All of us living upon this Earth have had our lives increased by the actions of those who have asked themselves, “What can I do?” and then answered that question with action. On Talk of the Bay, June 30, 2020, Christine Barrington interviews Marilyn DuHamel to discover her answer to this question.
Marilyn DuHamel’s poetic and artful writing makes her blog, Earth Dialogues a treasure to discover. After the 2016 election, and the resulting steady rollback of sound environmental policies that protect land, sea, and air, Marilyn felt a growing inner devastation and need to act. As a writer and a healer, she decided to reach out to the world with words, imagery, and sound* naming her blog Earth Dialogues to suggest different layers of conversation: dialogue between humans, dialogue internally with self, dialogue with other species, dialogue with the land.
The destruction of the environment is a consequence of a lack of relatedness with all living things. In order to face the rising consequences of this lack of kinship, relationships are necessary, as Marilyn reflects: “As an introvert, I happily witness beauty alone, but I cannot sustain bearing witness to the destruction of what I love by myself. It is too brutal, too lonely….To find a new way, as habitats decline and the seas rise around us, we need maternal tenderness, the dream state, the language of flesh, and especially a shared boat that looks more like a cradle than a battleship.”
Reading the essays of Earth Dialogues is to be drawn into this realm of maternal tenderness and the shared boat that can cradle our hearts as we face the rising seas.
*You can also enjoy hearing the voice of Marilyn reading many of her essays on her website, further emphasizing the aspect of “conversation” between the Earth and each other.
Marilyn at Native Animal Rescue
