For 738 days I lived in the canopy of an ancient redwood tree, called Luna, to help make the world aware of the plight of ancient forests.
I chose the name Butterfly while in my childhood years and, like my namesake, I have undergone a great metamorphosis. I grew up in a deeply religious family as the daughter of a traveling, evangelical minister that later settled in Arkansas. Need I say more?
In 1996 I suffered severe injuries in an auto accident. During close to a year of medical treatment and recovery, I had time to reassess my purpose in life. Two weeks after being released by my doctors, I headed west on a journey of self-discovery. I had no destination, but my first sight of the ancient redwoods overwhelmed me with awe.
When I entered the majestic cathedral of the redwood forest for the first time, my spirit knew it had found what it was searching for. I dropped to my knees and began to cry because I was so overwhelmed by the wisdom, energy and spirituality housed in this holiest of temples.
My two-year vigil informed the public that only 3% of the ancient redwood forests remain and that the Headwaters Forest Agreement, brokered by state and federal agencies and Pacific Lumber/Maxxam Corporation, will not adequately protect forests and species.
With the great help of steelworkers and environmentalists, we successfully negotiated to permanently protect the 1,000 year-old tree and a nearly three – acre buffer zone.
On December 18th, 1999, I returned to Terra Firma after over 2 years living aloft in the branches of my best friend, and best teacher, Luna.
After I returned to the ground, I toured the world speaking about my experience, and about the many lessons I learned, to the media and audiences large and small. I spoke regularly on university campuses, addressed the United Nations, lobbied congress, and continued to stand on the front lines of environmental and social justice issues all over the world.
For the first seven years after I came down from Luna, I averaged 250 events a year, so I pretty much hit the ground running. People are always shocked that I’m an introvert, but I’m an extreme introvert. I remind people, like, how long do you think an extrovert would have lasted by themselves in a tree in the middle of nowhere? Only an extreme introvert could do what I did, but then the trees told me when I was up there, they said, “Julia, just like when you go to a new country, you need a translator, nature needs translators…We’ve been communicating since the beginning of time, and people have forgotten how to listen, and they’re going to listen to you, so we need you to do this.”
I found I had come down to a hurting world… constantly wanting and needing my help with everything they cared about. From their child’s book report, to trying to save local trees and community gardens, to ending animal cruelty for food, to creating the department of peace in response to endless wars. The issues and challenges were endless. And therefore, the needs, wants, and calls on my time, person, and resources were, also, never ending.
I gave generously for over 15 years because of my deep love for all that connects us. But the toll and price on me was too much. After a much-needed break to focus on my own health and wellbeing, I slowly re-entered public life. Although I still had some physical and health challenges, I have more time and energy now.
Honestly, in many ways, becoming a public person was much, much, much harder than all the other stuff I went through in the tree, from them trying to kill me, to nature almost killing me, and everything else—it was becoming public and learning how to communicate. I never even used to talk for years—I could go for hours and hours and hours without saying one word. But because of the attention and energy that came at me, I felt responsible to do something with it.
While I was in Luna, I learned that every issue we’re facing is the symptom, and the disease is the disease of disconnect. When we’re disconnected from the Earth and we’re disconnecting from each other, we make choices and don’t realize how it’s truly impacting all of us, and that means all the beings, everything, and the future generations. I wanted to try and help weave that together for people, that if…we’re working on the symptoms, if we don’t work also at the disease, we’ll never be able to get to the healing that our world and our planet needs.
When I got to the top of Luna for the first time, and I looked and I saw the Maxxam Pacific Lumber Company, no joke, the first words out of my mouth were, “Wow, what I could do with a good rocket launcher from here.” That was my thought, that if we could just take that [the lumber mill] out, the scenery would completely change. Of course, that’s not true, but that was my first reaction, and over time that anger was eating me away, and I also saw it eating away a lot of other activists.
That kind of anger is a candle burning at both ends, and it consumes us and really doesn’t affect or change anything or anyone else but ourselves. So, I started telling people—it’s still true for me today—that if you’re not angry at the world, you’re not awake. But do we choose to do what we do out of our anger, or do we choose to do what we do out of our love?
Anger is actually the defense mechanism for us feeling pain about something, someone, or somewhere that we care about that is being hurt, violated, destroyed, or threatened. So, when we feel that anger, if we can go beneath it to our heart and put our heart or love into action, then no matter what the outcome, we will be able to sustain because we don’t really know the outcomes.
We protected Luna and the grove around it, and then some angry people, because Luna was a symbol, went and attacked Luna. Even after I came down, I had to have a lot of security for a long time because of how many threats of attacks and attempted attacks that were on me. So ever since I’ve come down, I’ve been able to be a part of a lot of wins, but I’ve also given a whole lot to some things that we’ve lost, and if it wasn’t my heart generating my actions unattached to outcome, I would be depleted and exhausted and not willing to participate any more.
It was a really special time. Clearly, the universe and Luna called me at just the right time. If there hadn’t been all that work done up to the point where I came along, who’s to say what would have happened? If there hadn’t been all the work done by all the different groups while I was in the tree, who’s to say what would happen?…We don’t even have a way of calculating—this line goes with that, that line goes to that one—it’s a ripple that spread around the world and continues to.
The story continues—it’s taught in classrooms—it just has a life that is so much bigger than me, and in part it’s because of the “we” … We can’t put in a chart or graph how important our work was and is, but it is clear that it was all important. [It’s like] when you have a really healthy soil, everything that grows out of it is going to be healthy, and a bird can fly by and drop the seed and it will grow…
All of us together built this soil that all this stuff continues to grow from. Even when Luna got cut, incredibly diverse people from all walks of life came together to save Luna because Luna had become the symbol of what it means to be connected to one another, even when it’s challenging. To me, that is a beautiful legacy of both. If the disease is the disease of disconnect, then the healing is all the ways that we can, and do, connect.
While life hasn't been easy for me, I have literally been hit with 3 car accidents, Lyme's Disease and a lot of health issues since I came down to earth from Luna, I still am very drawn to helping the world in any way I can.
The horrendous fires in Los Angeles broke my heart and have led to my video above asking for kindness and help for the survivors, their pets and all the forest animals who may still need assistance. There are so many smaller items that these people who walked away with so little that as a nation we can help provide.
We all know we live in a world full of problems. But one of the biggest problems is that not enough of us also know we live in a world full of solutions. I so appreciate people who are creating, living, and focusing on solutions.
"WE ARE THE ANCESTORS OF THE FUTURE. WHAT DO YOU WANT YOUR LEGACY TO BE?"