Back to Bayou Country of Louisiania

Eds Adventures: I did not get a chance to enjoy the La wetlands the first time through in April but am loving it now at end of May. Hot and humid compared to the desert but I spent the morning kayaking the Atchafalya river basin with gators and back in nature again. It always brings me back to what is real in life. The past few weeks brought so much change in different ways from the beauty of desert and mnts to the water and wetlands of La. All so amazing in different ways. It helps bring faith of a wonderful Spirit who created life and all its forms and calls us to protect and care for it as we care for others. If we can see the connection between religion and our planet and the need to protect all then a transformation takes place that changes everything. No longer are we driven by ego and power, money and material things. Then we are driven by compassion and love and caring for all things.

What a different eco-system this time around. I thought I was going to miss the wetlands and ocean but life has a strange way of bringing you to where you belong at the time. I wish it was for a different reason though. I am currently at Lake Fausse St park about 30  miles south of Layfeyette La. What a beautiful place as all the state parks have been along the journey. This one has a spot on the river with a deck and place to put my kayak in at. How much better does it get. The hiking and biking is great and I feel alive again. The l,ast 10 days of classes and driving left me a zombie. After a good nights sleep and excersize today for the first time in weeks  it feels good. Nature always does that for me. A good shower and nice dinner of Progresso Soup and Smucker P&J, and I am ready to venture forth to the unknown.

I started a great book that Fr Richard gave me called "Field Of Compassion" by Judy Cannato. It talks about the spirit of Christian Life of Jesus and the connection to the the spirit of energy and transformation of our lives. Sounds kind of heavy but a simple message. The key is meditation and contemplation. It is so hard to take time during our crazy lives to stop and just quiet ourselves so we are open to the spirit. It takes only a few minutes to quiet our minds and open our hearts to the spirit. So many wonderful things have happened to me these last few years.  I had no idea exactly but was open to change. Slowly letting go of what I thought was important and setting new values for my life. Making a difference for people and nature was the premise. I never thought I would end up working with  sea turtles and caregiving as a result. Allowing the thoughts and passions within brought me to the places I needed to  fullfill the dreams. The people and events all have devine spiritual purpose in our lives if we wake up and follow our hearts instead of our minds. Let go of the ego and marvelous things start to happen. It is not a heaven we hope for in eternal life but the heaven we create here and now that will bring lasting peace and joy.  Jesus taught us that we may be full of life and will do great things and that is our call.

My plan is to work my way SE along the coast to the command centers. I have done my training and have signed up for several org doing wildlife rehab. The politics and coordination involved are a challenge so it seems best to just head to the sites.  After another day here I will leave on Thursday and head to Houma and a coordination center for the holiday.

I hope that everyone has some time off to enjoy family and remember those gone on this Memorial Day.

Check out some pics from bayou country below. A litle different than the desert.




Take Care







Ed