Wishful Hoping is:
Not to be confused with
wishful thinking,
but grounded in compassion,
prayer, thoughtfulness, reaching out
with a clear sense of
common good.
Late Spring (haiku)
A brisk wind, blue sky.
Cottonwood seed fluffs make friends
with scattered, white clouds.
Commontary
Sometimes things become clear. These two
pieces did that in a lull in my busy life. Gosh, it
feels good to write again!
Friday, July 29, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Norway, We Mourn With You
Our hearts reach out to you in your sorrow. Such a high price for Norway to pay for one man's intolerance and hatred.
To say the event is even more horrific, because it occurred in your beautiful country rather than elsewhere, reflects the degree to which such violence has become far too common in our troubled world. Whether it be Pakistan or Afghanistan, New Zealand or Japan, Argentina or Canada, such acts are beyond human imagination.
My memories from traveling in your Norwegian countryside are of your hospitality, your ingenuity and respect for the environment, and your quiet strength. The world is a better place for your existence among us. Already, I see you drawing on your communal resources to grieve together and to go forward. May we all learn from you in this tragic time.
As for all of the rest of us, the very personal question is "how have we contributed to the climate of intolerance and violence?" American bloggers, who share the same vitriolic hatred of anyone who is different in anyway from themselves. fostered this man's perspective. But even more, how have the little acts of bias committed by each of us fed the polarization that is so prevalent in our culture today?
Perhaps this tragedy in the Norway that has so many connections here will cause us to search our own hearts. Perhaps we will reclaim some of our belief in the importance of the common good that has been forgotten in the current political and economic climate. And perhaps as we grieve with you, we will come to new understanding of what it means to belong to our global community.
To say the event is even more horrific, because it occurred in your beautiful country rather than elsewhere, reflects the degree to which such violence has become far too common in our troubled world. Whether it be Pakistan or Afghanistan, New Zealand or Japan, Argentina or Canada, such acts are beyond human imagination.
My memories from traveling in your Norwegian countryside are of your hospitality, your ingenuity and respect for the environment, and your quiet strength. The world is a better place for your existence among us. Already, I see you drawing on your communal resources to grieve together and to go forward. May we all learn from you in this tragic time.
As for all of the rest of us, the very personal question is "how have we contributed to the climate of intolerance and violence?" American bloggers, who share the same vitriolic hatred of anyone who is different in anyway from themselves. fostered this man's perspective. But even more, how have the little acts of bias committed by each of us fed the polarization that is so prevalent in our culture today?
Perhaps this tragedy in the Norway that has so many connections here will cause us to search our own hearts. Perhaps we will reclaim some of our belief in the importance of the common good that has been forgotten in the current political and economic climate. And perhaps as we grieve with you, we will come to new understanding of what it means to belong to our global community.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Something in the Drinking Water -The End of Sanity?
I just finished reading the morning news. What a downer! Has the world gone mad? I would stop paying attention to the news except then I would become part of the problem - people who care only about themselves and their immediate families.
Minnesota's government remains shut down, and eventually will cost the state enough to more than balance its budget. After all, we mustn't drive business away from the state by increasing taxes. Eight years of a governor who boasts about no new taxes should mean that Minnesota would have no unemployment and be begging for workers and companies to invest in business in the state. Now would you decide to start up a business venture in a state with such an unstable government? I understand businesses are fleeing California because of its governmental instability. Get in line, Minnesota . . .
The Federal government stand on the brink of a great abyss while many legislators maintain nothing much will happen if the government runs out of money to pay its obligations. Using the family budget analogy that has been suggested in Minnesota as a budgetary model, I know what happens if you don't pay your bills. Mortgage foreclosure, they take your car away, shut off your utilities, and you can't feed your children. Nothing will happen if August 3rd comes and goes . . .
Europe debates austerity measures and people riot in the streets. Men like Rupert Mudoch and Grover Newquist wield more power than governments with illicit gross violations of privacy and pledges to control legislators' voting to conform to a particular ideology. Amoral corporations pay millions to lobbyists to protect their business goals. Corrupt dictators oppress their people. Drought forces starving Africans to flee to refugee camps in adjoining countries as their children die.
Meanwhile, extreme weather continues. and drought has done in crops in this country's southeast, fire rages in the southwest, the midwest swelters under tropical weather and the saturated ground from too much rain threatens trees and causes trains to derail. Makes me wonder if we the people elected a crew of ostriches to government positions of responsibility.
Or perhaps it is something in the drinking water - causing a large portion of the population to lose their sanity. Where is the EPA when we need them? What happened to the idea of the common good?
