Chris Jordan's Photo Essay "Intolerable Beauty" and "Running the Numbers Series"

Important Video on the Theft of BC Rivers!

Click HERE!

d

... Roaring Hell Canyon has been a week of processing and growing. Liz and I have been organizing the van, throwing out excess garbage, and lightening the load both physically and spiritually. The calm after the storm is definitely upon us and I'm thankful for the space to rest and breath and get back to work (on something other than myself). We spent this past week up on highway 128 just north of Moab, Utah. We hiked Fisher Towers, camped with some extraordinary new friends from Denver over memorial weekend, caught our breath, caught some great views, and found that life is beautiful and all is well with the universe once again.

There comes times in our lives where we must trust our intuition and walk in our personal medicine. Sometimes everything in the universe seems to be working against this walk, forcing you to tear yourself apart, howl in agony, and bay at life’s seemingly torturous beauty, but these are the times when walking in your personal medicine is most important.

I recently had a friend/brother/guide take me somewhere I really needed to go. But before our arrival traveling down the road to get there I had to take a moment to walk in my medicine. I don’t quite understand what it all meant, and I’m not sure I ever will. But I know it has to do with the fact that sometimes you have to walk your own walk separate from that of those you love. This means having the strength to even leave loved ones in an effort to be true to thy self. Sometimes this process of leaving people and places behind can tear you apart spiritually unlike anything else. But sometimes that process no matter how difficult it may be affects things in ways that may in the end, allow us all to hold on.

I know it doesn’t all make sense, and perhaps it will take years for even me to figure it all out, but all I’m saying is this, it’s important to follow your dharma (life’s truth). We may not always understand the ripple effect of our truth on others but it not ours to understand, it is only ours to walk our walk as best we can.

With tears streaming down my face, I left that friend behind on the side of a deserted Utah highway, only to have the universe bring him back around two days later. In a state like Utah it’s no simple magic to be lost then found amidst all the desert vastness, but that’s the way it was to be. I walked with him some more, something changed in me, perhaps my medicine now more firmly in place. I had trusted my intuition, and in a way I had asked a question and been given a beautiful answer.

Our road together has wound through some of the most pivotal moments of my life, I don’t know why I got stuck with this lunatic as a mirror, but in the end I couldn’t have asked for a better teacher. He doesn't always teach me in the way I would like, he doesn't always guide me with gentleness, and sometimes he leaves me wanting to rip him to shreds... but in the end, if I asked him to express himself any differently, I wouldn't be honoring his road or the way he walks his medicine.

Upon our reconnection he brought me to Roaring Hell Canyon where I stood on the side of a 2000ft canyon wall confronting personal fears as deep as the universe is expansive. Fears I have created, fears I have been given, and fears it seems have been with me since birth. It takes a good friend and brother to let you go and then to watch you die. It takes a brother to support you as you walk in your medicine in the only way you know how. A part of me died up on that canyon wall, and for a brief moment I thought some of the best parts of me went with it, but I’m still here, stronger than ever. I have only my friends to thank for this, and Liz for her never-ending depth and patience. The demons I feel I've exercised took a team to help me remove... everyone played their part... and though they may not have understood their roles in my process, they all did just fine, and I'm forever grateful.

And if the devil ever challenges you in the way he challenged me, tell him to go fuck himself! Tell him you’re stronger than anything he can imagine! Tell him if he doesn’t smarten up you’re going to kick his ass! Tell him Nothing he can throw at you will make you choose fear over love! And tell him in the end he's the one who will end up at the bottom of Roaring Hell Canyon, not you, you have other plans!

peace,
d

It’s again been awhile since I last wrote. I’ve been posting articles that may or may not have been of interest, but I’ve been slacking on the personal updates from the road.

But there’s been a lot going on.

Since the a-frame up in the mountains I’ve found a new traveling partner. Liz and I stumbled into each other’s life somewhere in late February and since then have been working out how to move forward down this winding road of life side by side. Sometimes things come out of nowhere and blindside you unexpectedly and sometimes letting go takes on a whole new meaning. For me I’ve had to let go of my lone wolf complex to some degree and for Liz it’s meant letting go of worldly possessions and moving into a tight fitting home on wheels.

In the weeks since living in her place in Denver, selling or storing all her personal belongings, and her finishing up some class work; we’ve been doing just fine. Liz has become the SFD Film Project’s front woman as she introduces her and I to everyone we meet, explains the project, exchanges contact info, leaving me with more interviews than I can handle. She is delving back into a passion for writing and exceeding my expectations of van adaptation. Living in a van isn't easy as I'm sure you'll read about in her NEW BLOG!

I haven’t had to share my van with another human being since Forbes up in Canada’s North West Territories, so for me this change involves letting go of some of my rigidity. It’s easy to go through life as a lonely hermit not having to worry about anyone else except the dog, but that’s the life of a lonely hermit which, while at times beautiful, also leave much to be desired. As with Forbes living in a 5’x10’ space with another person involves letting go of control, and since it’s always been my project and my van, it’s my control reflexes that need to be addressed. I’m thankful to Forbes and Liz for this opportunity, and I’m remembering how beautiful it can be to share something as precious as this pilgrimage.

I know Liz will bring a great perspective to the journey and I know everyone following will love her deep sense of awareness and endless reserve of Jersey wit. There’s a deep magic in this raven-haired wonder, and like all of us, if we let this magic shine our true capabilities are endless.

Liz Kazmierczak, welcome to the Searching for Dragons Film Project! May the journey fill your life with love, beauty and truth!

peace,
d

Article: Earth at 350

peace,
d

READ THIS!!! I've posted a few articles up here.. but this one is a MUST READ!

CLICK HERE!

peace,
d

Food, Food, Food, Food, FOOD!

I think it's important to realize that in this day and age food is much more than just food. By controlling the access and availability of food large corporations and government chart the course of civilization around the globe. Long gone are the days of growing gardens and making preserves. Long gone are the days of traditional knowledge in the hands of the people. Long gone are the rural family farms.

We have to think about this reality of big box business and global food distribution... the food crunch is coming, anyone not aware of this reality should open a newspaper.

If we're not careful one day we might find ourselves part of the millions of people participating in food riots around the world. What would you do if tomorrow your Super Grocer was left with empty shelves?

Food has become a strategic weapon in the world today... and we've all given ourselves up to corporate leadership. I just hope they have good intentions in mind...

peace,
d

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080512/nichols