I am really excited as a US citizen that we are finally acquiring a new administration.

Do I think our problems as a country or as a society or as a . . . ahem . . . global village will be instantaneously eradicated? No.

My outlook on politics is generally fairly dismal. I really do believe that Obama will try as best he can to ‘fix things,’ but his hands are really kind of tied in many ways – first of all, the prior administration did everything possible to make ‘change’ really difficult. Secondly, the bigger problem is that Americans as a whole, I believe, are not truly ready to embrace the kind of change that needs to happen to make any difference anyway. Most of us are just still too comfortable and quite frankly, still very much asleep as far as some gigantic problems are concerned – problems that could very well inhibit our very existence.

Until we wake up and demand true change, status quo will continue it’s relentless march onward, simply re-naming itself on many levels as ‘change.’ We must not forget the power that we have as a people. We showed that power for the first time during the election. In droves, in communities, together as a force, we asked for something different – and we got it with a resounding ‘Yes, we can!’ But it’s imperative that we keep demanding – together – in a determined manner for exactly what we want. Otherwise we will keep allowing those politicians to silently stuff their pockets in the name of change while the planetary conditions continue to deteriorate.

As I said before, in the past, it’s been quite easy for me to fall into the media-made machine of fear and spiral down into realms of hopelessness when I think of things like Monsanto, factory farming, society’s mass acceptance of debt, war and the destruction of our living planet earth, which is the very organism that sustains us. So, I’m not gonna go there and begin harping on all of those depressing things today.

Today, I’m just another human being on this great big planet, walking down a muddy dirt road. I’m surrounded  by mamacitas on the street, selling plates of rice and vegetables for US 0.75 cents to passerby. There’s a guy on a bicycle with a home-made platform attached to the front. The wooden platform is overflowing with grapes and electrical equipment. He’s holding a microphone to his mouth. The loudspeaker blares his words, “Uvas! ‘Migas, uvas! Uvas!” Grapes, friends, grapes!

It may seem as though I’m ignoring this great day in history, but it’s the opposite. I’m acutely aware of the transition that’s happening today in my home country. I’m staying far, far away from media and television and internet new sites today. I’m instead focusing on this beautiful moment unfolding in front of me, because really, that’s all I’ve got. And whether you are awake or still dreaming the defunct American dream, that’s all you’ve really got too.

Be aware. Be not one of the cogs in the purposefully generated machine of fear. Wake up. Start really noticing these moments that are all around. Listen to your little voice that whispers inside. That loud one on the outside is doing nothing but propagating fear – exactly what is not needed.

And slowly, slowly, one by one as we wake from the collective nightmare, we can realize our power. Then and only then can true and lasting change transform this crazy world into a better place. Join me in the NEW dream where corporations don’t own the rights to life itself, where the world monetary system will not burden our children’s children, a place where genocide is dead and a time when our planet, our mother who sustains us, is healthy again.

Yes, we truly can – dream a new collective dream, that is.

I’m in gypsy mode until October, this I know for sure. I am VERY happy about this. I’ve had offers to hang out on two different farms in two completely different climes. A friend has already cleared out a spare room in her Chicago brownstone and calls me weekly, insisting I move in. One of my dearest friends just finished his house in the Sacred Valley of Peru and said to me last fall, “Anna, you know one of the extra bedrooms was built just for you.” Another friend has volunteered his place as a Northern California launchpad, should I want to follow the hankering to acquire a little cabin in the Redwood Forest. It’s nice to have options. And great friends and family.

My stuff is still spread across three states – bungalow in Venice, art studio in Mar Vista, a storage unit in ABQ with all my personal effects and art projects that I want to work on for this year. And my car is parked at a lot near the ABQ airport – where it will stay most likely til the beginning of August.

I’m most likely heading to Nashville in a couple of weeks. Going to go watch some lightning bugs do their dance out in the middle of nowhere. That sounds just about perfect. I’m still traveling with my cat, and thankfully, he’s less reluctant now than when we first began our adventure together in February. I’m keeping it simple for the few weeks after I finally jet out of South Carolina (and, really who knows when that will be) – I’m going to try to make it all around Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois and possibly Missouri without having to rent a car.

I’m also kicking around the radical idea of skipping that thing in the desert this year. Shocking! I really love BRC and it saddens me to think that I may not be sniffing playa dust this Labor Day. The theme is “The American Dream.” And serendipitously, my American Dream is within grasp and could be very well catapulted forward if I can just stay put this summer (within reason, of course) and find a spot without distractions and get to the doing.

‘Cause these books are already written, if you know what I’m saying. I just have to sit down and write them.