Minnesota's government remains shut down, and eventually will cost the state enough to more than balance its budget. After all, we mustn't drive business away from the state by increasing taxes. Eight years of a governor who boasts about no new taxes should mean that Minnesota would have no unemployment and be begging for workers and companies to invest in business in the state. Now would you decide to start up a business venture in a state with such an unstable government? I understand businesses are fleeing California because of its governmental instability. Get in line, Minnesota . . .
The Federal government stand on the brink of a great abyss while many legislators maintain nothing much will happen if the government runs out of money to pay its obligations. Using the family budget analogy that has been suggested in Minnesota as a budgetary model, I know what happens if you don't pay your bills. Mortgage foreclosure, they take your car away, shut off your utilities, and you can't feed your children. Nothing will happen if August 3rd comes and goes . . .
Europe debates austerity measures and people riot in the streets. Men like Rupert Mudoch and Grover Newquist wield more power than governments with illicit gross violations of privacy and pledges to control legislators' voting to conform to a particular ideology. Amoral corporations pay millions to lobbyists to protect their business goals. Corrupt dictators oppress their people. Drought forces starving Africans to flee to refugee camps in adjoining countries as their children die.
Meanwhile, extreme weather continues. and drought has done in crops in this country's southeast, fire rages in the southwest, the midwest swelters under tropical weather and the saturated ground from too much rain threatens trees and causes trains to derail. Makes me wonder if we the people elected a crew of ostriches to government positions of responsibility.
Or perhaps it is something in the drinking water - causing a large portion of the population to lose their sanity. Where is the EPA when we need them? What happened to the idea of the common good?
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Advertising and Childhood Obesity
You can discover so many interesting things reading the morning news. According to the paper today (Star Tribune, July 9th 2011), advertisers are up in arms over government guidelines aimed at encouraging children to choose healthy foods. They call such guidelines a "reckless" maneuver in light of the fragile economy.And they estimate 74,000 jobs could be lost this year if these voluntary nuitrition guidelines are followed by the food industry
Yup, that's what the article said. Seventy-four thousand jobs. Of course, I expect they did not factor in how many doctors and other health care persons would see less patients - which would make job loss predictions even higher. Pardon my sarcasm.
Since when does the sale of snacks, soft drinks, and other nutritionally empty products take precedence over children's risks for diabetes, obesity, and other disease related to diet? It used to be the "fat kid" stood out - and was teased sometimes unmercifully. Now the number of children who weigh too much has become the new norm, with an alarming increase in diabetes .
I make my way through the rest of the morning news, budget ideology battles, the dead, and my favorite comics. Then there it was again - on the back page in an article exploring the "its my way or the highway" mentality that pervades today everything from politics to marriage relationships.
You wouldn't think increases in ideology-driven mindsets and children drinking soda pop and consuming munchies would have much in common. Not so. As one person in the article comments, a focus on self-interest naturally leads to greed. The greed of misplaced priorities place sales of foods (and I hesitate to call them foods) as more important than the health of our children.
Whoa!
Yup, that's what the article said. Seventy-four thousand jobs. Of course, I expect they did not factor in how many doctors and other health care persons would see less patients - which would make job loss predictions even higher. Pardon my sarcasm.
Since when does the sale of snacks, soft drinks, and other nutritionally empty products take precedence over children's risks for diabetes, obesity, and other disease related to diet? It used to be the "fat kid" stood out - and was teased sometimes unmercifully. Now the number of children who weigh too much has become the new norm, with an alarming increase in diabetes .
I make my way through the rest of the morning news, budget ideology battles, the dead, and my favorite comics. Then there it was again - on the back page in an article exploring the "its my way or the highway" mentality that pervades today everything from politics to marriage relationships.
You wouldn't think increases in ideology-driven mindsets and children drinking soda pop and consuming munchies would have much in common. Not so. As one person in the article comments, a focus on self-interest naturally leads to greed. The greed of misplaced priorities place sales of foods (and I hesitate to call them foods) as more important than the health of our children.
Whoa!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
The End is in Sight!
No, not the end of the world - although sometimes the news of the day suggests the distinct possibility we will destroy each other and the earth.
It is almost the end of the construction chaos in our home. Our choices were to stretch it out over the summer and fall - or to get it done as quickly as possible. Stretching it out would have enabled us to continue writing and engage in a semblance of normal life. But the downside was living in the mess a lot longer. The choice we made was to work seven days a week, fall into bed at night exhausted, and manage only to continue to connect with close friends. "Normal life" it has not been!
Rather, the suspension of the life we usually live has had its benefits. A time of reflection about what really matters for both of us. It is so easy to get "too busy." Then the calender and commitments run us, instead of us making conscious choices about how we live. And fasting from writing made me realize how much I love to write. I am eager to return to writing. This blog today is the first step.
