Brightwork Gatha
Pinching sandpaper, smoothing layers of life, I grow mindful of gifts from Sister Tree, Brother Cloud, Mother Earth. A family project, we join in the creation of beauty. Soft teak fills whorls in fingerprints.
Writing Sample–Part 8, the Story’s Conclusion
Here is the conclusion to Chapter One, Ocean of Insight: A Climate Justice Memoir. As a reminder, the story starts in my June 5th posting. Because this is a crowd-sourced book, I invite your comments! Enjoy, H This is our moment of consequence, the seconds before we save ourselves from…
Keep On
Keep on listening to the cry of the world. Press on in the medium of your life. You will be imperfect in your actions, but your compassion and strong desire to act on behalf of others will guide you toward skillful means. Touch seeds of courage when not understood by…
Mother Earth’s Prayer
Meaning no sacrilege, I offer this prayer to help us honor and awaken to the primacy of sacred creation. Mother Earth's Prayer Our Planet, beneath our feet, Hallowed be thy name. Nature’s Order abounds, Nature’s Laws govern all, On earth and in society’s relationships and systems. Give us this day…
Stopping. Looking.
Where are you on the voyage of earth healing? How have you moved away from a culture of violence, greed, consumption, and indifference toward individual, societal, and planetary well-being? How do you embody peace and healing today? In what way are you still a part of the problem? How can…
Words from Thich Nhat Hahn
Our own lives are the instrument with which we experiment with truth.
A Quote from Futurist Paul Gilding
To hold the paradox in our heads--that things are desperately dangerous and urgent but we must act positively and full of hope--is an enormous test for the mind and the soul to act together.The Great Disruption: How the Climate Crisis Will Change EVERYTHING (For the Better)
Earth Holders’ Heart Sutra–Part Five
This post concludes the discussion of my revisions to the classic Buddhist text, The Heart of the Prajanaparamita. You will find the revised text--The Earth Holders' Heart Sutra--below in Part Two. Battle-weary activists can let go of personal baggage and the scorecard of environmental wins and losses because scorecards are…
Earth Holders’ Heart Sutra–Part Two
In my last post I discussed how hard it is to sustain a happy and hopeful life as an environmental advocate when things are looking so grim. But we are more than social and political animals. In the midst of the global ecological disasters it is possible--even necessary--to feed and…
Earth Holders’ Heart Sutra–Part One
Years ago, I founded a not-for-profit with an aim to buy contaminated land and create parks and gardens in “underserved” neighborhoods (read: low-income, minority places with long histories of dis-investment). Cleaning up industrial waste, creating places for children and families to gather, play, and grow organic food, making space for…