wave in it.

I rolled my eyes and thought, ‘Yeah, right. Kid, your hair is ginger and in corkscrew ringlets, and that’s how it is, you can’t change it’, but Littletree sat in front of the mirror for hours, with a hairbrush and a look of fierce determination on her face, brushing and brushing, all the time chanting “straight hair, brown hair, straight hair…”

And lo! Before my very eyes over the next few months, her hair started growing in straight. But now she wants it curly again!

Total eclipse of the moon

For those who have been living under a rock, there was a total lunar eclipse yesterday, visible from Australia, most of Asia, Europe, Africa and North America.

Littletree, being obsessed with astronomy, was very keen to see it, but she barely managed to wake up for the 1am totality!

It had been raining all day, and I’d given up hope of getting to see anything, but right when the first shadow was falling over the moon, it cleared up and we had great viewing!

So we set the telescope up

Waited patiently, watching as the Earth’s shadow slowly covered the full moon.

Definitely worthwhile having the telescope as well! Though technically one is not supposed to be able to take photos through a telescope, and clearly these ones didn’t come out so well, you get the idea:

And I’m reminded of 2006 when we went to Turkey to see a total eclipse of the sun at a Rainbow Gathering.

Littletree was terrified of the sun disappearing! She cried through the whole first part, hid in my lap and refused to look at it until the totality was over. And then she was happy again!

Flashback Friday–Victoria Falls

Time for another flashback post :) I was reminded lately of the time I spent in Africa – I travelled and lived for a year and a half in Africa, including a Cape-to-Cairo journey. Looking through some old photos I have scanned in, I came across this gorgeous set that were taken at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, regarded as one of the top three waterfalls in the world.

In 2001 I attended a World Rainbow Gathering in Zimbabwe, which was incredibly amazing. After the gathering, a small group of my friends and I decided that we should go see the sunrise at Victoria Falls on full moon night

The only catch with this plan was that one has to pay to get in to the Victoria Falls Park and go with a guided tour. So we thought better to sneak in and go about by ourselves.

So we waited till it was late night and we embarked into the bush some distance from the official entry gate and climbed over the fence. What fun to be sneaking around in the African wilderness! At night!

At some point, one of my friends came around some trees to find himself face-to-face with an elephant. Another friend got caught by security, and managed to run off and get out, though totally scratched up from running wildly through the jungle and finally jumping a barbed wire fence.

Those of us who stayed for the sunrise were treated to spectacular circular night-time rainbows around the full moon, and then the stunning views of the sunrise, while the full moon was setting and rainbows in the mist of the falls.

It was a truly amazing moment, I will remember always.

These three photos were taken all at the same time, at sunrise on the full moon, July 2001. The first view is looking east, to the sunrise, the second is looking north directly at the falls, with me posing and the third is facing west, to the full moon setting behind a rainbow. All taken with a Kodak disposable camera.

Holding the Space

To the casual observer, it may appear that things are a little dull around here. My blogging has lagged into “filler” posts. And it’s true: I simply don’t have as much time, space, or energy to put into it at the moment. So I’m reduced to the level of “oh my, I haven’t blogged lately… what can I think of? Meh, just post some photos of something cute Littletree did lately”.

Since this is my website and I can say anything I darned well please, and let’s be honest, my life has been interesting enough to fulfil more Chinese curses than one could possibly wish on one’s worst enemy, I’m allowed to post fillers once in a while.

Even the greatest of TV series has a “flashback” episode every few seasons. So I will flash back to a year ago, when I drove down to the Blue Mountains Rainbow Gathering with Littletree.

This particular flashback is apt, because I am currently planning and packing for the next Australian Rainbow Family Gathering, which will be, again, in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney (though not in the exact same location again).

Double Yay and all kinds of excitingness!

I shall even – wonder of wonders – be driving down without Littletree! She will be staying home with Purple, and flying down after Hallowe’en, for which she has many plans. Even though only for a week, this will be the first time I’ve been at a rainbow gathering without Littletree since she was born (since even before that, if you count the three gatherings I was at while pregnant).

So though life is in stasis at the moment – or maybe it’s in flux… hard to tell, since my flux capacitor is on the blink again, I shall soon be relaxing in my hammock by my tipi, enjoying the sun.

Flashback Friday–Travel Money

Here’s the next instalment in my Flashback series. One of the most frequent questions I get asked about travel is about money; how did I afford to travel?

When I started out travelling, I was driving around Australia in a 1979 Ford Cortina, and I was on disability pension, so as long as I lived frugally, I could get by day-to-day and I busked for extra cash. When I first decided to go overseas, I had a broken leg, and no money, but I did have an oven and a love of baking… so I spent a few months freezing in Hobart, Tasmania, baking organic goodies and selling stuff in Salamanca Markets. Didn’t take long before I had enough to fly to Germany…

Only once I’d forked out for the plane ticket, I found myself hobbling around Frankfurt (still recovering from the broken leg), with only $200 to my name, nowhere to stay, not knowing anyone, and not really speaking any German. And I’d left my trusty guitar back in Australia, so I couldn't even busk!

