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Dear Young Mother, I am thrilled that you have embarked upon this rigorous, holy career – to raise a child, or to raise more than one child. I’m going to focus on one aspect of Green mothering – the importance of nourishing creativity in ourselves and our children, just as Mother Earth does. Nature is our first teacher. As mothers, we are Nature! We are privileged to feel our close connection to Nature as a child grows in our body and we learn what it is to share on a whole new level. If you have adopted a child, you are witnessing the miracle of the growth of a small body growing into an adult body, supporting the blossoming of his or her gifts. I’ve had the privilege of raising two healthy, productive sons who are now 30 and 27, one traditionally gifted and one untraditionally gifted. And, yes, your child is gifted. No question about it. Each of us comes into the world blessed with affinities, talents and uniqueness that are needed by the world. As each plant and animal has a role in its eco-system, so does each person have an important role in the human eco-system, as well as the earth’s ecosystem. Green motherhood is about looking to Nature to instruct us about how to be the healthiest, happiest mother possible, raising the happiest, healthiest children possible. As I’m sure you’ve observed, nature is endlessly abundant in its creativity. Life adapts to the environment it is offered with ever-changing forms. The gorgeous designs and patterns on fish, birds, mammals, leaves, and flowers endlessly move me. National Geographic reports that 500 new species of orchids are evolving each year! As a mother, you have participated in the creation of a new human life. What a miracle! Rest assured that you are a creative being and can bring that force to your child-rearing on a daily basis. As our babies grow, so do their imaginations. We mothers hold the sacred space to protect the endless stream of possibility our children enter the world with. As they develop and become critical of themselves and are saturated by media, they often shut off the natural valve of new ideas. In order to hang in there for the long haul, we need to give ourselves a safe space to make use of our own imaginations. So we have to practice quieting our inner critic and getting out of our own way so that new ideas will come to nourish the child in our charge. I encourage you to sing, paint, act with other mothers as well as your children. Our behavior will forever be the model to our children. I once had a mother say to me, “I’m just not creative,” as if it were an in-born trait that couldn’t be learned. You make new decisions every day as you come up against hard situations with your children. You find new ways to explain the world or demonstrate skills when your child is frustrated. You are creative all day long! When you care about child as you do, you are always searching for what works. That care drives your creativity. Practical Ideas: Nature is constantly experimenting. Many seeds are blown on soil, concrete, grass, water. Who knows where a seed will sprout and take hold? Children mimic Nature and love to experiment. They love to play. If it’s not experimenting, it’s not play. In other words, if you know the outcome of a game, it’s no fun. So here are some ways we can turn the work of life into games that transform drudgery into drama. *Dress Up Box – Having a dress up box with hats, capes, crowns, boots was a great boon to the fun of raising my children. Putting a hat on to fold laundry, wearing crowns while washing dishes, donning the cape while vacuuming changes the doing of daily tasks into a playful paradigm. *The Race Against Time – On your mark, get set, go! – How fast can we put away the toys. Can we beat our record? How fast can you make your bed without any wrinkles? Got the stop watch ready. How slow can we put away the toys? Uh-oh, you’re moving too quickly. *The Art Corner – Paper, crayons, scissors, glue, tempera paint, brushes, a table allows endless hours of expression and experimentation. Just like an iris seed grows up to be an iris and will thrive best with the right kind of soil, sun and water, your child is a particular being who will grow up to be herself with the right space for self-expression and experimentation. *Delight in Differences – Nature sets clear goals and doesn’t micro-manage how they are achieved. For instance, all water has the goal of getting to the ocean, but the Mississippi River doesn’t tell the Colorado River how to get there. So when you set a clear goal for your child – like washing the dishes, putting away the laundry, doing homework – help them find their way to achieve it, giving ideas, delighting in theirs. *Mastery, Autonomy and Purpose – The essence of human nature is that we want to learn (think of your child learning to walk), we want to be independent (think of your child wanting to have choices) and we want to have a bigger purpose (think of how your child wants to help). Daniel Pink articulates this so well in his book Drive. Holding a picture of your child’s love of learning, love of independence and desire helps in the midst of your daily overwhelming challenges. Your attitude will shift instantly if you focus on your picture of their success instead of what isn’t working. My younger son was told by a high school counselor that his learning challenges were so great he couldn’t go to college. When he asked me through his tears in 10th grade why God had given him disabilities, I told him he had what he needed to reach his dreams. He graduated from University of Texas (it was not easy) and is one of Dell’s top sales people. I always held the picture of his capability and shared that with him. Send your stories…. Laurie Marshall, Artist and Educator Author of Beating the Odds Now

I just had an interesting conversation with my 25 year old son, Daniel, about a video I just made entitled “A Call for the End of War”. He asked me who I was making it for, because it seemed to him that only people who already agreed with me would hear its message.

