On the eve of US veterans returning to Standing Rock Sioux reservation, I am moved by their courage. They are putting their lives on the line, yet again. They go to act as human shields, peacefully protecting our first nation peoples from a privatized militia backed by corporate greed and government ignorance.

History is healing itself.

This is what is happening when a jury acquits an activist after listening to his defense. He told them why he attempted to close down the Tennessee pipeline. Unanimously the jury decided that saving the planet was not against the law, shutting down the pipeline was the sane thing to do.

This is what is happening when Senators Murray and Cantwell demand the website for disabled kids be restored after DeVos, Trumps pick for secretary of education, took it down only days after she took office.

This is what is happening when we say No, to coal mining companies being allowed to dump their waste in near by streams. No, to pipelines that crisscross our countryside, that consistently rupture. The latest being last week in Texas spilling 600,000 gallons of crude. No, because, doing business in these old ways is archaic and the price too high for our children, and planet to pay.

On a global note, the Artic shelf, that piece of ice that moderates our planets temperatures, ocean waters, and is half the drinking water supply for the planet, is rapid diminishing. Another rift has grown indicating it is melting faster than earlier projections – newest estimate is 9 years. NASA’s Operation Iceberg flights monitor this. However, President Trump is eliminating all climate research leaving Antarctica and the rest of the world in the dark.

What do you do when you find yourself in the dark? Light a candle. Let’s keep the candle lite. Everywhere Trump’s executive orders would have us in the dark, let our actions shed light. May our every action, be it, where we spend our money, show up to a rally, or calling our representatives illuminate the darkness. 2017 will be remembered as the dawning of light.