Just as I was feeling I’d made a terrible mistake, a funky-looking young woman came up to me handing out fliers for a party. I explained that I couldn’t speak German, and she asked me about my dreadlocks. Once we got to talking, and she realised I was essentially homeless, she invited me back to stay at a squat-house she lived in. Awesome!

So I had somewhere to stay, and for people who know how to live very simply, food isn’t hard to come by in a rich country. And for crafty mamas like myself (I had been blessed by a gift of some yarn from my aunt before I left Oz), hand-crafts are always an option.

I set to work crocheting like mad and I made up about a dozen water-bottle holders to sell, like this one

Then I sat on the main shopping street in the city, crocheting more, and hoping people would buy some. I had a little sign that advertised 5Deutschmarks for each one (about US$3 at the time). I sat there most of the day, and no one bought any. Just as I was about to give up hope, a smartly-dressed businessman came up and asked me about them. He told me they were too cheap, and he’d buy one for 10DM, but only if I promised to change my sign to 10. I thought that was insane – way too expensive… But I did what he said. Within an hour I’d sold 7 more! And I learned a valuable lesson about economics.

So I made enough to get by. My main form of transport was hitch hiking, which is generally free, and in Germany, often results in free food, money, and accommodation as well as transportation. I never paid for accommodation; always “couch surfing” with people I met, or else camping out in forests or under bridges. Yep, I was 20, free, and a little crazy!

At some point, I was given an amazing gift: a backpacker guitar! It was in bad condition, but I rebuilt it, cut a new soundboard, made it good as new, and painted it all pretty. So I was back in the busking business!

I busked my way all across Asia with my funky guitar, hitchhiking, camping, and living very simply on a budget of around $3-$5/day. Overland travel meant I didn’t need to spend on expensive airfares and I got to see the world along the way.

(Playing my funky guitar in Nepal, Age 21)

Sadly, my awesome guitar was stolen in India, and I didn’t have enough money to replace it. But I was blessed again – an awesome friend went around at the rainbow gathering I was at asking for donations to raise money for me to get a new guitar! It ended up not being enough for a guitar, but I could get a mandolin! And thus, I learned a new instrument, and travelled with that busking around India and Africa.

(Playing Mandolin in Lesotho, age 22)

I did stop for a while in a few places here and there working, but not really earning much. After I got pregnant with Littletree, Purple went to Israel for a few months, working like a mad thing to save money, and we lived off that (again, living very frugally) travelling around Latin America till Littletree was a year old. I think our budget then was around $15/day for the whole family.

In Peru, I spent a large chunk of the last of our savings on buying hand-made silver jewellery, which I then sold for a tidy profit in northern California, which sustained me through the expenses of traveling in the US and Canada. Littletree and I also teamed up with a group driving from Mexico to British Colombia, and we’d do group busking.

Our best effort was an afternoon playing music at the Grand Canyon – we got about $50 in half an hour.

Now I make money through my writing, and birthwork. I write articles for Essence of Life, which brings in a bit, and when I travel to births, the tickets and expenses are generally covered by my clients, so while I don’t really make money out of it, our travel is paid.

In general, we live pretty simply, we stay in cheap places, we eat local food, we camp a lot. It’s mostly about living with less, prioritising the truly important things, and trusting that the universe will provide everything that we need.

Flashback Friday–Pregnant Majikfaerie

I’ve had a few requests for some old travelling stories, so I thought I’d do an occasional random post from before I started blogging (because, really, all the most interesting stuff was before we moved to Australia when I started this blog).

So, the first one will be my pregnancy, in honour of Littletree’s birthday :)

Littletree was conceived on a yacht in Amsterdam. Purple and I were living on the yacht, preparing to sail to Brazil. She was an awesome boat, and we worked hard getting her seaworthy.

Lying in a hammock off the boom over the water while the boat is sailing is AWESOME.

I don’t have all that many pregnancy photos (something I regret) but here’s me at about four months teaching a crochet workshop at a rainbow gathering in Israel

And at five months at Avebury stone circle in England

Seven months in Lençois, Bahia.

Eight months in Arembepe community, Bahia

Me with Purple at the World Rainbow Gathering in Brazil (he looked pretty different back then!) (photo from Chad)

Nine months at the rainbow – I used to swim out to this rock and sit every day.

And I’d sit in this perfect “natural jacuzzi” as well (photo from Simon)

Nine-and-a-half months (and over it) inside our tipi

I think that’s all my pregnancy photos. I don’t have any from when I was in Germany or Israel. I did manage to get on the TV news in Athens when I was 5 months pregnant though!