The Buddha called "will" (cetanā, volition) "karma." (Most of the good things that happen to us in life are due to our karma, as are many but not all of the bad things).
But what can just one person do? One person can save the world, save a grove, a forest, nature, a species, a region. And more people coming together for a cause can do even more, taking their lead from that ONE person.
Sure, we say she's a "super heroine" now, but at the time, everyone said she was a "crazy hippie" for having uncapitalist ideals and principles. There is that scientific theory called the "butterfly effect," the idea that the smallest change can have a compounding effect, stacking, triggering a cascade much bigger than would ever seem possible by just one act, a kind of domino effect.
Julia, you did the impossible! How'd you do it? Easy. I just did something. Nature did the rest.
What can just one pretty, little, dumb, colorful, flighty, teensy-weensy butterfly do?
It isn't just the karmic (willful) action that has an immediate result. There is the inspiring of others, modeling change for them, blowing the whistle, speaking up for the unpopular but honest view of things. Greta Thunberg may not do much more than boycott school, hold a sign, garner attention, speak at rallies, or get herself in the media, and she still has done a great deal. She gets demonstrates, protests, investigates, sticks to her guns (e.g., against Israel), speaks out, gets arrested, talks to movers-and-shakers, addresses the U.N., and inspires millions to think and act. She does participate in direct actions herself, but more than that, she rallies demonstrators and attracts attention to important causes. What can I do? What can you do? What can we do?
How, for example, could a single piece of flimsy straw (like a pretty girl in a tree) ever break a robust camel (like a greedy corporation out to hump everyone and steal water from an arid place for itself) with a strong back for carrying bales and bales of hay?
The intentions and prayers for the Earth were embedded here then covered with gold leaf.
Altadena Fire Mural Project, 2026, with golden prayers and us circled in red (Ekaterina Sky)
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Channeled inspiration for artful beauty
Six months after the Los Angeles fires, we built an art wall in Altadena. There were not many walls left to paint on, so we built one on the empty lot where the vegan cafe Oh Happy Days used to be.
Over four days the foothill neighborhood came and wrote their prayers and intentions to be sealed into the golden sphere at the center of the mural, some in English, some in Spanish, some in many other languages. One was a single name. One asked for the soil to become clean again. Then we sealed every one of those prayers under gold leaf.
A gold embedded Prayer for the Earth
They are still under there, and nobody can read them.
On the final Sunday of our public art project, a woman came over to tell me about her friend: Her friend had lost her home in the Eaton Fire and had not smiled once in the six months since.
Her friend was at the wall right then, with a glistening brush in her hand. She was smiling. She had just said, “I think I should start making art again.”
I did not go over to her. That moment was hers.
I thought, “She has every fact about what she lost. The facts do nothing for her. A wall, a brush, and her neighbors gave her somewhere to put it, and she picked the brush back up.” That is what I've been trying to say for 20 years! To put it plainly:
“Data hands us the truth.
Beauty is what lets us carry it.”
Knowing is not the hard part. Holding it is. Beauty is what makes the weight bearable enough to keep holding and acting on.
Vote for this talk at SXSW 2027
Save the forest, save the animals
I want to argue for that position in front of a room full of people who build things rather than a room of those who already agree with me. So I proposed a talk at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, next March (2027) I am calling, “Why Beauty Moves Us When Data Doesn’t.”
DESCRIPTION: Two decades of painting murals converges on one idea: Shared beauty can hold what words cannot yet reach, a shift that decides what people go on to protect.
After the 2025 Eaton Fire in Altadena, survivors gathered at a community mural to write their intentions and prayers into the paint. A woman who had not smiled since losing her home picked up a brush. This talk lays out the method behind the shift and how to build it into a strategy that moves people.
SESSION TAKEAWAYS:
Art show LA Climate Week '26
Why aesthetic experience shifts emotional orientation faster than data or logical arguments, and what that means for building a movement or campaign.
A repeatable method for designing beauty and participation into engagement strategy, instead of attaching them as decoration afterward.
Real, working examples, a reforestation partnership, a global soil movement, a wildfire recovery mural, proof the method produces outcomes. More
It is about how that Sunday afternoon of the art project actually worked.
Read it HERE. It is accompanied on the page by a two-minute film of me speaking at the UN Climate Summit in Belém, Brazil.
Send me your stories!
REQUEST: If a moment like that has ever happened to you, I would love to hear it. I am collecting them to inspire others.
