The Monsanto Video Revolt

Think Thanks

To practice gratitude, you only need to sit and think....and then say thanks. 

It's so easy.

You don't need to go buy a special journal or listen to new age music or watch a DVD or read a book before you can get started.

Just sit....and think.

There's so much to be thankful for. Think. And then say thanks.

That's it. 

Thanks.

Here is my gratitude practice from today:


With all my heart, thank you for this breath, this life, this chance to do - anything. Thank you for the ability to love and be loved. Thank you that I exist in you and you in me. Thank you for grace and forgiveness. Thank you for healing and the time to heal. Thank you for teaching me that pain doesn't last forever and that being hurt isn't from intention but mistake.

Thank you for allowing me the miracle of sight so that I can see everything you made for me. Thank you for allowing me the miracle of hearing so I can hear your words, love, and music in others and in nature. Thank you for the feeling of touch so that I can feel love transferred. Thank you for allowing me to taste the gifts you provide to keep me alive. Thank you for the gift of smell - to remember nature and humanity and to give access to memories.

Thank you for this pen in my hand and the paper under it.

Thank you for allowing me a mind, a heart, a body, and a soul. Thank you for allowing me a tiny space. I look at everything around me and I can't even understand it or believe it. I don't want it to end and I thank you for letting me visit.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

The Monsanto Meditation

When Jesus said to love your enemies he did not mean to lie down and let them use evil against you or the world. He meant that LOVE is a weapon against your enemies. Actually, it is so powerful, that it destroys all tyranny and oppression - instantly.

This is why I decided to make a guided meditation video using the power of love against one of our greatest enemies, Monsanto.

This meditation video is designed to show you how to use thoughts of love to heal the world.
I hope you enjoy it.
I hope that it empowers you to practice love in your everyday life.

I hope it heals us all.

Thank you.

Love,
Danan

As I Become More Textured

I look more beautiful now than when I was 20 because I've grown into a face that truly is my own. No, it's not the kind of beauty that you'll ever see in a magazine. Or on TV, or in movies. It's too gritty and gravelly and tragic and dusty. Somewhere in there is all my history and heartache.  It's not the face of a hottie Cougar, either.  It is the face of a girl in her 40s who looks like she's in her 40s.

There's a soft bump at the top of my left cheek that I only notice in pictures. I believe it's called a fat deposit.  It casts a weird shadow on my face, making it look a little darker than skin around it - especially when I smile.

There are times when I think of "fixing" that bump. But then I would have to think about fixing all the other bumps and various other new textures and lines of my face. (Once you start, where does it stop?) The wrinkles, the deeper indentions around my mouth, and the jowls that are starting to appear - they are more than just the result of being me. They are me. And yes, that includes the occasional visit from my nemesis - the tiny chin hair that literally POPS UP every couple of months.

This growing older thing could really get a girl down. BUT it is also a really important leg of my journey here. Beauty may be only skin deep - but there's a real magnificence that emits from the skin - the leathery, wrinkled, and scarred skin that is revealed when the mask of youth finally falls off and we see (and get to show the rest of the world) how we really shine.

When I was younger, I swore that I would get as much plastic surgery as I could afford and was necessary. I was afraid of not being pretty. (Or really - not being thought of as YOUNG and pretty by other people.)  Now I see that none of that was "necessary" after all. In fact, with the textured skin came the understanding of what "pretty" actually is - and isn't. It turns out that "Pretty" has nothing to do with being young. Go figure.


Sure, sometimes when I take pictures, there is a part of me that expects to see that 20 year old girl. And yes, there is a sadness when I see she's not there anymore and she is never coming back. But the girl that remains is doing a few things with grace that she refused to accept just a few years earlier.

Real beauty is on the inside AND the outside. It's about honoring others, and ourselves. It's about truth and light and LOVE. It's about telling your story to others and letting them see the true beauty in it. Don't JUDGE a book by its cover, CELEBRATE it.

For young girls - enjoy your youth, but don't try to hang on to it for too long. It's just the first part of your journey. Save it only as long as it serves you, and when it can no longer express your splendidness, let it make room for your character to come through. You are going to love that girl. Let her book be celebrated. Let her shine.

Van Gogh once told his brother in a letter, "There is no such thing as an old woman!" I know he's right. I'm still a girl in every way inside. I still dance around with my hair brush as a microphone.
I still FEEL like a girl. Hell, I still feel like Buffy!


This is me. And when I'm 80, I'll still be a girl - a girl with a chin hair and a bunch of wrinkles and a great story to tell the world.

A Letter to Monsanto Employees

There's a lot of bad stuff being said about Monsanto these days. You've probably heard those kinds of things quite a bit since so much of this evidence is available on the Internet. Despite a total media blackout of what Monsanto has been up to, it’s pretty obvious that the company is evil.  But just because you work for Monsanto doesn't mean that you are evil too.  

I’ve been thinking about what I would do if I worked for a company like Monsanto. First, I would be thankful for a good job so that I could take care of myself and my family. And I would be torn if I thought that corporation was hurting people. Could I separate my individual job from the harm that the corporation was causing? I don’t know. Maybe. I would definitely believe that my first responsibility was to take care of my family no matter what.

I’m not writing this to tell people they should quit their jobs out of the blue, unless they could find another (better) job first. It’s not my place to tell people what to do with their lives anyway. I am hoping, however, that you do find a better job for yourself, your family, and the entire world. Somehow. Someday.

My name is Danan Whiddon. I'm a real person and I believe that you are worthy of love and respect. I believe that your life means even more than the immense power wielded by this one corporation. And I believe that what you do in the next few years could save the world.

Please consider giving your energy and your time to something - anything - that serves you, your family, your fellow man, and your planet – when you are able.

Corporations don’t care about people, animals, or our Earth.

They don’t care about me – and they certainly don’t care about you.

Corporations aren't people because they don't have souls.

You have a soul.

Love,

Danan

Anything That Isn't Love is Fear

If you’re like these people:

Then you’re really just the modern version of these people:

But if you live by love,

then you’ll never have to regret what you believe.

You see, these guys were never wrong:

And these guys were never right:

The difference is LOVE for all living creatures.

The absence of LOVE is fear. 

It's just that simple.