Julia Butterfly Hill

It is hard to imagine loving someone whose convictions are so strong that they are willing to live and die according to their beliefs. There arent too many Joan of Arcs walking around these days, so you can forget that convictions so strong do exist until you realize that Julia Butterfly Hill lived in a tree called Luna for 738 days. She first climbed Luna, a thousand year old Redwood tree near Stafford, California in December 1997 and did not come down until 1999, when Pacific Lumber Co. agreed to preserve the tree and all others within a 200 foot buffer zone.Julia describes what it is like to live on a small platform 180 feet above the ground in her book, The Legacy of Luna, and not to wreck the book for you, but its absolutely terrifying. The lumber company tried to starve her out of the tree and she nearly died in the violent windstorms which are very different when you are not planted safely on the ground. Throughout it all, she fielded a media wildfire making her the poster child of the environmental movement for years to come. Not only is she a beautiful woman whose strong convictions make her unique, she has a beautiful heart whose perseverance and dedication knows no bounds. We could all take a lesson in finding our passion and purpose in life from Julia Butterfly Hill.