Ilkoasse dedicated his life to building peace in northern Somalia. He gave his all to building a world without revenge killings, injustice, corruption, poverty and ignorance. I learned of this former cameraman, financial whiz, and dedicated coalition builder through Somalian Marian Hassan, who is a participating with me in James O’Dea’s Peace Ambassador training program. Marian and Ilkoasse worked together with the Puntland Development Research Center, a peace building organization in a north eastern region of Somalia called Puntland. On April 6th, he was assassinated – a revenge clan killing. In response to such a loss, I offered to help make a banner that would continue the brave spirit of Ilkoasse – a visual reminder that there is another way than an eye for an eye. Marian asked for the Puntland flag to be included (a blue strip with a white star, a white strip and a green stripe) which I translated into sky, air and ocean. She also wanted to include the symbol of their wisdom path – elders meeting under a tree. I painted Ilkoasse and the elders. When I sent the paintings to Marian, she pointed out that painted images of people are considered to be iconoclastic in her Muslim country, so fellow Peace Ambassador Delia Paraisa of N. Carolina combined the symbols digitally. She added doves and the earth. The Somalian words mean, “Without peace, there is no life.” Now we are looking for a way to get the 10 banners we printed to Nairobi so that the Puntland Development Research Center will have them transported to Somalia, as no mail is delivered to Somalia.

Kassidy Jordan, a 4th grader at Novato Charter School, made this self-portrait in my private art class. The colored pencil and chalk drawing shows her night self and day self, her contented self and her sorrowful self, her complexity and her dragons. At her young age, she grasps something that I didn’t get until I was in my late twenties: That we have simultaneous, conflicting feelings living in one body. One of her dragons holds a yin/yang, the other a feather and a stone. Her image is rooted in the earth, moon and sun, held by an interwoven design. When I have seen and honored my range of emotions as Kassidy has in her drawing, I become authentic and trustworthy. When I haven’t done my inner work, destructive, unconscious behaviors have ripped my family, my friends, my colleagues and my mates apart. This is the inner work that is the key to Beating the Odds. Below is a self-portrait I made of my inner landscape when I was heart-broken. I called upon the inner light to combat despair and pain. The act of creating transformed the pain into a tangible mirror of my complexity and my connection to earth, sun and moon. Aqeela Shirrells, who brokered a deal between the Crips and Bloods in L.A. and who also lost his 18 year-old son to violence, said that the most important thing we can do now is to share the stories of our woundedness with each other. That reminds me of the practice of Cheyenne warriors of painting their hopes, fears and dreams on their shields. They greeted others with their vulnerability. As Thomas Moore points outs, our soul dwells in our complexity, the interplay of fragility and strength. The inner work that will help us beat the odds focuses on listening to the quiet voice inside as well as the roaring dragons. This inner work puts us closer to our soul.

Travis and I adding final touches to “We Must Care for the Earth” When asked what they were most proud of in making this mural, many of the students at the Grant Grover School of the College of Marin said that they were able to make something together with the whole school. It was their sense of community, intertwined with their creativity, that gave them the greatest satisfaction. I know that these elements – total inclusion, no matter what the limitations, and imagination, plus hard work – is how the devastating odds that we’re up against can be solved. Maurice painting while Devrie films. Elias and Travis take a break Carlos painting with help from his loving teacher. Julieann paints the rainbow.

Making art increases the perception of control. This painting of a bear with the eco-system that supports him depicted inside of the figure was made by my students at Novato Charter School in 4th grade. Many of the students, now in 7th grade, are included in the movie link below, playing music in a market. The fabulously practical, caring and cutting edge brain-science expert Eric Jensen shares five ways to decrease stress: the perception of control, breathing, movement, music and belonging. Too many schools don’t incorporate all of these elements in their daily practices. Many Waldorf schools, both private and public, do. The Novato Charter School (NCS) goes one step further, empowering students by having them take their music to real audiences in the world. Below you’ll see a two minute movie of the NCS fiddle club, organized by the visionary music teacher Kenny Blacklock, playing in Whole Foods and bringing stress relief to the customers as well as the students. Click on this link to see the movie: Ashokan Farewell