There were some valuable learnings in the construction process. We both regained life-long construction skills, but realize our bodies do not have the stamina and strength they once had. Remodeling both bathroom and kitchen at the same time may have been more efficient. But I'm not sure I would ever recommend it under any circumstances! We have remodeled and built before, but never working side-by-side with a contractor, who sets the pace and arranges subcontractors such as plumbers and electricians.
It has been great fun living in the physicality of the concrete world - far different from our lives of writing, teaching, and photography. Planning construction design and having "1/32th of an inch conversations" requires intellectual input. But it uses other parts of the brain than the abstract intellectual world that is so important to both of us.
The hardest part was not the physical effort. It was the benign neglect of our beloved garden - necessary because we did not have the energy (or time) to both construct and garden. It literally hurt me inside to walk around and see things suffering because I was not giving them needed care. And it emphasized how important the connection with the natural world is to me. Fortunately, the crazy cool weather, the uncertain spring, and summer finally arriving here at the end of June helped.Perennials adjusted their usual rhythm to wait for warmer weather.
And yesterday I noticed something I'd never seen before. Field daisies bless us with their cheerful faces in early June and then we cut them back after they make seed for next year's plants. I had clipped back a group near the path leading into one garden. And they decided to bloom a second time this year, being equally confused about the weather as the local weathermen are. Daisies blooming in July? A sweet gift indeed.
How like all of our lives. We have our routines and patterns, so familiar and automatic that we don't even think of them. Then along comes something that disrupts our usual ways of being. In the end, may we be like the daisies - and bloom again in July.
It is almost the end of the construction chaos in our home. Our choices were to stretch it out over the summer and fall - or to get it done as quickly as possible. Stretching it out would have enabled us to continue writing and engage in a semblance of normal life. But the downside was living in the mess a lot longer. The choice we made was to work seven days a week, fall into bed at night exhausted, and manage only to continue to connect with close friends. "Normal life" it has not been!
Rather, the suspension of the life we usually live has had its benefits. A time of reflection about what really matters for both of us. It is so easy to get "too busy." Then the calender and commitments run us, instead of us making conscious choices about how we live. And fasting from writing made me realize how much I love to write. I am eager to return to writing. This blog today is the first step.
There were some valuable learnings in the construction process. We both regained life-long construction skills, but realize our bodies do not have the stamina and strength they once had. Remodeling both bathroom and kitchen at the same time may have been more efficient. But I'm not sure I would ever recommend it under any circumstances! We have remodeled and built before, but never working side-by-side with a contractor, who sets the pace and arranges subcontractors such as plumbers and electricians.
It has been great fun living in the physicality of the concrete world - far different from our lives of writing, teaching, and photography. Planning construction design and having "1/32th of an inch conversations" requires intellectual input. But it uses other parts of the brain than the abstract intellectual world that is so important to both of us.
The hardest part was not the physical effort. It was the benign neglect of our beloved garden - necessary because we did not have the energy (or time) to both construct and garden. It literally hurt me inside to walk around and see things suffering because I was not giving them needed care. And it emphasized how important the connection with the natural world is to me. Fortunately, the crazy cool weather, the uncertain spring, and summer finally arriving here at the end of June helped.Perennials adjusted their usual rhythm to wait for warmer weather.
And yesterday I noticed something I'd never seen before. Field daisies bless us with their cheerful faces in early June and then we cut them back after they make seed for next year's plants. I had clipped back a group near the path leading into one garden. And they decided to bloom a second time this year, being equally confused about the weather as the local weathermen are. Daisies blooming in July? A sweet gift indeed.
How like all of our lives. We have our routines and patterns, so familiar and automatic that we don't even think of them. Then along comes something that disrupts our usual ways of being. In the end, may we be like the daisies - and bloom again in July.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Always the First Times
A week ago, I was sitting at a restaurant table waiting for Clem to pick up the lunch we ordered. Having nothing else to do, I was engaged in one of my favorite sports - people-watching. People are ever fascinating to me and I am always learning something new.
A few tables away a young couple sat with their infant of about four or five months. The contented babe was in her car seat (or whatever one calls those all-purpose baby carriers these days), occupying the third seat at the table. What was interesting was the configuration of these three people. The two adults were talking to each other and it was obvious they enjoyed each other's company. Yet, they never once looked at each other, their eyes steadily fixed on the baby.You could have drawn a diagram of the triangle they formed.
