Getting Educated

I attended and really enjoyed the Social Action Summer Institute this past week. It is always invigorating to be with so many people who are passionate about social justice and the environment in particular. We were frequently reminded that Pope Francis is not saying anything new – the last few Popes have all spoken out strongly regarding the care of creation: Pope Benedict was actually known as the green Pope. He was the Pope who among other things, saw to it that the Vatican became a sustainable city with power generated by solar panels. The difference in my opinion is that Pope Francis not only advocates from his position of church leadership, he lives what he advocates in his own personal life, in the way he chooses to dress, to drive, to live in community and to constantly seek the company of the poor and powerless. He challenges everyone by the choices he makes.
 

The Encyclical, Laudato Si' was at the center of all conversations and workshops. There is so much to ponder and to take into account that the Encyclical will most likely be a major force in my thinking for some time to come. We were also reminded that we need to help one another in the process of changing to a simplified way of living that will promote healing for Creation and enhance the lives of the many poor and vulnerable people who have not had their basic needs met while others have continued to live with more than their share. 

On Monday I went up the gorge to Cascade Locks with a group of people to hear from Wilbur Slokish Jr. who is the hereditary chief of the Klickitat Tribe. He has been fighting all of his life, in the same way that his father and grandfather did, to maintain fishing rights for the River People. When he was a young man he was arrested for taking fish across the state line. He had traveled by boat from one side of the Columbia River to the other. Altogether there were 16 fish in his boat. Wilbur spent three years in jail because he would not renounce his right to fish – rights that belonged to his people according to signed treaties.      

He tells a powerful story of fighting for his people and the many obstacles and ignorant people he must encounter. At the same time he was very gracious, thanking us for listening to him. One of the group members asked him how he could be so generous and kind to us since we were mostly a group of white people descended from European conquerors. Chief Slokish said that many years ago he had prayed asking why God had allowed the Europeans to come and inhabit the land. God answered him saying that the Europeans had much to learn and Wilbur’s people could teach them. 

Wow! He is so right. 

I took the picture below near where the family home of Chief Slokish used to be on the edge of the Columbia River. Across the river are the train tracks and I saw at least one very long train while we were there. I hope and pray that we won't be seeing coal trains or oil tankers with the potential to further devastate this gorgeous habitat.  

eating my words

I keep getting myself in trouble because I can't keep my mouth closed.
Last January I fell into a rabbit hole. Some new information was given to me, or maybe old information given in a new way, and since that moment I can't bring myself to eat any animal products outside of the eggs my own chickens lay -- and even those I am feeling less and less open to.

Years ago when I stopped eating meat, but still ate fish and eggs and dairy, I discovered that I could no longer walk by the meat section of a store. When I looked at meat, I saw flesh, body parts, dead animals and other such things that I was not used to seeing before. But I could still purchase meat for guests or when shopping for my mom. I just detached myself from what I was looking at so that it became lean or fat or chops that were thick or thin, but not something that used to be living.

I stopped eating meat for political reasons. I was aware that the quantity of meat consumed by wealthier countries was impacting food availability in less affluent parts of the world. Slowly I realized that meat eating was detrimental to health and then last January I became aware first that the industrial animal agri-business was emitting more greenhouse gases than the entire transportation sector and right after that, I went down the hole. My eyes were opened to the reality that a real live animal with nerves to sense pain and sense enough to know that it was miserable, was being killed, was having its young murdered, all so that meat was available on the human table along with milk and cheese and other tasty delights. All such food products instantly lost their tastiness. No longer were they delights. I was finished with that part of my life. No longer could I participate in the intentional killing of other animals so that I could eat them.

When the lens that protected me from this obvious realization dropped away, I fell hard, down the rabbit hole of a reality that had always been right in front of me. I just never saw it before.

Now I can't stop talking about it. I want other people to know what happens to animals, how we raise them without any opportunity to have a real life, how we manipulate the lives they have - modifying their bodies whenever possible to augment their "tastiness," shorten the time it takes them to grow, multiple their offspring, or otherwise increase their dollar value to their owners. I am horrified in many ways by what I have learned and some part of me wants to believe that others will feel the same. So far, that is rarely true. I blurt out the truth or sometimes merely allude to it and immediately I wish I could eat my words.

How do people survive in a meat eating culture when their eyes are suddenly wide open?
There must be people to offer advice, consolation or support. (Are you out there?)

Meanwhile, I try to keep my words light and not too filling.
     

A Pope Challenges People to Change

The New Encyclical by Pope Francis, Laudato Si',  On Care for our Common Home marks Francis as a prophet for our time, but he also calls everyone who pays attention to live in a prophetic way. I think that this means, each person needs to pay closer attention to the way they live as creatures, interdependent upon one another and the natural world.

