Circus Thrills in Great Barrington MA to restore Fairgrounds with Volunteers

Treat you and yours to a remarkable 'old-school' Italian 'International Family' Circus with a horse whose rider jumps over a flaming stick while standing on running horse's back! Sunday July 19th, 2015 marks the final two shows so look up www.gbfg.org for 15% off tix and enjoy the pre-show even if you can't afford more than the 5 bucks to park. Yours truly was able to land a pair free so started the day as part of a parade in town to welcome the circus and highlight the arts in Great Barrington (and this was short but lively stepping off from the Sat morning music event that happens at 10 am with David Grover.

The bandstand als offers Friday evening events from 5:30-7p and seems a growing trend in towns to offer free music in case other areas are looking to follow suit for promoting the arts and networking--maybe a parent network thru schools or libraries could enrich family life grade by grade or at 5-yr age groupings.) In Great Barrington, there's also the Mahaiwe Theatre which needs to raise big bucks to earn a $250K match (2 times whatever you donate,they've reached over 175 of their 250K to get to their fundraising goal. Millions have already restored the historic gem and I was lucky to get to the Paul Taylor Dance Co, family show.

That was  on July 11th (my Dad's would-have-been 93rd earthly birthday but since he left just before turning 85 I do things he can enjoy from his heavenly balcony view as can my mom who also made it to almost 83...more on them in other posts, as well as my son with a heavenly residence since he crossed over at 16 when trying to save someone who did get saved moments later from the HoUSAtonic River which runs from Pittsfield MA to Westport CT and through my hometown of Falls Village/ Salisbury in CT which is sadly the spot Kaelan our heroic, loving and living life fully teen son, made critical decisions of a lifetime in a few moments with no real training but with immense courage and skill to do all he could to first save two of his friends from shore before battling monumental forces at the base of heavy waterfalls to reach his friend.

More of the turn of events in his life and ours on some other posts such as Remembering Kaelan, Yellow Medicine Dancing Boy and others.) A Facebook page recounts many things I've done since his crossing to the other great shore and ways I've hope others plan for safety and well-being in wider circles and attention to the concerns of our population and plan-it heart/ earth. )

Rudolf Steiner who lived last century and inspired the many thousand Steiner or Waldorf schools around the world taught a great deal for parents and all of us to consider. He shared insights in lectures and books (see www.steiner.org) which proposed that we have lived many times and will continue to do so to fine tune our understanding of being spiritual beings in physical bodies.

The thought is strange in light of the 'ruling theories of science' that disavows consciousness being able to exist outside of matter, or a soul retaining energy, knowledge or skills from one lifetime to the next. But these theories are catching on since they seem to have a grain of truth most can imagine if not intuit or sense more deeply. For me, the idea was rather far-fetched twenty years ago even though I grew up in churches with a strong basic belief in a 'heaven' and trust that Jesus not only walked the earth as a human being but as the son of G-d (respecting the possibility it's best to not name or write the name as I've learned that to be a wideheld belief of the Jewish and some other faiths). I see a few shows on TV which I assume many more also have considered, so the wide audience of  whose heard the theories and who has not as well as who believes to some extent parts of these ideas is acknowledged. 

There happens to be two Steiner schools about an hour apart in Great Barrington MA and Ghent NY, so those families and programs are a lovely influence along with many country-wise and agricultural folks in the area. Some highlights in addition to farmers of dairy, cattle and crops are the CSAs--Community Supported Agriculture and Gould Farm in Monterey  MAwhich runs a Roadside Cafe with baked goods. Like the Berkshire Co-Op and grocery stores in general-- Big Y and Price Chopper (which has a walk-in health clinic in their Lee MA location I learned and that may be a growing trend to plant services for healthcare more convenient to people to decrease use of ERs for simpler issues like colds, scrapes and first opinions.) 

I share these ideas about how a population and economy of businesses and school options help a town or area grow. If more people feel like ambassadors from their town and value their collective skill sets and networks, more decisions to benefit each area can be advocated for whether for basic services or the arts and schooling options. Most towns and small cities face challenges of aging populations, fewer children being born and a lack of new people filling in gaps of decline from moving or 'dying'. I use that term lightly because while it means people are no longer physically present it may not mean they are no longer in existence. More and more, people are planning ahead for later parts of their early lives to make their mark, pursue their dreams and leave their legacies.

While colleges and other non-profits have benefitted from estate planning gifts, more families are finding the practical need to align the property ownership of an aging or ill elder with consideration of a five-year lookback period for preserving some assets without having to put them all toward Medicaid. This basic awareness is not one that comes into a family's knowledge or discussion easily. But they are the ones to suffer and lose assets in a hasty or unnecessary manner when things are left to run their course with only last minute attention given to important options. Families can plan to retain home ownership by putting assets in another familly member's or other trusted person's name and giving the elder or ill person a residency agreement.

These are basic ideas shared by many resources worth reviewing to learn more about. None of this is offered as legal advice but reflects a bit of what I've learned by chance over the years going to about 20 programs in as many years for a few hours or a set of weekly sessions on women's financial issues, elder issues, legal issues and more.  Try to break the ice by researching on line, even reviewing forms such as www.nolo.com and Legal oom (not all my keys work, so add the last letter of the alphabet before the oom).

