“The Power of Slow”

Hey, world! I have an essay in the September 2016 print edition of Bicycling magazine about the power of slow cycling.

You can read the essay online here: http://www.bicycling.com/rides/adventure/the-power-of-slow

…

…

In listening, I give the whole of myself—my ears, my heart—to a storyteller. In cycling, I give the whole of myself—my body, my spirit—to a place. I move through the landscape and the landscape moves through me. Slowness has become part of my daily practice.

Check it out!

http://www.bicycling.com/rides/adventure/the-power-of-slow

Arohanui,

Devi

On the Texture of the Air

Tonight I read three poems to a room full of climate activists in Aotearoa.

Activism is hard work. It’s exhausting.

After listening to the poems, someone told me how re-energized she felt––poetry the counterpoint to a long day of planning direct actions for the coming year.

“I was exhausted ten minutes ago,” she said. “Now I feel lightness. What a difference.”

Poetry changes the air in a room. This much I know.

Over & over I’m reminded of the importance of art in our movements, the necessary breath.

There are as many ways to be an activist as there are people on this planet. There is value in standing with a cardboard sign in the streets. There is value in being loud––many voices speaking for a single cause. So much planning goes into a single march. I have deep respect for that work.

There is value, too, in sitting down in a silent room with a pen and a piece of paper, the quietness of writing, of meeting oneself on the page without knowing what will come next.

I move through both worlds in my activism. The one doesn’t exist for me without the other.

& there is always more to do.

Bliss

Bliss is looking at a half-full notebook and knowing that I cannot know all the beautiful somethings that are yet to fill its pages.

Dancing at Kura Tāwhiti

Some places are full of the stories
of all the people
who have passed through here before.

Kura Tāwhiti is one of those places.

When I dance, I hear landscapes differently.

I dance to honor places.

Dancing is sacred to me.

Arohanui to Nicole for taking these photos, and for the adventure.

People’s Climate Movement

Hey world,

I’m riding my bicycle to the People’s Climate March in Christchurch, New Zealand on Nov. 28, 2015.

The Places I Have Listened: collecting stories at Monsavu Dam, Fiji / November 2014

Last September I attended the People’s Climate March in NYC among a crowd of 400,000 activists. I was a drop in that ocean.

yours truly with the epic organizer / magician Collin Rees (@collinrees) / NYC People’s Climate March / September 21, 2014

September 21, 2014: I was there. I marched. I listened. I recorded 3+ hours of stories from the people I met. I cried three times. I danced. I was silent and I was loud. I have never felt such powerful energy in my life.

Will you be attending a People’s Climate March this weekend? There are events kicking off all over the globe. Check out www.peoplesclimate.org to find an event near you. There’s a map of locations here: www.peoplesclimate.org/actions/map/ 

“Water is worth more than gold.” The People’s Climate March in NYC was electric.

Keep on keepin’ on. Your voice has value.

To change everything, we need everyone, everywhere.

Tell your story.

“No More Denial”

Over & out,
Devi on Wheels

 

Aotearoa is Hilly

I love it here.

 

Burn Your Maps

Hey beautiful people,

Life update:

The ocean has given me a gift

in the form of a zig-zag pattern

and I said yes.

gorgeous graffiti I saw inside a toilet block in Bateman’s Bay yesterday

I’m on my way back to New Zealand to live and to write for a while.

I’m going to write a book proposal.

Wish me luck.

I’m in Sydney now and soon to step on a cargo ship heading towards Aotearoa. I’ll be away from the internet Oct 24 – Nov 1 while at sea.

on the ferry to a friend’s home — the icon in all its glory

I will always remember Oct 2015 as the month I spent more time on the water than on land. Being on the water makes me happy.

aboard the SV Pelican

More soon,

Devi

~

Support my work on Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/devi_lockwood

~

Auckland to Taranaki

I rode my bicycle from Auckland to the Climate Justice Taranaki meet up at Marae Muru Raupatu, Aotearoa. My head and heart are full from a weekend of listening and learning about environmental justice struggles against the expansion of the oil and gas industry in New Zealand–layers of stories, at least a century and a half thick. Today is an audio editing day.

Wellington, I am very slowly coming your way!

#tellmeastory

Here are some photos from the ride:

I took the train from Auckland to Pukekohe and started riding south.

Big sky, big hills.

 

This is dairy country. I made friends with cows. Sort of.

Raglan, NZ. I was taken in by a peripatetic couple with a camper van and learned how to jump under big waves.

 

My last big bike trip was from Memphis, TN to Venice, LA following the Mississippi River Trail. I’m definitely not in the Mississippi Delta anymore.

 

Hey, hill. You’re cute. I like hills.

At the bottom of Mt. Messinger. Yes, I climbed it (fueled by the cheering of many trucks). The honesty of NZ road signs is refreshing.

Blissed out biker face.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunset behind Mt. Taranaki.

 

 

 

 

Wisdom found on an abandoned beach chair in Marakopa, population 16.

 

Jandals + Marmite + biking = strength. Well, I’m not that big of a fan of Marmite. But I’m working on it.

 

Solo female biker power, the selfie. Climbing hills makes me feel alive.

 

Tunnel to the beach at Waikawau, the most amazing acoustic space.

 

 

Worn by water––the enormity of geologic time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am most in my element moving slowly on two wheels, gathering stories––listening and writing. Words fuel me. I can’t wait to see what the next week brings.

Māori Creation Myth

I took a wrong turn on my bicycle and ended up hiking to Wairēinga with the lovely Lisa Hopa, a Māori primary school teacher from Ngaruwahia. We watched the water come down in pirouettes and crash into rainbows below––so glad to enjoy this stunning scenery with a new friend! At the bottom of the falls we sat down in the shade for a crash course in Māori mythology, droplets of water just reaching our faces.

All inanimate objects have a life force and a genealogical tree that can be traced back to Papatūānuku and Ranginui, the earth mother and the sky father. In the beginning, Papatūānuku and Ranginui were in such a tight embrace that no light could penetrate. The two had several children, each with their own domains:

Tangaroa––guardian of the sea, whose children are all the creatures of the sea
Tane Mahuta––guardian of the forest, whose children are the trees and animals in the forest
Tāwhirimātea––guardian of the winds, storms, and gales (anything pertaining to air)
Tūmatauenga––guardian of war
Rongo Ma Tane––guardian of peace and cultivated food
Haumietiketike––guardian of uncultivated food
Rūaumoko––guardian of volcanic activity and earthquakes. Whenever he gets uncomfortable and moves is when earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur.

The children decided that they wanted to separate Papatūānuku and Ranginui so that there would be light and space to move around. Each child had a go in trying to separate their parents.

Tūmatauenga, the guardian of war, wanted to kill Papatūānuku and Ranginui, but the others rejected this idea. Tane Mahuta, the guardian of the forest, decided to lie on his shoulders and push up with his feet, which worked. The earth mother and the sky father were forced far apart. Tāwhirimātea threw stars and moon to keep his father company. Tane Mahuta clothed Papatūānuku with trees because she was naked.

~

I love creation myths and hope that I can continue to learn more about Māori culture on this trip.

It’s a beautiful thing that an indigenous language is taught in public schools here. Could this model be implemented widely in the United States?