Let's Reframe: By Degrees

Boxing Day Re-imagined

12/23/2018

 
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Boxing Day.
December 26th.
Celebrated in the UK. For
most people it means a day to hang
out with family, eat leftovers and enjoy gifts
given and received. But historically, it was also a day
​to give "Christmas Boxes" to the servants, who would go home
and celebrate Christmas with ​their own families after
​having cared for you on the 25th.
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Or, perhaps the
term 'Boxing Day' comes
from the nautical tradition whereby
great sailing ships carried a sealed box of money
for good luck which, upon return, would be given to a priest
who would distribute the money to those in
​need on the day after Christmas.
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Here in New England,
we get back to work - - there is
no "Bank Holiday" for us. But over the past
​decade, I have created my own "Boxing Day" tradition.
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Photographs that are labels on Christmas Day, or beautiful holiday cards
become decorations on a box the next. And all that wrapping
paper gets a longer life, glued to a sneaker
box or packing box and used
​year after year.
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It started with
a desire to save paper and
reduce holiday waste. But over time,
​it became something more - - 
A kind of compulsion
to fix what I had 
using materials at hand -
not just cards and paper,
​
but fabric as well. 
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One year, I redid
our recycling container.
The next, I created boxes to use
for grocery shopping. They were so admired
at our food co-op, I made some as gifts
for the clerks. Apparently one of
the boxes ​is now the bed
​for a very happy cat.
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What makes me happiest,
is that my son and daughter love to
find their custom gift boxes under the tree.
No need for labels. And certainly no
need for new wrapping paper.
It's become a tradition - -
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Our very
own Boxing Day.
To me, that's what makes our
current time so inspiring. There are opportunities
for the creative re-making of the world as we know it.
As I discovered with a bunch of cards, paper
and fabric, beauty is everywhere.
What might you create or
discover this last
week of
2018?
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Sources:
The Spruce: What is Boxing Day?


Puzzles, Part 2: A Plan

12/19/2018

 
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I don't know about you, but I love the clarity and
focus of a puzzle. I start with the edges and
move on to specific colors or scenes.
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 Sometimes I have to change my
perspective or walk away and come back later.
It's amazing how even then, it can be hard
to see what is sitting right
​in front of you. 
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Like these gaps.
I spent hours looking...
I sorted the
pieces by shape and color and still had no luck.
Then my husband showed up and in
less than two minutes, these
​three holes were filled.
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At first, I was mad.
How dare he come along and 
​make it look so easy? 
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And then, I remember.
That's what makes a second opinion
or a second set of eyes so valuable. New perspectives
make something seemingly difficult
appear simple and self-evident.
How cool is that?
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So in my last post
I talked about Reparations and 
Carbon Offsets and how excited I am to 
share my family's offsets with our local Advance Transit.
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It was easy to go online and set up sustaining monthly
donations. We've amortized what we owe, so we'll
pay off our travel debt over time,
while also supporting
​an invaluable local
resource.
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When I think
about climate action,
I realize it's all about sharing - 
not just the financial resources we may have,
but also our time, ideas and points of view. It turns out that
collaboration is critical, but so is having a plan, like
strategies for a jig-saw puzzle, or methods for
paying carbon debts we didn't even
realize we had.
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Will Moses, Butternut Bend 24 x 30 www.willmoses.com
I may be an artist,
but I am also a planner and, 
rumor has it, a motivating teacher. So I've
created an online 'class' that inspires people to dive
deep, take control, and find joy as they
participate in guided action
throughout 2019.
​Stay tuned...
If you are looking for a climate action plan, I've got one for you.

Puzzles, Part 1: Reparations

12/6/2018

 
Reparations:
the making of amends for a wrong one has done,
​by paying money to or otherwise helping those who have been wronged.
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Eiffel Tower at Night, 2012
It's been three years since the Paris Climate
Accord. Apparently one of the reasons the Unites States has
withdrawn ​is that we do not want to pay our fare share of climate expenses.
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It really is a puzzle. There are all these messy pieces, but the parameters are clear.
We have to transition away from carbon-based fuels as quickly as possible.
And as the recent National Climate Assessment Report suggests,
we don't have much time. The warnings have been loud and
clear this year, with enormous fires and storms.
But our leaders ignore the signs...
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My left ankle, taped
I get it.
​I'm now doing physical therapy for injuries
I received during the summer, but ignored.  It was just too
​inconvenient.  But, if I had acknowledged the irregular pains, and if
I had actually rested it right away, my ankle might have healed a lot ​faster.
Does this sound familiar? Let's just ignore the problem.
​It might go away...
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Playa Del Carmen, Mexico 2016
I don't know about you,
but I display this kind of behavior all the time.
In my head, I know one thing. In my heart I know another thing.
And then I act as if none of those understandings or feelings existed! 
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Playa Del Carmen, Mexico 2016
On a trip to Mexico a few years ago, we had a beachside room that was not very romantic - - Each day, the tide came higher and higher and each night I woke to the sound of
waves crashing beneath me. It was frightening. I vowed to never travel
again. I did not want to be part of the problem...But guess who's 
going to Mexico with her extended family this year?
It was just too good to pass up...
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Lyn's Lifetime Air Travel Record
What about the climate?
Yes, but what about my extended family?
It's a choice many of us make all the time, especially around
holidays. Instead of feeling overwhelmed, like when I first see all those
puzzle pieces in a pile on the table, I took action by gathering data. 
I may be an artist,
but I value real information. 
The facts. So I investigated the climate impact of my traveling. Here's what I discovered: When combining all trips I have taken alone and with my
family, beginning  
with my first international ​trip to Ireland & England, in
1974, 
​I have traveled 208,674 miles on 105 different trips. That's the
same distance as flying eight times around the equator. 

​Total Carbon impact: 141.26 tons. 
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Lyn in London, 1974
What's a gal to do?
​Cross her arms, plant her feet,
and say "so what?" Or, perhaps, get on with it and
take responsibility? 
I'm tired of ignoring warning signs and not taking
action, so I went online and learned that 'all' I need to do was pay
$4,146 to offset
​the carbon impact of my family's adventures. 
(www.myclimate.org).
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Florida sunrise, 2007
A carbon offset:
a reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide or greenhouse gases
made in order to compensate for or to offset an emission made elsewhere. 
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Textiles in Ecuador, 2011
I had been petrified to learn what we might owe for our family's amazing adventures
and it was that fear that had kept me from exploring offsets 
sooner. But here I
am, still icing my ankle and feeling rather stupid. If we had paid offsets
as we went we would not have this debt for which we had not
budgeted. I wonder if our leaders feel stupid too...

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Railway station in Germany, 2012
Sometimes, as hard as it may be, we have to admit
our mistakes and pay our fare share for the privileges we have.
Given the National Climate Assessment's re-evaluation of our current climate
circumstances, it seems appropriate that we pay the carbon debt we owe
as quickly as possible. ​I
t's just the right thing to do.
Thank you, President George H.W. Bush.
Country (and planet) before self. 
Next week, in part 2, I'll
​talk about how.
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In my sister's car somewhere in Montana, 2015
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    Lyn Swett Miller
    ​
    reframing the narrative, one day, one image at a time
    Picture
    compost re-imagined
     Let's ReFrame: By Degrees
    A place where photographer Lyn Swett Miller considers wonder, joy and transformation in a complex world.

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