“I want to sink back into a certain innocence.” My friend Ruth is describing what leads her to visit a place of natural beauty and to walk among trees. For the first time in her life she has been doing the kinds of things that social activists do: gather information about an issue, make phone calls, organize meetings, distribute leaflets, hire a lawyer, talk to reporters, voice opposition, articulate a …
Let’s say you step into an elevator, push the button for the 10th floor, watch the doors slide shut, and cast a quick glance at the other passengers in the car. Lo and behold, you spot one of the Koch brothers! No, it’s the CEO of ExxonMobil! Or the CEO of TransCanada, the outfit behind the Keystone XL pipeline! Or maybe it’s President Obama himself! You swallow hard. This is …
Here is a story from this week’s trip to Arizona, where I attended a retreat led by James Finley, preached in Tucson, and hiked in the desert. What value does a mountain have? In 1949 the Portland Cement Company built the first cement plant in Arizona, 20 miles northwest of Tucson. They built the plant about four miles from Twin Peaks, a pair of small mountains that rose side by …
Take a moment to feel the earth beneath your feet. As you inhale your next breath, take a moment to give thanks for the air that is flowing through your lungs. Notice the living world around you. In awakening to the gift of God’s creation, you are not alone! Today (June 5) is World Environment Day, and people around the world are turning with grateful hearts to oceans, rivers, and …
I have never been to Nebraska and I don’t know anyone who lives there. The more than 7,000 entries in my address book include no one from Nebraska. Yet, Nebraska, dear Nebraska – you are in my prayers. Nebraska sits squarely in the path of the proposed 1,700-mile Keystone XL pipeline, and for months the state has been divided over the project. There is still no pipeline route through Nebraska, …
We are in the midst of Easter Week and Earth Week, a wonderful coincidence of celebrations. What better day than today, what better week than this, what better time than now, to reach out in wonder and gratitude to the living world around us! Jesus Christ’s resurrection is good news not only for human beings, but also for the whole creation – for ocean and mountain, beetle and bumblebee, granite …
“I arise today Through the strength of heaven: Light of sun, Radiance of moon, Splendor of fire, Speed of lightning, Swiftness of wind, Depth of sea, Stability of earth, Firmness of rock.” I cherish these words from the ancient prayer that we know as “St. Patrick’s Breastplate.” What would it be like to arise every morning experiencing that sort of kinship with the natural world? Waking up with a visceral …
Originally published at http://clearstorycollective.org Arctic air has been streaming south all week, holding us in its grip. My husband bursts through the back door, his eyes sparkling. He pulls off his hat, stamps snow off his boots, and rubs his hands, barely containing his glee. The sun has only just risen, but already he’s been wandering outside for nearly an hour, taking photos of fox and wild turkey tracks. It’s …
Originally published at http://clearstorycollective.org Let’s say that you take your kayak onto a pond one October morning, and you’re in no hurry to get somewhere else. You’re simply here, awake and still, welcoming each moment as it comes, floating wherever the breeze may take you. From your boat in the middle of the pond you watch the dark water, the birch trees leaning overhead, and the golden-green grasses on the …
Originally published at http://clearstorycollective.org I have been thinking about what it means to live wholeheartedly, to give my full attention to each moment without distraction or holding back. One of my customary ways of dodging the present moment is to get too busy. I remember one evening years ago when I was standing at the stove, making supper, a spatula in one hand and a cell phone in the other. …
Header image: "Suspended in Time," by Christine Labich
