revolutionartist

I sit surrounded by trees as tall as the skies that stretch above them. A mist hovers silently in the early morning air. All around me life is growing. My body shivers at the thought. I watch a lone eagle flying far above my head.

Soon the camp is bustling with energy, 200 hundred activists from throughout the northwest all coming together to envision and build a different world. The smell of warm coffee invades the day bringing even more activists out of their tents. I sit and watch it all. A mad little scene unveiling before me, people are strategizing, talking about workshops and sharing old stories of tree-sits, blockades and forest defense.

I walk down to the river - the mighty Columbia whose waters are destined for a liquid natural gas terminal capable of exploding the homes of every single child living in the region - the blast radius marked on a map with each home getting its own number.

I try to forget about the battle that looms ahead and instead just let myself feel the beauty of this place. The wild places of this world - too few in
their occurance but places of such incredible power. I sit on a log watching the rushing waters before me, giant red woods hover overtop keeping me well shaded from the growing sunlight. I lose myself in thought - water is such a magical creation. Right now it pours all over the world bringing life, feeding us all, carving out new pathways through some of the hardest rocks on earth, relentless in its determination but still acting with unfathomable grace and power. How alike we are - the water and those that choose to swim against these currents hoping to forge new pathways for civilization to move. Moments after the thought has faded I dive in beneath the waters, the current pulls and I feel my muscles ache as I move to simply hold my ground. The water feels so refreshing on my skin, cool, and relaxing as a new day is born.