Kathryn painting. I’m making a 8′ x 12′ mural at the Grant Grover School, a branch of the College of Marin, for young people with special needs, through the Youth in Arts program of Marin County. When I say I don’t know what odds are, what I mean is that many odds pale when I spend time with someone who cannot walk or talk, but who can look me in the eye and cause me to question all I take for granted. As Lili Lopez, my 18 year-old Unity Through Creativity assistant, says “They know something we don’t know.” The students at Grant Grover have a great range of skill and consciousness, which makes any skill and consciousness seem like a precious thing. Every time I ask a student to use a chalk line, or take a video, or use a caulk gun, I never know what will happen. Most of my requests have been met with “yes” and follow through. After surveying 30 students about their sparks, I made a sketch incorporating many of their passions. I chose the golden retriever as a symbol of unconditional love. One of the students has a dream of making a shelter for abused and neglected golden retrievers. He sees the odds that the dogs are up against and wants to do something about it. I xeroxed the drawing and asked the students to color it in, getting ideas for the color scheme. I’m comfortable around these young people because I can relate to the level of affection they thrive on.  It reminds me of Eat, Pray, Love author Elizabeth Gilbert’s description of herself as a cross between a golden retriever and a barnacle.  I told that to Kyle, the prince of warmth at the school – the golden retriever guy.  We had a belly laugh about how that’s how much we need love, too. Below you’ll see pictures of the mural in progress. The will and fortitude of these young people, their teachers and their families is inspiring. Study for “We Must Care for the Earth” Sealing moisture out. Preparing the support structure. Coloring the studies to get ideas for our color scheme. Walter helped to make the master grid for the three panels so we could transfer the drawing. Tyler, Lili and Shayla painting Mt. Tamalpais

This is the story that I told a mother and her three daughters at the Afterschool University in Colorado Springs, causing me to burst into tears. The first person who was killed by Seung-Hui Cho at Virginia Tech in 2007 was my former art student, 19 year-old Emily Hilscher. I had taught her numerous summers beginning when she was eight. Everything she touched was rooted in nature, whimsey and affection. She was studying to be a vet. After the massacre at Virginia Tech, I flew to Emily’s funeral in Rappahannock County, VA, a close-knit community of 7000, where I had lived for 27 years. The high school’s highway sign read “We love you, Emily”. That’s where the funeral was held – behind the school, outside in the track field. At the end of the ceremony, white doves were released against the fresh blue April sky. In the height of painful sorrow at this senseless loss, not one word was said against Cho. Those who attended the funeral focused on the fact that he was a severely damaged person. When I returned to California I had a dream about Cho. He was eight – the same age as Emily was when I first met her. He was furious. He kicked me in the stomach, twisted both of my nipples and sent a sickly yellow green light from his eyes to my eyes. As the light entered my eyes, I felt my body change. I looked into a mirror and saw that I had become Asian. I was aware that even though I had a different body, my soul had remained the same. It was the clearest experience I ever had of my soul as a distinct entity. Cho, looked at me with tears running down his enraged face and said, “I had a soul and no one saw it.” The philospher, Rudolph Steiner, said that terrible blood letting of the 20th century was a result of the fact that people couldn’t express their souls. Now in the 21st century, facing the challenges of our over-populated, over-stimulating and dangerous times, I pray that we see the fundamental importance of each human being’s inner sacredness.

I’d like to focus on a crucial step in beating the odds – Consulting Nature . In my book, I outline four aspects of Nature that can be used when faced with challenges: having clear goals, fostering diversity in achievement of those goals, operating in systems and thriving on competition that is deeply rooted in cooperation. The sculpture below is the essence of diversity in achieving a goal and giving competition the umbrella of cooperation. “We Are 1 Tribe” was made by my students at the Arts & Ethics Academy in Santa Rosa, CA. The sculpture was inspired by the Owerri Igobo mbari shrines of Nigeria, where each figure represents a loved one who is gone, a yet-to-be born child or the child of imagination. The young people who made this work of art live in the reality of rival gangs.  I chose the red and blue colors on the background to symbolize two gangs, the newly arrived southern Mexican Sureños (blue) and the more established northern Mexican Norteños (red), unified into one shrine. (In Pittsburgh, PA, the Crips wear blue and the Bloods wear red.) The figure in the exact middle without hair honors 16 year-old Alex, a Sureño member who was killed in a gang-related shooting. The student who made him wrote: “I hope that Alex will live on when people see my sculpture and hear his story.” The tallest figure on the right symbolizes the future son of one of the students, with the colors of the Norteños on his hat. The young Native American man who made him wrote “I hope that my son, Anthony, will live life without having to worry about the next day and the next month’s rent. I hope that he finds work that he loves doing and gets paid well. My son means a lot to me. He is a piece of me to live on when I leave this world.” This collection of loved ones, animals, mermaids and firebirds are a powerful visual reminder that Nature’s diversity forms ecosystems where the needs of all living beings are met, even though there is also competition. (Visit my Facebook page to see more details and hear about what each sculpture represents to the students.) I would like to ramp up the conversation about how people are cooperating.  Competition is the main drama we hear about and I want to make Nature’s story of cooperative diversity among humans front and center. Do you have stories to share about wildly successful cooperation by diverse elements? Please share them here , knowing they will be passed along to young people. Our life depends on the process of cooperation with every breath we take, where the oxygen molecule that was outside our body becomes a part of our body.  When you share your story, you will be helping to combat the negativism so prevalent among the young people I work with. Your story will also help us adults who are despairing under the weight of the odds we’re up against.