In Chapter IV of the Encyclical, Joy and Peace, section #222, Pope Francis has this to say:

Christian spirituality proposes an alternative understanding of the quality of life, and encourages a prophetic and contemplative lifestyle, one capable of deep enjoyment free of the obsession with consumption. We need to take up an ancient lesson, found in different religious traditions and also in the Bible. It is the conviction that “less is more”. A constant flood of new consumer goods can baffle the heart and prevent us from cherishing each thing and each moment. To be serenely present to each reality, however small it may be, opens us to much greater horizons of understanding and personal fulfillment. Christian spirituality proposes a growth marked by moderation and the capacity to be happy with little. It is a return to that simplicity which allows us to stop and appreciate the small things, to be grateful for the opportunities which life affords us, to be spiritually detached from what we possess, and not to succumb to sadness for what we lack. This implies avoiding the dynamic of dominion and the mere accumulation of pleasures.

In the last few weeks I have found myself immersed in the writings of Christian Theologians that I had not read before. One reference led me to the work of John Zizioulas who is the Metropolitan of Pergamon in Greece.(His title is the equivalent of an Archbishop but in the Orthodox Church.)

Zizioulas has very interesting things to say regarding the way that people are called to live in harmony or balance with creation. In the first of his Lectures on Preserving God’s Creation he says this.

 “I feel that our culture needs to realize that the superiority of the human being over the rest of creation does not consist in the reason it possesses, but in its ability to relate in such a way as to create events of communion, whereby individual beings are liberated from their limitations, and are referred to something greater than themselves – to God.”

He explains that men and women create events of communion not as thinking agents but as persons in relationship to other creatures in creation. This sense of relationship he defines as a "transcending relatedness more or less corresponding to love in its deepest sense."

The underlying assumption of his work is that there is an interdependence between the Human and Nature such that the human being is not fulfilled until it becomes the summing up of nature – in other words, humans are fulfilled when their lives reflect harmony with the natural environment.

How different that focus is from the typical striving of people in the western world where material goods are the sign of success. 

Pope Francis has thrown out a challenge to all people to live with greater simplicity and concern for Creation. People of faith he has challenged to live in a way that leads others to the changes needed. Communities of faith are not to wait for the example of leaders or the laws of the land to change, rather they are to be the leaders, living now in ways that guide and teach others - whether in family, neighborhood, work environment or larger communities- how to live in harmony with creation. First of course many will need to learn how.

The Metropolitan Zizioulas names relating to all other creatures with the deepest sense of love as being "priests of creation."

Love perseveres regardless of immediate outcome. Love puts the other first rather than the self. This way of living would indeed change a culture and positively impact the world. Wouldn't it be lovely if Christians did something so profound?

a week of pivotal moments

I took some time off during the last week. It was mostly time to gather with family and friends and to do some deep reflection on the life I live in communion with others, beginning with my husband, children and extended family – but connecting outward to my near neighbors, my companions along the way and the wider world of people and creatures and all of creation.

It was inspiring to read Laudato Sii, the Encyclical on Ecology written by Pope Francis. With the publication of this document it felt like a sea of energy was let loose into the commons where people of all faiths and even those of no faith could together embrace the call to come together to care for our common home.

Casting a shadow on the joy of the publication of Laudato Sii was the horrible event in Charleston which happened about the same time. In Charleston a young man let loose racial hatred and fear, murdering nine innocent black people who had gathered to study and pray. The tragedy shouted out one more time: This nation has not yet fully addressed the smoldering racial tensions just below the surface of society, and it continues to fail tragically in response to gun control and violence.

On Tuesday I met with the Mayor at a gathering that included about a dozen others who work with environmental organizations to influence policy that is kind to Creation.  The mayor has been invited to Rome to participate with mayors from 40 other cities around the world in a conference titled Modern Slavery and Climate Change. The Tuesday meeting was an opportunity for the Mayor to gather insights from community members regarding the city and climate issues before going to Rome. Another group will be giving the mayor thoughts regarding the city and Modern Slavery -- (human trafficking).

The very next day the Supreme Court once again affirmed the Affordable Healthcare Act allowing millions of people covered by insurance from the Federal pool to give a collective sigh of relief: they will continue to have coverage. There was great rejoicing at this victory – though some people seem bound and determined to take healthcare away from vulnerable people. Undoubtedly there will continue to be challenges down the road.

The next day, Thursday, I awoke to the news that the Supreme Court had affirmed the right for all citizens to marry the person they love regardless of gender. As I listened to some of the excited responses it was clear that for some people another chapter in the culture wars was ramping up. There was lots of joy and relief surrounded by confusion, fear and prejudice.

All of these were pivotal moments in just one week’s time. 

My spiritual goal is to live a life of Compassionate Presence, conscious of the suffering and pain that exists and ready to do what I can to create harmony and peace, living without fear, holding on to hope and encountering others with compassionate presence wherever I find myself, whatever I am called to do. Everything is connected.  Everything we do matters.

In paragraph 91 of Laudato Si, Pope Francis says this:

91. A sense of deep communion with the rest of nature cannot be real if our hearts lack tenderness, compassion and concern for our fellow human beings. It is clearly inconsistent to combat trafficking in endangered species while remaining completely indifferent to human trafficking, unconcerned about the poor, or undertaking to destroy another human being deemed unwanted. This compromises the very meaning of our struggle for the sake of the environment. It is no coincidence that, in the canticle in which Saint Francis praises God for his creatures, he goes on to say: “Praised be you my Lord, through those who give pardon for your love.” Everything is connected. Concern for the environment thus needs to be joined to a sincere love for our fellow human beings and an unwavering commitment to resolving the problems of society.