Try not to be too trusting, even of family and friends, to know what to do if you need help short-term or longer. Find friends who share your intelligent concerns with care and make some 'just in case plans' if you are away from home, if you need extra funds, if you need support in healthcare matters or making forms out for health care representatives, life-and-death decisions..which are based sometimes on your brain activity stopping not necessarily your heart if you are an organ donor so review what is in alignment with your beliefs. Ideally Steiner suggests having three days to let your body rest after death, without interaction with disturbing your energy field. We likely need major committees to look into all of these practical and important issues. I had little time to think through what we would do after the loss of our son, but his body did not surface for a week, so he had his 'three days of peace' and though it was hard, I was grateful for that option in these more technical times. I have heard of people being swept out riptides or lost in nature.. maybe they are mercifully on a special journey which our more sophisticated times and countries have turned into an industry based on chemicals and expensive extras. The Mellon founders of Hopital Albert Schweiter in Haiti made an example of being buried in cardboard coffins since funerals can be costly there.

I have wondered if we could have 'cooling tanks of water' which a body could be placed on in simple clothes and in an open-air room with plants, some sunlight, plants and even some music and candlelight to help a soul transition as Steiner suggests and many families have done historically.  This sounds like a lot to ask on many levels, for us to 'warm up to the idea', for people to find appropriate houses or make buildings to reflect such a pattern  and deal with the laws and funeral industry folks who may not be keen on new ideas.

Ongoing support and networking for the families would also be helpful and revolutionary. Again some of the assets a person has could be included in the discussion of what they would like to see unfold in their times of need and after they journey on. Many families can benefit from real care for weeks and months after a change or loss occurs, but if it's 'no one's job' or the place and time doesn't seem to emerge in a timely fashion, more difficulty, depression and despair and even economic hardship can mount.

There can be healing in families finding one another to be supportive with others who have walked that difficult path, but unless there is some networking over time, those people can be hard to find. If one is open and asks for help from G-d, from angels and others one can consult with casually or more formally (through senior centers, counseling, checking online resources and support groups) then new help can arrive. I have had many such small supports, often coming from friends I'd known over the years and would bump into, or who I knew had gone through something monumental whether in bidding a loved one farewell in a relationship, a divorce, in moving or facing an illness.

While some people would pull through hard times, others could despair and with addictions being more rampant and fierce such as that of heroin, too many would overdose or end their life. I've gone to CT Peace Conference and other smaller events which are promoting more people working together for safety. The posts on Domestic Violence and Coercive Control on my blog convey the growing shortcomings in the courts and child protective services as well as the crushing blow of low income victims to find the support and justice they need and deserve. Men in general and abusers in particular need major education and intervention efforts to promote decency and respect of all people. They also need to understand the crimes in prison which pit people against each other or leave more at risk of harm from abusive people as welll as punishments and solitary confinement policies which are inhumane yet still widespread in this country as I learned on www.npr.org not long ago. 

On a more upbeat note, I feel there is so much good happening online (Humanity's Team promoting a doctrine of Oneness which is about all of us working together for decency and fairness). The not so positive Global Report 2000 is alarming and saying maybe 'it's a done deal' hear on earth, with the few overpowering the choices for more than a few billion to live sustainably and more ways to eliminate billions on our planet to decrease the calamity of too many humans. Our teen son told me when he was only seven that the best thing he thought we could do for the earth was to get off it.

That way he felt nature would have a chance, but we were destroying too much at a high pace, so we were pretty much done in for. If we could live like the Indians did, out in the woods, not driving or living in heated houses, then maybe we'd slow things down. I have heard similar views from the www.gaia.org permaculturists, yet know people can only change as they feel they understand what is needed and invest in some of the change willingly.

The skills and enthusiasm of the circus performers, which I feel was a way our son could have factored into saying a heavenly hello and helping me find my way there and even help me to reflect on matters in this post..whether that's me just thinking of having a conversation with him sitting next to me--a kind of practice Steiner says is helpful even to read silently while thinking of a loved one listening to one's thoughts...because that actually may be a way for them to hear what you are reading and that actually resonates with my way of thinking. Reminds me of holding my babies and feeling we were on the same page whether I was saying anything or not..which often I was, but there were many times in a decade as a mom with little ones every day that I was on the easy-does-it side.

 Okay, so before I lose this post by chance, I'll wish you all well for the rest of this month of July 2015 and hope you'll be open to all of God's blessings as I wrote to Kaelan and which is on the youtube memorial which is in 5 -min segments from 2009. The www.Folk-Legacy.com songs should be on youtube soon too, that's the folk music company his grandparents founded with friend Lee Haggerty.

Our family and friends are still strong in the music world. The local and larger arts venue of theatre and libraries and schools do all they can to keep the creative and artistic venues alive and well. Hopefully you can support some or get involved in ways that make your life a win-win in wider circles. Hats off too to Meg Hutchinson who I got to hear close out her set at the Guthrie Center in Housatonic MA with a poem about 'waking up in a body with parts like branches and roots'...and considering she may wake up the next day without the form. Other special events I partook of include the Unitarian Universalist 20th anniversary gathering in Housatonic MA in their lovely new digs of a church they got for $250K (seems a lot can happen with that amount but the church likely was worth more and they happened upon it just at the right time.

With the UU ChurchLocated next to the library, that center of town likely  will grow nicely as most libraries and faith groups tend to enrich places whether folks attend or benefit from residual effects. Hevreh and the other synagogue in Great Barrington MA are very lovely and helpful resources which I've been able to attend for talks and may try a service or two. I've also been to JW halls (www.JW.org) and have had many talks with people from many walks of life in my area and when I travel on occassion.

For another special deal online which may lead to some income even, see www.GiftsfromDevotion.com  At this time on earth, while many feel they must be strict within their own practice for faith or health, more are feeling a pressing need to co-exist and collaborate, network and otherwise grow together in kindness and care, on all levels, just to stay in the game. Peace and good wishes for a prosperous, heartfelt journey through this year and onwart to 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 and beyond! J