by Joseph Roberts

Many Marches have led up to this edition of Common Ground. Here we are in 2007, continuing to realize who we are, and determining the wisest and most responsible course of action towards a better world.
In this edition, we acknowledge that many things we take for granted are now up for grabs. For instance, why is it that much of the world’s population does not have access to clean, free water? We must declare water as a human right like other principles already enshrined in the UN Declaration of Human Rights. The UN designated 2005 to 2015 as the International Water Decade: Water for Life and after two years into this global commitment, unfortunately Canada still does not support water as a basic human right.
This may be because, as with the Kyoto Accord, our current government sides with Big Oil vs. the life-sustaining element of clean air. With the potential to reap enormous profits, private corporations have a vested interest in having control rather than people owning their own public water. The theft of the commons’ earth, air, fire and water must be understood and prevented in each country and by our international civil society. Some profits are simply not worth the suffering they cause.
But we really cannot do much about these big-picture issues until we see how they are connected, and to believe ourselves to be precious, powerful human beings who can make a difference. That is precisely why Common Ground magazine has been publishing this last quarter-century: To know who we are. To become free. To celebrate our lives. To discover our purpose and fulfill our duty or dharma to nourish a healthier world.
Looking back over the previous two and a half decades, Common Ground has planted many seeds. Over a million pages of March editions alone were printed and there are stories to tell. Here are but a few:
The cover of issue No. 2 in spring of 1983 was photographed by Greg McIntyre and displays SPEC’s (Society Promoting Environmental Conservation) first garden with David Garrick, pitch fork in hand, wearing the new Green Party (founded in BC the month prior) button. Common Ground’s Resource Directory for British Columbia was launched with the principle of allowing readers access to information. We realized that by being better informed, people could make better choices. This ethic is needed today more than ever. Remember that this was before the computer age when networking was a process of making connections with other people. And people were eager and willing to play!
The spring 1984 cover depicts 10 children – most of them from the native village of Ahousat on Meares Island near Tofino – holding hands at the base of a towering, ancient tree. This giant Western red cedar, photographed by Richard Krieger, was 13 feet in diameter at breast height. Thus began the Friends of Clayoquot Sound’s long fight to save this virgin forest from logging, and to establish it as a protected park. Meares was one of the last remaining old growth forests on the West Coast, truly a natural heritage for generations. Common Ground strongly supported this initiative, along with numerous other environmental campaigns over the decades.
In spring of 1985, we featured a special issue on business, with a cover photo by Julie Reynolds of the old Marine Building reflected off a glassy sky scrapper. Here is a sample of the editorial from that issue: 1) Seva hosted a Spirit of Service conference to examine and reaffirm the individual act of giving. Presenters included Father Daniel Berrigan, Stewart Brand, Stephen and Ina May Gaskin, Pir Vilayat Khan, Herbert O’Driscoll, Ram Dass, Maurice String and John and Nancy Todd. 2) The Paul Winters Consort at the Christ Church Cathedral. 3) Peter Dimitrov writing on property rights, in which he explained how the Crown decides who owns BC’s land. 4) Sheldon Bilsker’s Holistic Practitioners Must Organize urged people to put aside their differences and begin to truly practise what they preach. 5) Sheila Weaver provided ethical investing tips and explained how to use money for social change. 6) Hendrik Dorst (see page 24 for a celebration of Henry’s life) wrote about the over-regulation of endangered herbs in his article Herbs Called Drugs: Taken Off Shelves. 7) Kathleen Conroy described how VanCity was beginning to promote fitness with its staff in her article Run for Your Health and Money. 8) And Anthony Hamilton penned Create Success Through Intuition.
In that same issue, Carole Clement advertised her Sex and Intimacy Workshop, which covered loving relationships, acceptance and self-esteem, tantra and power, safety and intimacy, healing touch, the fear of flirting, and what men and women really want – teachings as important today as they were then.
Dharma Juice in Bellingham got flowing. After 50 years, Famous Foods moved to its “new” location at 1595 Kingsway, Nature’s Path launched Manna Bread, and Maaike with Boy held health court at Poco Natural Food in Port Coquitlam. Common Ground was the original and de facto record of the marketplace for all things healthy, ecological, therapeutic, organic, fit and spiritual. The above editorial highlights only the first three annual spring quarterly editions of Common Ground. All the March covers are featured in miniature on these pages. For more information, you can visit (www.commonground.ca) and read articles from the five most recent years. Earlier issues can be purchased from our office.
Thousands of advertisers, writers and millions of readers have all contributed to the growth of Common Ground. Collective goodwill, high intention, celebration and dedication have all played a part in your holding this magazine in your hands today. May the information you find on our pages serve you well.
We welcome you to the ever-growing family of Common Ground readers. May we all be inspired, may we all be fed and may we all be loved.
Thank you for seeking and finding common ground.

Meanings of March

March comes from the Latin Martius “of Mars,” the Roman god of war, identified with the Greek god Ares. March was the original beginning of the year, which for the Romans, was the time for the resumption of war. Today, March still marks the beginning of the calendar year in Iran, timed with the spring equinox around March 21. In Old French the name March \m(a)-rch, mar-ch\ meant “borderland” or “frontier.” In Italy, “le marche” was a territory between two ancient kingdoms. In England, the Marches of western England border Wales. In Finnish the month is called maaliskuu, which originates from maallinen kuu meaning earthy month. This is because in maaliskuu earth started to show from under the snow. Historical names for March include the Saxon term Lenctmonat, named for the equinox and eventual lengthening of days and the eventual namesake of Lent . The Saxons also called March Rhed-monat for their goddess Rhedam; ancient Britons called it hyld-monath meaning loud or stormy.

Eventful March

Feb. 3 to Mar. 9 - Mardi Gras • Feb. 4 to Mar. 10 - Ash Wednesday • 1 - Saint David's Day, patron saint of Wales • 3 - Full moon and total lunar eclipse 2007 • 8 - International Women's Day • 17 - Saint Patrick's Day, patron saint of Ireland • 18 - New Moon and Mothering Sunday 2007 • 19 - Saint Joseph's Day, patron saint of workers • 20 - Vernal or spring equinox in the northern hemisphere and autumnal equinox in the southern hemisphere (occurs on dates varying from March 19 to 21) • 20 - Norouz: New Year's Day in Iran and several other countries (on the vernal equinox), also a holiday in Turkey, Japan, and Central Asian countries • 20 to Apr. 23 - Good Friday (a Friday between these dates) • 22 to Apr. 25 - Easter (a Sunday between these dates). • 22 - World Water Day • 23 - Pakistan Day • All month - Women's History Month (United States) • April 1 - Daylight savings begins 2007