Blog: Musings on the Earth, Mindful Living, and our Connections
Bringing Forth Kindness: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
I returned from a 10-day seminar in the wee hours of Monday morning. When I woke later that morning to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I saw volunteer opportunities listed on my phone – how to put King’s vision to work and make this world a place of greater love and kindness. Then on Tuesday morning, I was inspired...
#MyGivingStory—The Power of Compassion
The following is a story I submitted for this year’s #MyGivingStory, in recognition of some of the roots (no pun intended!) of In the Gardens. Parts of this story have been shared before, but here it is in its most updated form. Vote! #MyGivingStory is a storytelling contest created by the #GivingTuesday organization to foster...
Celebrating Women: International Women’s Day
Once a year we get to thank our moms not only for everything they do, but essentially, for our very lives. Without them, well… clearly we wouldn’t be here. Hopefully we acknowledge our moms often in addition to the second Sunday in May. Another such day recognizing women occurs this Wednesday: International Women’s Day. While it is not well known in the United States, this day is celebrated as a major …
Partnering For Good: Huddle
Since the Women’s March, I have felt compelled to continue to act for the betterment of our society and country. I am particularly concerned about inclusivity as it refers to issues of economics, race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation. I am concerned about climate change and the world that our children inherit. And of course, I am concerned about hunger and need. So I decided to participate in…
We know the heart of a stranger.
My family is one of immigrants. Three of my four grandparents were not born in this country. My maternal grandfather, being the exception, was born in the Lower East Side of New York, his family from Poland by way of Germany. My maternal grandmother was from Russia or Poland—“Minsk, Pinsk—they kept changing the boundaries,” she would say when asked where she was from, “sometimes we were in Russia, sometimes we were in Poland.” My paternal grandfather hailed from Russia, while his wife, my maternal grandmother, was born in England as her mother, a photographer, fled the…
Women’s March in Chicago 2017
I didn’t march in opposition. To anyone or anything. I didn’t march in rebellion. I didn’t march against this or that. I marched for.
I marched for unity. For a country that is “indivisible” as our Constitution says, a country “by the people and for the people.” I marched for those who have a voice, as well as those who don’t. I marched for equal pay for equal work. I marched for equal work opportunities for all, and equal education opportunities for all. I marched for our planet…
Growing Food Grows Us
Last week I had a wonderful and unexpected visit. An intern who worked with me in the summer of 2015 was in town visiting his family and took the time to get together with me. Lucas was a high school senior when we met at Chicago’s Good Food Festival – a celebration of gardeners, farmers, food justice groups and businesses concerned with providing healthy food for all. He and I were in a presentation together on urban farming, and we wound up in the same breakout group. Lucas was seeking summer work in an urban farm and I was seeking an intern. A match was…