If I had to give one good reason to relist wolves on the endangered species list, it would be because they are a keystone species. Full stop. Their reintroduction will save the forest. The Native Americans knew it, and we forgot it and nearly lost all the wooded land. Now it's time to bring them back by protecting them as a vital part of nature. Join me in the campaign to save all animals but particularly the species central to the health of our woodlands.
An ecosystem is a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment. It includes all of the living things interacting with each other and non-living environments (weather, earth, sun, soil, climate, atmosphere) in a given area.
In an ecosystem, all species rely on each other, and each organism has its’ own niche or role to play. A keystone species is a plant or animal that plays a disproportionately large role in the ecosystem – impacting both the prevalence and population levels of other species within their community. More
The commune was packed with a very diverse crowd characteristic of Altadena and Pasadena. There was less shade than prior years because the old trees burned during the Eaton Fire. But the main structure (the historic Solvang House) was safe, the grass was green, and the free vegan food line was moving.
The generosity of The Vegan Joint is amazing
The Vegan Joint and Au Lac, Los Angeles, provided Thai curry, brown rice, sauté, chili sauce, peanut sauce, samosas, tamarind dip, stir-fry, and specialty drinks (kava-kava and goji matcha watermelon) by El Chef, a food artist from Long Beach who volunteers for plantbasedtreaty.org events with Samantha Lau.
Soul Force music was provided by Rhythms of the Village, whose annual Spring Festival is not going to be ruined by the fire even though the store burned down. It will be held on May 24, 2025, on the grounds of Muir High School in Pasadena. Ameca and Onochie kept the rhythm going with many artists on stage, lots of percussion, Alma Cielo on violin, Paul Livingstone on stand-up bass, and a chorus of singers.
Brooke Robbins of the Altadena Pasadena Sierra Madre Community Resource Hub (APS-CRH) was present to build community and get the word out about an important upcoming Public Awareness Presentation on Friday, April 25, 2025, at 5:00 pm by the Erin Brockovich supported lafirejustice.com firm. Then Cielo brought out the guest of honor, Oh Happy Day owner John Hopkins for a round of hugs and a few nice words. Leigh Adams and her rainbow hair made it to the stage then Sam Lau of Plant Based Treaty until the music took over again for jazz improv.
Come celebrate a FREE, family-friendly event with live music, plant-based vegan foods, and speakers honoring vegan restauranteur and Altadena legend John Hopkins of O' Happy Days Vegan Cafe.
ABOUT: Earth Day Altadena with guest of honor: John Hopkins, Oh Happy Day Vegan Cafe, hosted by Soul Force Project, UNA, and Plant Based Treaty with performances by: EarthSeed Band, Baba Onochie, Rhythm of the Village, Paul Livingstone, Alma Cielo: REGISTER (luma)
Living Big In A Tiny House, 9/19; CC Liu, Seth Auberon, Pfc. Sandoval (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Amazing modern yurt is a design marvel
This incredible home is a completely contemporary take on the traditional yurt (from formerly-Buddhist Central Asia and Mongolia). With a diameter of 30 feet (9 meters), this beautiful home has it all and is packed full of wonderful design features. Yurts are easy to set up, cozy, and functional homes. And this modern take on the traditional home is a real architectural design treasure. Enjoy the full tour of this tiny house. Enjoy the video? Consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/livingbig.
This do-it-yurtself small home was constructed by Zach and Nicole. Its modern design is spatially efficient and beautiful. The entire project was built as a DIY project. To learn more about how Zach and Nicole were able to build this yurt, visit their free online build guide: Do It Yurtself (doityurtself.com). Follow Zach at instagram.com/zachboth.
FREE: The Los Angeles Fall Vegan Food Fest is this Sunday, November 25th, 2018, from 12:00 noon to 3:00 pm in Griffith Park at the Crystal Springs Picnic Area.
DETAILS
Karma: kindness causes beauty
Join this vegan fest at Griffith Park, an event that's completely FREE and open to the public.
Fest attendees will hear from inspiring local speakers, listen to live music from special musical guest Annette Conlon, win awesome raffle prizes, challenge friends in fun yard games, and more!
A full list of food vendors, speakers, and others is coming soon! This is a fun and family-friendly event. Bring kids by the Barefoot Books Kids Corner for fun activities, story time, and face painting.
Organizer
The 2018 Fall Vegan Food Fest is organized by the Factory Farming Awareness Coalition (FFAC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people to help save animals, the environment, and our own health through our daily food choices.
VOLUNTEER AND TROT FOR FREE This event would not be possible without the amazing volunteers who help out! Signup to volunteer at the trot and/or food fest here: signupgenius.com. Vegan Food Fest volunteers get to participate in the Tofurky Trot beforehand for free!
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