Blog: Musings on the Earth, Mindful Living, and our Connections
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…
Martin Luther King, Jr: Compassion in Action
This past Sunday I had the privilege of being one of six faith leaders to speak at an interfaith service in honor of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and his legacy. The service was held at First United Methodist Church in Ames, Iowa, and was beautifully organized by Rev. Deb Hill-Davis of the Unity Church of Ames, Iowa. The theme was “Compassion in Action.”
In addition to a moving clip of Dr. King imploring 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…
Bringing out the Light
This weekend two world religions will celebrate their holidays at exactly the same time. While Hanukkah is considered a minor festival in the Jewish calendar, and the confluence of its first night with Christmas Eve is unusual at best, the convergence of these two celebrations provides an opportunity included in the mission of both faiths that might be overlooked.
Each of these…