Blog: Musings on the Earth, Mindful Living, and our Connections

A Special Volunteer!

A Special Volunteer!

Last Saturday I had the honor of seeing one of my former students become a bar mitzvah. It was especially meaningful because of the close relationships I have with so many members of his family, particularly with his grandmother Judy (Gunga, as she is known), who is one of In the Gardens’ main volunteers. And yet...

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Unexpected Interweavings

Unexpected Interweavings

Life is filled with unexpected interweavings, cycles and circles. I experienced some of these this past week on my JMMTT – Jewish Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training – at Isabella Freedman retreat center and farm. Nestled in the woods of Falls Village, CT, about 90 minutes from the nearest airport, the center boasts trails and a pond, several greenhouses, a large network of yards and structures for goats and chickens, and extensive fields for produce and fruit orchards.

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Spring and the Transformative Possibility of Horseradish

Spring and the Transformative Possibility of Horseradish

Spring brings many thoughts and feelings: sunshine, the yellow pop of daffodils, a day here and there that is warm enough to play outside. For me it evokes all of these, as well as the recognition that it is time to plant the garden.

This year we got our cold-loving greens in the…

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Celebrating Women: International Women’s Day

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 …

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Partnering For Good: Huddle

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…

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We know the heart of a stranger.

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…

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Women’s March in Chicago 2017

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…

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Growing Food Grows Us

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…

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