When I first started to write The Wisdom to Know the Difference, Hurricane Katrina was still fresh in my mind. Though the following outtake didn't make it into the book, this seems like a good week to remember some of the lessons from that sad chapter in US history: Blaming human caused misfortunes on God [...]
Wangari Maathai is another influential Kenyan. The 2004 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Maathai angered many of the same people as Richard Leakey and received death threats from the regime of Daniel arap Moy (dictator from 1978 to 2002). Writer Alexandra Fuller describes Maathai as “a human-rights activist and environmentalist who ingeniously used an environmental campaign [...]
Image shamelessly borrowed from the Environmental CenterAlthough it’s ridiculous that the Earth only gets a lot of mainstream media attention one day a year, Earth Day still seems like something I want to mark. I took a walk in the woods with two friends this morning, but that was about nourishing myself more than about [...]
Yesterday, after running into a woman whose husband is in remission from brain cancer, I realized how many reminders I’ve been getting lately of life’s fragility. A member of our meeting has entered hospice after many months of treatment for brain cancer. Another member’s ALS has progressed to the point where, for the first time [...]
I haven’t blogged in over a week, and the kids’ school break starts in four hours and seven minutes (less by the time I post). I still have some Christmas shopping to do without my little helpers, I have to drop the family calendar I just finished at Staples, so it can be copied and [...]
I don’t know who these people are and frankly don’t care, but here’s my question: why are they upstaging the escalation of the war in Afghanistan and the fact that we’re destroying the planet? Yesterday I happen to have lunch somewhere with CNN playing the White House press conference that was supposed to be about [...]
A few nights ago, I joined a group of Friends interested in learning how teleseminars and webinars could aid their work. First, Sarah O’Doherty showed us the kind of online classes she offers in her healing practice. Then, Ginny Christensen shared how Friends Council on Education is bringing those involved with Quaker schools together from all over the country [...]
I still have my Obama sign on the lawn, but not for long. On January 20 I become the loyal opposition. Although I worked for his election and celebrated his victory, I’ve always known that Obama does not share all of my beliefs or priorities. Even more significant, he’s a politician, and successful politicians know [...]
Last week’s EcoMoms post got a lot of response (including from a few people who apparently had trouble posting comments), so I’m going to stick with the topic for another week. After all, dissecting the New York Times article allowed me to avoid examining my own practices, which had been my original intention. My basic [...]
Last night I went to see An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore’s new documentary about the perils of global warning. I drove, of course, since that was more convenient than taking two buses. Then I saw the film in a theatre that, like most, was over air conditioned. Then I drove home depressed. Still, I recommend [...]