In 1998, the person who was supposed to pass on the money raised for Tibet
to the local Tibetan support organisation, failed to do so -- so the next
year this organisation would not support the Earthdance event. Anyway, we
managed to sort this out and the money has now been paid. In the last two
years that I have been involved with organising Earthdance events in
Johannesburg, I too have personally lost money on them -- and I know how
very hard it is to loose your own money like this.

BUT -- I don't think these kind of problems should stop us from seeing the
bigger picture. At the end of the day, Earthdance is not about money or
about Tibet -- or about the people at Earthdance HQ. It is about linking
people in the dance scene on a worldwide basis behind the ideas of peace and
harmony. It is about what each of us, in our many countries and cultures,
can do to promote peace and understanding on our planet.

Sure there are many problems -- you are not alone in this. Things like money
and resistance from people who don't understand the scene and its ideas will
ALWAYS be problem areas. There is such a huge diversity of people (and
problems!) on our planet -- but in Earthdance and in our dance culture, we
finally have something that brings us together on a global basis. Isn't this
worth working and fighting for?

We will not change the world with this event, nor even make much of a
difference to Tibet or to the other causes we help along the way. But in a
world where there is so much hatred, violence and evil, we can help to
strike a balance by creating a global event, that is beautiful and peaceful
and that gives us some hope for the future.

I spent two weeks in India in 1999, with Earthdance promoters from around
the world, including Asheera and Chris Dekker. It was a great experience to
meet them -- I think we all share much the same values and no-one is out to
just use a cause for personal gain. Nevertheless, there will inevitably be
dissappointments and hardships and fuck-ups in co-ordinating this huge task.
But through such imperfections and mistakes we can still learn and grow and
improve our methods and organisation.

So, my dear brothers and sisters -- if you choose to be involved in any way
with this planetary task, I urge you to have patience, and courage and
forgiveness in your hearts. It is only by working together that we can make
Earthdance a success, and a model for similar worldwide events in the
future -- in the years and the centuries to come.

Think on this -- if we give up now, and forgo this task, what is the
alternative? Already the waves of commercialism, materialism and greed
threaten to overwhelm the fragile heart of our dance culture, as they do the
very planet we live on. So, either you sit back and watch it all go to hell,
or else you do something... which do you choose?