Peace, Man

So the morning opened with a dazzling ray of sun. Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. Close to tears over tea. That man still gets me. Having studied the insanity of slavery in my Literature degree at Leeds, the oppression and pain of the African-American existence; I saw his election victory as an explosion of hope. He continues to inspire me.

By mid-morning the talk-shows and blogs and opinion pages were roaring across the country. The international community had made its point - but internally, the land of the free was a mass of opposing voices. "Yeah. but he's done nothing" being the resounding Conservative line.

All this focus on action. As my Buddhist teacher Gen Kelsang Tonglam constantly reminds me: mind creates everything. It's our intentions that shape our future. If we come from a good intention, of kindness and compassion: our actions will carry that purity forward. If we come from anger or delusions, then we're creating a load of bad karma for ourselves and others in the future.

Fear. I think that's what it boils down to. We are scared to believe these days. We have become so critical, that even when we see a brilliant being in our midst, all we see are our own projected fears playing out. Well, I think that the Nobel Committee made a profound point today. They reminded us all that it's not only about what we do: it's what we're thinking that makes the difference.

The Town That Won

I recently walked into Freeport, to investigate this town that I now call home. It was one of those trips where you are very amused, where you point, giggle and go "ahhhh" many times. Freeport is a magical little town.

The first thing we noticed on hitting Main Street, was how the corporations have for once in their lives, LOST. Take a look at the above pictorial evidence of Freeport's McDonald's. Note the architecture, and the fact that it is not only a historic listed building, but it is also haunted. It is without doubt, the best McDonald's in the entire world.

It seems that when the powers of Maccy D wanted to sweep into town, the people of Freeport simply would not allow them to build their normal red and yellow Lego structure. McDs argued, they threw various tantrums and attempted to shove their dirty cash into the faces of the people of Freeport. But as the name of the town suggests, these Americans were free. They said no.

McDonald's eventually gave up and moved into this haunted home. We popped in for a burger (purely for research reasons) and noted the presence of ghosts when Tim mysteriously spilled copious amounts of coke from the drink vending machine. And the waiter looked a tad pale.

But ah, how wonderful: people power in action! Unlike 98% of the rest of American towns, where the corporate powers have changed the landscape with their horrible box malls, fast food restaurants, Dairy Queens, and Walmarts - Freeport has said no. 'Piss off,' they yelled (or perhaps concurred, this is after all a posh neck of the woods). 'We don't want your generic faces to ruin this quaint little spot!' And that's all it took.

To The Fair!

We drove North for the 2009 Common Ground Country Fair. We parked on fields and walked through the autumn drizzle to the "Rose Gate" and entered 11th century medieval England. At least, that's how it felt to me.

This was America's most hotly anticipated, 100% organic farming event. A three-day festival of all things natural, hand-made, lovingly grown and sold without guilt. Upon entering the hippy domain there was immediately an audible - and delightful - absence of noise. There was simply the sound of feet stepping through mud, shoppers talking at stalls selling soap, shit and socks and the slicing sound of the occasional windmill. 25,000 liberals in a field: This was BIG and remarkably well-behaved.

We immediately began to eat. I had an expensive yet undeniably delectable vegetable stew. Tim chewed on a happy cow burger. We ate under a marquee and listened to a young lady do a sound check with her Ovation guitar and angelic vocal chords.

Then we wandered. And wandered some more. We saw a remarkably large male turkey with all his plumage. We stood in a field and watched sheep dogs round up sheep and geese, and a group of donkeys pull an old dude in a sled. I spotted Worzel Gummidge in the distance making some kind of steel sculpture, and laughed out loud. Then we ate some pie cones - filled with Indian Pudding (a miraculous substance of spices and pumpkin) and blueberries mixed with maple syrup.

The central part of the fair (that covered acres and acres and acres) featured a large sitting out area and a stage where speakers and farmers spoke wisdom, and planting methods. There was the odd shriek of activism, but mostly a sense of peace radiated. This was America at its most innovative and forward-thinking, yet also at its oldest. The pagans of England (and the hippies of Lamma Island) would applaud.