EDEN is BURNING*

Snail, Gerard Brender à Brandis. (Spiral reminder courtesy of Ev.) 1) I once read a story about a famous American novelist. He had worked interminably to produce, most certainly, the “Great American Novel”. The Novel was a thick paper manuscript in a manila envelope, strenuously typed on an Underwood mechanical typewriter. He travelled by a steam-engined train with the manuscript to see his publisher in New York City. On the trip, he was lulled to sleep, having finally rested from his finished work. The train arrived, and he awakened abruptly from his sleep, quickly deboarding the train, in the process leaving the manila envelope with his manuscript on the seat beside. It was never retrieved. The "Great American Novel" never saw the light of day. The author worked the rest of his life in the shadow of the loss of his greatest novel.   We finished our 6th and final conversation. It was a rare and wonderful time of sharing, wisdom, and listening. I captured nine pages of sketc...

Here are some reflections on reflections from Brett Johnson. The themes drawn from these reflections help us to consider topics we have previously discussed. They help point to some conclusions we might draw in the future. They are sourced from: 1) a sermon Brett delivered at Avon Church - July 9, 2023, 2) his notes on How Personality Moulds Political Ideals , and 3) the Big Five Personality Test. You can take the Big Five Personality Traits test here . It will demonstrate where you stand on the following personality traits: 1) Openness to experience, 2) Conscientiousness, 3) Extraversion, 4) Agreeableness, and 5) Neuroticism.  The Big Five scan is a tool that depicts one’s political space through correlation, and where one might land on a political spectrum. Brett develops these further in his notes on How Personality Moulds Political Ideals , linked here . “Correlations are moderate… meaning personality influences but doesn’t determine politics.”   Brett's notes also discuss...

  Reciprocity Bee. 2019-08-20 We live in a time when the nations that ‘ champion ’ the Judaeo-Christian scriptures are Israel and the USA. They tend to 'represent' Judaism and Christianity. This makes me suspect both nationalism and religion. To some, religion is a system that binds things together, a world view, a way of seeing, a catalogue or compendium of principles. This is different from the work of the mystical Spirit. Perhaps religion and nationalism are great contributors to the present polycrisis .   When we check in with one another, it is often similar to a weather report. There is variance within regions and dramatic ups and downs. It is hardly consistently peaceful.   The Serenity Prayer, common in AA circles, is attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr. We tend to think of it as a personal inner prayer. Niebuhr’s daughter suggests that it is a prayer regarding social change. It is a prayer for peace in the midst of social upheaval. “God, grant me the serenity to ...

  Osoyoos Sky Let’s take a moment for a backward glance before we proceed to our next conversation. It is too easy to think that we have resolved nothing from our discussions if we don’t unearth what we have discovered.  First, about ourselves, we are each unique and different. We are inclined to approach things in different ways. Some of us are inclined to take action — to find something to do. Some of us are interested in knowledge, in what we can know. Some of us are interested in being. Some of us see change as most important, inner personal change or societal change. In reality, we all tend towards these things in varying degrees and at different times. The themes that we have encountered are familiar, but possibly in new ways:  We need to avoid being trapped in black-and-white thinking. We need to see the nuances in everything, even when things are black and white.  There is a middle way that is often helpful. For example, providing for oneself needs to avoid e...

  vectezzy.com bird plumage Notice the bookends. Our conversation has been framed by Brent’s blog,  Surrender(ed) to the Joy of the Dance , on March 11 and Lois’ poem, Living Water , at the end. In between, we were seeking to understand the world and each other. When we checked in with each other, we found that an important word came up: “ carrying ”. We were able to share with each other what we are carrying — and who we are carrying with us. Family was an important theme, consistently, in what we spoke about. Our children, our aging parents, our grandparents before us, our grandchildren, and the strangers whom we welcome as family.   This was strongly echoed in the video segment we watched from An Optimist’s Guide to the Planet (Season 1, Ep. 3, 6:05-14:18) . The idea was that we plant seeds of hope. Ecologically and spiritually, we plant them for future generations, and those that survive disasters in life and return to thrive.  One of the lessons in the Optimis...

  Jean-François Millet - Gleaners Voices offering Sound Analysis, Hope Tod Maffin https://todmaffin.com/ This former CBC presenter is involved in numerous initiatives including: a checklist keeping tabs on Canadian labels at grocery stores; a project to attract US healthcare professionals to Canada; humourous posts regarding Canada/US relations Arlene Dickinson https://www.facebook.com/ dickinsonarlene/ Dickinson, a member of the Dragon's Den on CBC is an entrepreneur who has helped many companies (including local Balsac's!). She is an excellent source for information on Canada's efforts to negotiate the new economic reality between Canada and the US as she has been involved in high level consultations with the PM.  James Talarico https://jamestalarico.com/ A former educator who won a congressional battle for the Democrats in Texas (!), this young man is now running for the Senate and has won admiration for his firm but measured approach to opposing Trump and his articulati...

  The Ceiling of Westminster Abbey, Mission BC, June 2024 In recent years I have come to value the ancient Christian conception of God as three and God as one as a helpful focus for reflection. Much has been written to try to explain what the trinity is and how the trinity works. No description is adequate to apprehend the mystery in full, but the better ones give us glimpses of God’s life. The image of trinity as dance is one that I find fruitful. The Divine is a three member, life-giving dance. In this dance, each member continually gives itself away to the others and receives in itself the life of the others. It is this giving and receiving that forms the bond of oneness without losing the reality of threeness. Picture the model of an atom science has given us, with protons and neutrons in the nucleus and electrons zipping around them. That is how I picture God’s dance, except all three particles, not just the electrons, are moving in relation to one another. Their giving and re...