April 25, 2003
Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico
5:59pm. Since leaving Tecuala, I've been living on Stone Island with Chris at Twin Towers. Most of my time has been spent reading Earth Education - a new begining, by Steve Van Matre, who I met last year in Ontario when I gave a presentation to The Institute of Earth Education annual general meeting.
Earth Education focuses upon four components: assimilating understandings for how life works on the earth, enhancing feelings for the earth and it's life, crafting more harmonious lifestyles, and participating in environmental planning and action.
These are a few an excerpts from the book:
A community is a mixed group of plants and animals occupying a specific area of the surface of the earth. Living things are grouped together in these specific areas becuase it is in such places that they can best meet their energy and material needs. The actual place where something lives in is a community, the place where it meets it's needs of life, is called it's home or habitat. A habitat may be as small as a beetle's tiny crevice in the bark of a tree, or as large as an eagle's vast hunting grounds; a good habitat takes up as much space as the plant or animal needs to find it's water, food and shelter.
The role or job in the community preformed by a plant or animal is called it's niche. For example, most squirrels basically occuply the niche of a tree-climbing seed-eater, while a common bat's niche could be described as that of a night-flying insect-eater.
Together, the habitat and niche of an individual plant or animal spells out it's "address" and "profession" within it's community. Over time living things tend to fill all available habitats and niches in a community, and communities appear to function more smoothly when a variety of living things are all doing their "jobs" within them.
Values don't come from discussion. They arise out of experience.
We must never forget: matter cycles, energy flows - and it is a one-way trip.
The trick is not to work faster and harder, but slower and smarter.
The earth has been rotating in space for several billion years now. Yet it has been said that if the whole history of our planet could be condensed into one calender year, man would not appear until 10:30pm on December 31st. And "science" -- the household god of the twentieth century - would not surface until the last second of our calender.
"You learn that if you sit in the woods and wait, somthing happens."
-Henry David Thoreau
"Every capitalist becomes a socialist when he flushes the toilet."
-Garrett Hardin
I'm getting get my act together to make the FAR OUT School an offical non-profit, ready direct programs this summer. Thus far it has been a struggle within myself between getting organized to create busy-ness and being the free-spirt SoloMAX who goes where the wind blows. At this stage in my life, I have the experience, I just need to commit and deligate. I am good at working with people and enjoy helping them get places they wouldn't otherwise. The success of The FAR OUT School will be enabling people to find their niche in communities-- whether they be in wilderness or cities. With wonderful, caring people in beautiful places... it cannot fail. I don't have all the answers, but this is the path I am on, and just like what I've done thus far, it is gonna take faith, courage and support.
In the past couple weeks, at least three people emaild me saying I have "the ideal life." The view on solomax.com is some-what rosy compared to reality. I am happy and do what I can to manifest good spaces and relationships, but it's not all easy and sweet-- due to other's expectations, my monetary strains and physical pains. I don't write about them for the site cuz I don't see the benefit, but just know that as a viewer you don't get the whole picture.
This morning, I had a dental surgery to pull out the other half of a tooth they attempted to get a couple days ago. I'll be here in mazatlan at least until May 10th, when my next appointment is scheduled.
As for funding, I have not received reader support since the $100 donation sent from the artist in Nova Scotia(whose contact info I don't have since all the saved emails in my inbox mysteriously disappeared; so sir, please email me again if you read this). If regular viewers gave $5 each, I'd be set. Please, support this work.
Arriving at Stone Island four years ago, I was in awe to find dozens travelers from all over the world living together in a scene like summer camp with no director. Currently there are very few travelers passing through because most are likely heading north as the weather gets warmer. Johanna from Austin just left after a few days. That was fun hanging with her-- grooving at the House of Rock, and climbing goat mountain to find a new favorite spot. I've gone snorkling once since coming back, but lately the waves have been huge-- making it too dangerious too swim around the rocks.
Chris, from Canada, has lived on Stone Island 8 years. "All the movies I saw as a child... I wanted to live on a tropical island." Chris told me a couple nights ago over a cup of tea and game of chess. "When I got here I was like 'Oh my God!' Campfires... hanging with hippy backpackers. In the morning when I woke up I was like, 'what a beautiful place!'"
Students from the local school have visited Chris's twin towers camp ground a few times to practice english with packpackers. Chris plans to do more, eventually building an arts and crafts workshop where locals and travelers would make and sell art from natural materials like cocconut shells, palm leaves and shells found on the beach. "I don't have to go to the internet," he says, "I have people from all over the world here-- with different ideas and perspectives." He is growing fruit trees and learning about medicinal plants. "Go with the flow. What is in season... eat it. It is good for you." This is a FAR OUT School.
"Like most things... Aloe vera loses 80% of it's potency when processed." Chris said, opening an aloe leaf and smearing it all over my face. "For burns, use vinager first, but keep it away from you eyes. It soothes and heals. It is a disinfectant. Vinager on certain cuts stings. Every back packer should have a little bottle because it is cheap and works. For treating jelly fish stings, chris said, "you want a good beer piss, or from someone who is running down the beach and drinking lost of water. You don't want it from someone who is sitting around cuz it could be yellow and that might infect it."
"We need to heal good people. The others... who needs them?" Chris explains why he shares his refuge. "Mother nature is powerful. Its survial of the fittest. Innocent people - children-- they will go down too. They have to be stopped-- the people polluting for love of money. We really don't need all this stuff. It is forced on us. We really don't need it."
Today in the plaza, while sitting on a bench reading and observing a woman sniff glue, pee her pants and show by-passers her tits saying "see... I'm a woman", a man walked up asking if I was American, then sat down to talk. Bill told me he is cruising around with his family for a few years, then called over Janette who is also living on her sail boat. Both are quite worried about what is going on with the US government and world relations. "My theory is that it is going to get worse before it gets better," said Bill. Janette agreed, stating that journalists fear being put in jail for voicing opposing views. Both were glad to be out of the country.
A lot of people are talking like this about the US. Heather, a english teacher just said that at the university she was attending in Chicago, people who study linguistics and foreign culture are seen as freaks-- rather unamerican. What!? What is going on with this country?
I don't know where this stat came from, but I was told lately that only 5% of americans have been out of the country. What comes to mind is a quote from Mark Twain stating something along the lines of travel being fatal to pregitous.
When Janette heard my plans for the FAR OUT School in Roblito, she turned me on to Mar de Jade, a retreat near Chacala on the southern border or Nayarit where tourists stay for three weeks to learn spanish and volunteer in the village or garden while still enjoying the retreat's safety and comfort. Mar de Jade also offers summer camps for American kids to learn Spanish, mix with locals and have a good time. Places like Mar de Jade may be the solution to the American problem-- helping them gain a wider world view. We'll see a lot more FAR OUT Schools like these in the future.