Here are a few highlights from the inspiring July Education Summit put on by the Biomimicry Institute: From Janine Benyus, the Founder: What happens when you compare yourself to Paris Hilton versus Nelson Mandela? Who you compare yourself to changes you. Let’s use Nature as our Measure: It foster cooperative relationships. It leverages interdependence. It’s resilient. It practices benign manufacturing. It has feedback loops. It adapts and evolves. It integrates cyclic processes. It creates environments conducive to life. It is locally attuned and responsive. In any endeavor, ask “What would Nature do? What wouldn’t Nature do?” Instead of heat, beat and treat, how about FLOCK and AWE! How about designing cities that are as generous as ecosystems, which have a surplus of services, such as storing carbon and filtering and storing water. Lavasa, India is trying to do just that. Exciting Applications of Biomimicry: The U.S. Green Building Certifiers is using fungal connectivity as a model for communication. The Department of Energy just granted $122 million to research artificial photosynthesis, which could produce all the energy the planet needs without pollution and very inexpensively. This is truly revolutionary. Slime molds are being studied to figure out the most efficient routes around cities. Portland-based Brightworks, which develops intelligent strategies for sustainability, is envisioning a new economic system modeled on the way that fungus moves resources around to the areas that need them the most. Students at Innovation Space (a part of Arizona State University) are solving real problems with teams made up of majors in design, biology, business and marketing. Is that smart or what? All this intelligent, elegant thought, rooted in the systems that have taken six billion years to evolve, gives me more hope than I’ve felt in years. And I’ve only scratched the surface of what’s going on! Find out more by going to AskNature.org, especially if you up against the odds.

This Child Singing Tree is focusing on some of the odds children are up against: 1:6 UNESCO reports that one in six children in the world are not in school, but are working to support their families 1:170 The Department of Justice estimates that 1 in 170 of American youth are currently at risk of becoming victims of commercial sexual exploitation 1:2 According to international anti-narcotics agencies, Myanmar has most heavily armed drug-trafficking organization in the world. More than half of this 20,000-strong army consists of children, many of them 10- or 12-years-old. I am excited to report Unity Through Creativity hired its first teen employee, joined by a teen volunteer, to work on the current Singing Tree this summer. We have begun UTC’s dream of employing young to do something real about combating poverty. Lili and Detroit of Santa Rosa helped to prepare the image of the world by painting it, gridding it and cutting it. Yesterday I sent 50 pieces to Cheryl Perara in Toronto. She is founder of One Child and will be taking the pieces for young girls and boys who are survivors of the sex trade in Cambodia, Laos and Thailand on July 1st. With this 12′ x 8′ mural, which will be made by over 800 people, we hope to bring awareness to the possibility of a world without Poverty, the Child Sex Trade or Child Soldiers, – a world where children are nourished to grow their talents and give their gifts. If you’d like to participate, and/or have a group of people who’d like to contribute artwork for this purpose, contact me. The Child Singing Tree will be displayed in US Congress in 2011 and will be exhibited in high-traffic public places as well as online to help decrease the exploitation of children.

Last week I heard that 500 teachers were being let go in Cleveland. The heartache of the superintendent had me in tears. My beloved Waldorf-inspired Novato Charter School is dangerously in the red because of budget cuts for the first time in its 14 year history. My position as middle school art teacher was cut, at the same time that Arts & Ethics Academy was denied the continuation of its charter because of ugly backroom politics. I won’t be teaching art to those beautiful, young, at-risk high school students next year, either. Some of them will be attending high schools with 3000 students where the first thing waiting for them will be severe beatings if they don’t join a gang. My job loss is a small blip compared to the prospects of violence facing my students, and virtually nothing compared to the shrimpers and fisherman in Louisiana who may see their livelihoods changed forever. The European airline industry is in terrible risk because of the impact of the Icelandic volcano combined with the recession. Israel and Gaza are deadlocked into a deadly lose-lose relationship where the odds seem to be beating everyone into the ground, every day. Surrounded by so much bad news, I always turn to Nature. An Irish poet on PBS last week said just the words I needed to hear. Looking upon the harsh coastal landscape of Ireland in the cold months, he said “What the barrenness of winter shows us is that bleakness is never as bleak as it looks. Deep down in the freezing stillness, there is new life waiting to be born. And we see it every spring.” My spring is growing a non-profit, which has laid dormant for nine years, Unity Through Creativity. It’s mission is to help make the world safer through the power of creativity and community, no matter what the odds. I and others have been doing the work of it, including the Singing Trees, and now people are coming forward and the organization is taking on a life of its own. Water self-organizes into clouds, rain, rivers, oceans and reforms again, when needed, into clouds. When the odds are beating us, we know it’s time to re-organize into new clouds, new forms, new life.