A certain vocal segment of us seem to believe that we are independent of everyone else. We have a right to make our own choices about everything. Our individual rights are more important than the rights of others around us. We won’t be forced to wear masks, we won’t pay for anyone else’s healthcare, or … Continue reading The Fantasy of Independence
The pandemic has changed us, and whether we know it or not, there is no going back to the way things were. Our divisions have been laid bare. Perhaps we need to realize our interdependence rather than insist on a fantasy of independence that ignores all the things we depend on … Continue reading Peace Begins With Me
There was a bit in the latest Cosmos where Neil Degrasse Tyson compared our planet to a cauldron. I think of cities the same way. Some like to speak disparagingly of “city people” and our myriad faults, but I see it differently. Cities are perfectly natural expressions of humanity. They are our beehives, our anthills. … Continue reading Cities Are Cauldrons
These people with guns storming statehouses are just trying to do the right thing. They’re failing miserably, but that’s where they’re coming from. A steady diet of hate mixed with a coldly calculated approach designed to find and weaponize common ground has created a deeply divided populace. It’s hard to see the little man behind … Continue reading Common Ground
We stand on the edge of the abyss. Humanity is the scourge of the planet, some say. The Earth will be better off without us say others. We are causing our own extinction. I think we’re the child, throwing toys out of the cradle, not caring what breaks as we rage at our own actions. … Continue reading Are We Part of the Problem, or Part of the Solution?
When does one wave end and another begin? I have always felt let down after Pantheacon. That first day back at my fairly colorless job, no one to share the insights, highs, and shenanigans of the weekend, my friends scattered to the four winds yet again, is always hard. This year I took the rest … Continue reading Nine Waves
Yew. Deep peace of the Grove. Silence in the back of my head. Like the Druid’s tonsure, forbidden at Whitby. When the Wild Celtic Church was tamed, Rome had its way at last. Or did it? The Yews still stand in churchyards. Ancient, filled with silence. The deep peace of the grave is not … Continue reading Yew
I believe in offering, not suffering. I believe in paying it forward, not payback. Most of the debts we all owe to those who gave us life, including the Earth itself, cannot be repaid. Our mothers and fathers likewise could not repay their parents, their teachers, their elders—they could only continue the line by giving … Continue reading I Believe in Offering, Not Suffering
Peace begins with me. I live in one of “those” neighborhoods where the cops don’t come when called. I live in a community of all colors, some serene, some desperate, some dangerous. Love and hate coexist on these streets. Peace begins with me. I walk without fear, but with great awareness. I am small, older, … Continue reading Peace Begins With Me
We live in wonderful, terrible, pivotal times. It’s scary, yes, but I think fear and the anger that often comes from it will be the thing that will destroy us–if we let it. I think awareness is the opposite of fear, and I think it can only come to us from a place of peace. I … Continue reading It Begins With Me
