I recently realized I am not of the purely science or purely faith parties. What I seek is the party of wisdom. I vote for wisdom. I want my insight to go beyond contemporary agreements. Let us look through the lens of maturity. Can we go deeper than fierce loyalties toward perceived data within passing… Continue reading A fertile dormant time
The smell of whale burp
Yesterday evening, upon my return, a parade went through my neighborhood.Call: “Whose lives matter?” Response: “Black Lives Matter!” Call: “Get outta your homes, and into the street!” Repeat. I got outta my home and into the street to see what was going on. I didn’t know what the revolution would look like. I always thought… Continue reading The smell of whale burp
Animal vegetable church
I typed in the 3 required lines and 10 seconds later, I got an email: congratulations you are an ordained minister! And so it was. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, it has come to pass. So call me if you want to be wed, baptized, or laid to rest. It really is official in… Continue reading Animal vegetable church
Temple talks
What is a temple? A consecrated place. Consecrate is to make sacred or holy. Temporal means earth time, secular, not of heaven, a limited experience. Is it the place or the ritual that is holy? How do we discover sacredness? In more practical terms, a temple is also defined as a space for observation marked… Continue reading Temple talks
Quaker horoscope
I was talking to a man about the pain in his leg and through our conversation we realized we were both Virgos and born the same day. The next time we talked, I started to mention my rising sign, but instead blurted out “Quaker” and we both looked surprised. I said, oops, Quaker isn’t… Continue reading Quaker horoscope
Questions for a comet
We call you NEOWISE after the telescope that saw you. What’s your real name, in your native language? I see you frozen in falling every night this week. A magnificent tiny space splash of light. I see you blaze a new celestial path, falling with fire, light, slowly at high speed, off the screen of… Continue reading Questions for a comet
Common sense
Nominate yourself to do something. Create a positive position of action, no matter how small, for someone outside of you/yours. One day I nominated myself to be the birdbath tender at the Quaker meetinghouse. I mean, what a great title, for starters. I cannot wait to list this on my resume. To get more involved… Continue reading Common sense
Mildred Kanipe
Mildred Kanipe lived life on her own terms. She was born on the family ranch in Oakland, Oregon, September 30th, 1907. She lived in the same house until shortly before her death in 1983. The family house did not change much from her childhood. It never had an indoor bathroom. At some point electricity was… Continue reading Mildred Kanipe
Myrtlewood
At a low point during the Great Depression, banks closed. When that happened, people got creative with money. North Bend, Oregon, got really creative. In 1933, they made a tree into wooden coins to use for money. Specifically, they made $1, $2, $5, $10 wooden coins out of myrtlewood. Other towns were more traditional and… Continue reading Myrtlewood
Systemic change
We like to fix things in linear ways. We want concrete solutions to concrete problems. It’s not very realistic. Years ago I worked in home improvement stores and I sold hardware instead of software. We are good at learning ways to wash, bolt, tear, saw, paint, and glue. It’s very satisfying. It’s mainly on the… Continue reading Systemic change