You’re invited to participate in this meditation / visualization / prayer to be done on Friday March 3, 2006 in honor of our friend, teacher, and co-conspirator Tooker Gomberg who passed away March 3, 2004.
Tooker was the master of dreaming big. He courageously envisioned and articulated a world that was attractive, playful, healthy, compassionate and green. While his actions and advocacy focused on achievable results (a bike lane here or green bins there), his vision for just and sustainable communities was grand and compelling.
Let’s take a lesson from Tooker’s toolbox and envision the world we want.
Dream Big – Meditation
Sitting in a quiet and comfortable spot, ground your thoughts in the present moment. Notice your breathing, in and out. Notice your own body and thoughts.
How are you feeling right now?
[pause for reflection]
If you could imagine the best mental and physical health for yourself, what would that look and feel like?
What would you be eating? What would you weigh? What would your muscles look like? What would your energy level be like? What would your skin feel like? How would you be moving through the world? How would you be spending your time? Would you be laughing? cycling? resting? cooking? doing cartwheels?
Sit quietly and revel in this physical and mental wellness and freedom. Imagine everyone around you experiencing this bliss.
Now take that joy and move it out into your family. Imagine each of your family members free of debt, illness, stress, and resentment. Imagine yourself in their company, relishing their friendship, honoring your common history. Just sit, and imagine your best case scenario.
[pause for reflection]
Then move your thoughts out to your place of work, or a community you’re a member of. Can you imagine everyone joyfully supporting each other to reach common goals? What would it take?
Imagine a cooperative, respectful work environment, people sharing each other’s stresses, working collectively, joyfully, fearlessly, laughing together, succeeding as a group.
[pause for reflection]
What about your city? What does it look and feel like?
Can you imagine it green and clean, with bike lanes galore, organic community gardens, a river to swim in, ice skating through the streets, kids playing fearlessly, wildlife and birds and people coexisting, green boxes next to blue and gray, posters for a car free day, pedal power in full sway, windmills on the horizon, solar panels and gardens on every rooftop, community meetings and potlucks, real democracy in action?
[pause for reflection]
Now can you imagine your province/state/country protecting the rights of all its citizens, rich and poor, young and old, abled and differently abled, healthy and unhealthy… And can you imagine the earth supporting all species of plants, animals, minerals, water, all coexisting, all flourishing in symbiosis, sacred Gaia, Glittering with sunlight and stars and fireflies, all creatures fulfilling their potential, creating a cornucopia of fruits and roots and green delights for every species to flourish alongside, and a solar system and galaxy to expand our horizons, to challenge our intellect, to capture our imaginations?
[pause for reflection]
What a precious world to be gifted with! What a delight! Let’s work for this world that we envision. Every child that we bend down to speak with, every tree that we plant, every petition we sign, every meal we cook, every letter to the editor we write, every meeting we attend or organize can be motivated and embedded with this vision of a beautiful, sacred, peaceful world.
[pause for reflection]
The last word goes to Tooker: “The great gift of the human species is our minds. Our minds have two great aspects: we can imagine, and we can alter our environments. We must find ways to spice up our imaginations, and tap into our yearning for clean air and a livable city… We can evolve our city into a healthy place for people and nature, not asphalt and poison. We can do it. If we will it.” Sept. 13, 1999.