In the church of my childhood, giving was a weekly observance. It came right after communion. I still remember the polished offering plates that would circulate through the pews collecting dollars and checks on their voyage. The congregation was committed to feeding God and community.
These days I feed different deities. Holy [...]
Archive for April, 2008
My offering plate is a shell
Posted in Uncategorized on April 30, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Inspiration
Posted in About this Blog on April 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
This web journal is devoted to a purpose that is bigger than my own personal agenda. After giving a lot of thought to what I want to serve with my life, I have chosen to call that purpose Earth based Idealism. If you’re wondering what that is, I can tell you what it means to [...]
Tradition
Posted in About this Blog on April 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
What traditions are meaningful to you?
My introduction to the concept of tradition was of the classic theatrical variety. One evening during my boyhood, my dad took me to the elementary school gymnasium where the older kids were putting on a musical. I’ve never particularly liked plays, but i really wanted to see this one. It [...]
Tension
Posted in About this Blog on April 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
I suppose that if I am going to write about Earth based Idealism I should start by admitting to the tension that’s involved. Tension between tradition and experimentation, between what is and what could be, between my high minded ideals and how I actually act. For instance, I choose to record my thoughts on a [...]
Winter Soldier: March 16th and 17th
Posted in 5 Years Too Many on April 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
March 16 For 5 years my enthusiasm for Earth based Idealism has been dampened by my country’s ongoing occupation of Iraq. Perhaps this situation has disturbed you as well, and perhaps disturbance is too light of a term. I must admit that I feel something closer to rage when I consider that with all the [...]
Departure
Posted in 5 Years Too Many on April 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Departure
I made my train last night. I spent the first part of the ride reading The Revolution will not be Microwaved by Sandor Ellix Katz. His book contains stories of contemporary food activism, some philosophical/spiritual analysis plus recipes. It stimulated my appetite for both food and home. I live with a caterer and his family [...]
Train Day (with families?)
Posted in 5 Years Too Many on April 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
I would like to cultivate wisdom by seeing the people around me as my brothers, sisters, siblings. Through this lens the passengers on this train become part of my spiritual family. This may not be the most accurate way to see the world, but wisdom does not always correlate to accuracy. Still accuracy has its [...]
I protest use of the term protester
Posted in 5 Years Too Many on April 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Soon I’ll be sharing the juicy details of all these peace and justice protests that I and the news media have been covering. However, our use of that term represents 2 different things. When the press talks about protesters it usually signals their urge to sensationalize. When I talk about protesters it signals my willingness [...]
No War, No Warming, Resistance is Forming
Posted in 5 Years Too Many on April 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
From all that I know, the U.S. is still one of the best places to be a dissident. I marched past my country’s Congress Building this week. A man from Pakistan reminded me that in his country, any demonstrator wanting to get that close to the halls of power should be prepared for a police [...]
More on the Warming Front
Posted in 5 Years Too Many on April 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Unfortunately, it is not just the oil companies that are taking us down the road to climate crisis. Large agribusiness is another promoter of global warming. Companies like ADM, Bungee and Cargil are steadily burning the tropical rain forests to make way for palm and soy plantations.
Fortunately, efforts are under way to resist this destruction. [...]