And I immediately thought: New and First-time Parents! When the baby began to fuss just a little, Mom immediately picked her up. She awkwardly patted the baby on the back with palm of her hand, then passed her to Dad, who was even more aekard, and then back again to Mom. I thought, wait until this baby realizes how much power she has in this household - and she will learn to use it full-force! The tyranny wrought by a small baby.
First-time parents. Any of us who have been parents will recognize ourselves in this family, although this particular couple "had it in spades." Then lunch and my sweetheart arrived. I let go of my people-watching and turned my attention to our conversation.
Later, I reflected about how second and third children are treated. Just as loved, but without the same rapt attention. My reflection ranged further and I thought about all the first times in our lives. Only second and third children begin life as "seconds and thirds." Being a first child, I sometimes try to imagine what it would have like to have been a second or third.
None of us don't have the option of doing something the second time, without there being a first, whether we are painting a room, going somewhere by plane, hiking in the mountains, or catching our first fish. There has to a first time for everything we do - even second kids really aren't exempt.
I thought of all the firsts in my life. As awkward as I might have been, like the mother patting her new baby on the back, I am thankful for all those first times. In many ways they are the spice added to my life.
A few tables away a young couple sat with their infant of about four or five months. The contented babe was in her car seat (or whatever one calls those all-purpose baby carriers these days), occupying the third seat at the table. What was interesting was the configuration of these three people. The two adults were talking to each other and it was obvious they enjoyed each other's company. Yet, they never once looked at each other, their eyes steadily fixed on the baby.You could have drawn a diagram of the triangle they formed.
And I immediately thought: New and First-time Parents! When the baby began to fuss just a little, Mom immediately picked her up. She awkwardly patted the baby on the back with palm of her hand, then passed her to Dad, who was even more aekard, and then back again to Mom. I thought, wait until this baby realizes how much power she has in this household - and she will learn to use it full-force! The tyranny wrought by a small baby.
First-time parents. Any of us who have been parents will recognize ourselves in this family, although this particular couple "had it in spades." Then lunch and my sweetheart arrived. I let go of my people-watching and turned my attention to our conversation.
Later, I reflected about how second and third children are treated. Just as loved, but without the same rapt attention. My reflection ranged further and I thought about all the first times in our lives. Only second and third children begin life as "seconds and thirds." Being a first child, I sometimes try to imagine what it would have like to have been a second or third.
None of us don't have the option of doing something the second time, without there being a first, whether we are painting a room, going somewhere by plane, hiking in the mountains, or catching our first fish. There has to a first time for everything we do - even second kids really aren't exempt.
I thought of all the firsts in my life. As awkward as I might have been, like the mother patting her new baby on the back, I am thankful for all those first times. In many ways they are the spice added to my life.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Late Nesters
I am always amazed thinking of the very late nesting pattern
of the American Goldfinch. Here it is mid-June and robins,
grackles, and house wrens all have little fledglings flopping and
flying about. And -- the goldfinches haven't even begun to
prepare for making a nest and laying eggs. The books say that
since goldfinches serve regurgitated thistle seeds and other late-
maturing flower seeds to their young, they don't start anything
until late in the fall. They are among the last to nest.
Elizabeth and I make a point to plant flowers in our gardens that
mature late in the fall . . . cultivated thistles among them. AND,
should a wild thistle come up somewhere . . . we leave it alone.
Here is a little poem I wrote some time ago when we had a
hammock tied between our White Pine and Flowering Crab
Tree.
GOLDFINCH
Sun sets low
over
fall flower garden.
In hammock comfort,
without glasses,
my eyes nearly closed -
garden shapes blend with
Monet-like blurriness.
Yellow abounds. Cicadas call.
Aglow in gold,
a tall garden plant is
sunflower tipped.
Then -
one flies
away!
of the American Goldfinch. Here it is mid-June and robins,
grackles, and house wrens all have little fledglings flopping and
flying about. And -- the goldfinches haven't even begun to
prepare for making a nest and laying eggs. The books say that
since goldfinches serve regurgitated thistle seeds and other late-
maturing flower seeds to their young, they don't start anything
until late in the fall. They are among the last to nest.
Elizabeth and I make a point to plant flowers in our gardens that
mature late in the fall . . . cultivated thistles among them. AND,
should a wild thistle come up somewhere . . . we leave it alone.
Here is a little poem I wrote some time ago when we had a
hammock tied between our White Pine and Flowering Crab
Tree.
GOLDFINCH
Sun sets low
over
fall flower garden.
In hammock comfort,
without glasses,
my eyes nearly closed -
garden shapes blend with
Monet-like blurriness.
Yellow abounds. Cicadas call.
Aglow in gold,
a tall garden plant is
sunflower tipped.
Then -
one flies
away!
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