I think that says what I believe at this moment after all of those other moments of the week.

Take time. Don't be afraid. Act with love. 

Live in the present moment with as much compassionate presence as possible. 

Everything is blooming

I have been very busy with my garden. Yesterday I made raspberry jam... already! Usually I make jam toward the end of the raspberry cycle when everyone gets tired of eating them fresh, but there are so many this year we can't "eat up" with them.
I also have zucchini beginning to grow -- yes! zucchini in my garden. I have never been able to grow Zucchini for some reason. I might get one or two and that is it, but not this year. I also have a green pepper already on the plant and some tomatillos as well. The tomatoes are blooming, the beans are climbing, the beet greens are coming up... everything is doing very very well.
I talked to my daughter-in-law's cousin a couple of days ago. He is an organic farmer up in Washington. He remarked that crops in the Pacific Northwest are about 2-3 weeks ahead of schedule. By the looks of my garden that is more than true. I was able to plant earlier as well since I didn't have to wait until the ground dried out a little as has been the case in normal years. I could never plant in early spring before as the ground would be a muddy sponge. But not this year. This year is different.
Later this week Pope Francis will be publishing his Encyclical on Ecology and Climate. Like many people I am very curious and looking forward to reading what he has to say. I have already heard negative voices and the document hasn't even been printed. Others seem anxious for the Pope to agree with them, whatever that means. The reality is that regardless of what he says, nothing will happen within the faith community unless individual people and the communities they belong too make a decision to change.
There have many good documents written before that simply get sidelined because they are too controversial or inconvenient for the comfortable way people have found to live. Nonetheless there is always a chance that people will take note and feel inspired to reflect on Creation, humanity and the Earth Community in a different way, one that includes the 100% and doesn't allow any group to dominate the other. Wouldn't that be amazing?
Praise Be! Caring For Our Common Home.
Watch for it Thursday June 18th.
     

Coming Up Strong

I just came in from a walk around the yard and I feel quite elated. All the seedlings and transplants are coming up strong. There are blossoms on the Tomatillos and some of the tomato plants are up tow of three rungs higher in their "cages" and I will have plenty of peppers to pickle and freeze if they continue at the rate they are growing.  The lettuce is nearly ready to eat as well as chard and kale that can soon be picked. Even the broccoli is looking like it may grow up straight and tall!
The orange raspberries are ripening faster than the grandchildren can get over to eat them and the red ones have produced abundantly though only a hand full have been ripe enough to eat.
On my next day off it will be time for me to thin the beets and carrots. Soon I will be able to dig up the potatoes that came up early from seed left in the ground and our first crop of garlic will follow right behind.

Cooling trends

It is cool and raining softly today. All of the seedlings and transplants in my garden seem to be enjoying the change in temperature, even the two little broccoli plants that had part of their roots pulled away in the transplant effort. The last three days were pretty warm for springtime, getting  close to 90 degrees one day. It was not good gardening weather except in the early morning before the sun was too hot to feel inspired to work.
I am not complaining though. I was reading about the hot weather in India and the 1500 or more people who have died because of the heat. The normal temperature during May and June, India's hot months, is around 104 with some days reaching 113. This year temperatures have soared over that with average temperatures being two to five degrees above normal. When you start at 104 and add 2-5 it gets pretty hot pretty fast. I can't imagine trying to manage heat over 120 as some parts of the country endured.
The old, the poor, the day laborers: these are the ones who have had the most losses. Elders have a difficult time with heat regardless of circumstances. The poor cannot afford air conditioning and often have homes where there are no trees or water ways close by. The day laborers are compelled to work even in dangerous heat because they don't get paid if they don't work which means their families go without food and in some cases water too. I read about homeless people begging for money to buy water.
The heat wave will break with the monsoon but the cycle of heatwaves that are starting earlier and lasting longer with temperatures going a few degrees higher with each new wave is not going away anytime soon. Clearly people of vast areas of Earth who have learned to live with an amazing amount of heat tolerance cannot physically adapt fast enough to survive a few degrees of change. Yet most of the people who live in the hot areas of the world are not contributing to environmental degradation in ways that contribute to climate changes. The highest consumption of fossil fuels and factory farmed meat and dairy is by people with the most ability to make choices about such use.
The signs of wealth, conspicuous consumption, driving everywhere, temperature controlled environments, meat on the table daily along with out-of-season fruits and vegetables, these are not signs of intelligence when it comes to maintaining the perfect conditions for life on Earth which evolved over millions of years.
When I read stories about people dying from heatwaves, or in the winter dying from intense cold, I wonder why people who can make different choices, don't choose more wisely choices about living within the bounds of what nature has so generously provided. Those signs of wealth I named are advertised with every movie, magazine, poster or televised event, but the long term consequences of indulging are hidden. Profit and convenience cannot remain the bottom line if humanity is to thrive into the future. It is up to individuals and communities that have the time to become educated to become responsible advocates for the people who are most vulnerable. That means changing the way we live so that we can walk our talk.

None of this is easy.