Melting Glaciers: The Case for Living Simply

Posted on July 14, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Jakobshavn Glacier, Greenland: Photo by Hannesgreim

Good Morning, God!

It gives me kind of a creepy feeling to look at this photo of the Jakobshavn Glacier, which is calving icebergs as big as buses — pouring fresh water into the ocean. The reason for the feeling is an odd factoid from somewhere that theorized that if ENOUGH fresh water poured into the Gulf Stream it might submerge it. No Gulf Stream — no Spring Time in Paris — or the rest of Europe. Hmmm. Obviously we aren’t there yet. Maybe not even close. But seeing the glaciers of Greenland melting is still spooky.

I remember when Kit and I steamed into Glacier Bay in Alaska and saw the pitifully small glacier, I said WE ARE TOO LATE! I think it was in the 1700s that the entire bay was solid ice.

Jakobshavn Glacier on July 6 (left) and July 7 (right)

Actually, God, it was this rather hard to interpret photo of this glacier on July 6th and then on July 7th which tried to show how large a sheet of ice had broken off that got my attention.

It’s HARD to get our attention, isn’t it God. And I know how easily I slip back into non-attention. Then there is the sticky problem of what do I do when I’ve noticed? Well, I just got up and turned off the track lights in my office. I have a small energy efficient lamp on my desk. It is more than sufficient. Hmmm. Sufficient. That is a good word. I have far more than what’s sufficient. As the old saying goes, Help me, God, to live simply — that others may simply live.

Tagged with: Getting my attention, living simply, melting glaciers
Posted in a new view of Commons, accepting my ability to REDESIGN, becoming the change I wish to see, time, Unnoticed Changes

Amazing Wildlife – A Call to Attunement

Posted on July 13, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Millions of bats flying out of Bracken Cave, Texas

Good Morning, God!

Millions of BATS? Who knew — who could even imagine — that many bats in ONE CAVE! It was Kit that signed me up as a member of the National Wildlife Federation and thus the National Wildlife magazine arrives. It took me a while to actually open one, God. But, I did and stumbled on this article on Great Gatherings.

Actually, there are an estimated 20 to 40 million Mexican Free-tailed Bats using this as a breeding cave. But the factoid that I found particularly interesting was that mother bats can FIND their pup when there are 20 million pups packed 250 to a square foot. Way to go, MOMS!

Then there are tens of millions of short-tailed shearwaters that nest off of Tasmania in December and then follow the sun and the krill and herrings all the way up to Alaska by July. Not just anywhere in Alaska — but right in the Unimak Pass which connects the Bering Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Seabirds and humpback whales eating like crazy for two to three months.

This is one of those SCALE things, God! Millions — tens of millions — all together in one place. I find it awe inspiring. I’m not sure just why, but it feels like a Call to Live in Attunement — with You and with our Fellow Beings.

Tagged with: A Call to Attunement, a little matter of scale
Posted in A God given diversity, a matter of scale, web of life

Rethinking Diabetes — What? Me, A Lemming?

Posted on July 12, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Good Morning, God,

Yesterday I was lying around reading an old Discover Magazine when what should I come across but an article by Dan Hurley (himself a Type 1 diabetic) called Child’s Plague. I devoured it! Thank You, God, we don’t have any diabetes in our family. But I was concerned as I’m aware that the disease is on the rise. What I didn’t know was that Juvenile Diabetes is also on the rise.
Back in 1890 the rate was around one or two children in every 100,000. By the mid 1980s the yearly incidence had reached 14.8. And in 2009 the estimated number had jumped to 23.6. This is world wide, God — WORLD WIDE.

Why? Why, indeed! One possible factor — perhaps an accelerator — is rising obesity rates. How long does it take a lemming to notice fellow lemmings falling over a cliff? Just the last few weeks I’ve been joking with older friends that “They just aren’t making people the way they used to.” I was thinking of relatively hale and hearty 90 year olds and young friends having knee and hip replacements, cancer, etc.

I guess, God, it wasn’t a joke — just one lemming looking around her — and noticing. Now, the question is — what am I going to DO about it? Can this little Lemming turn aside? With Your Help, God! WITH YOUR HELP!

Did You say CAN YOU HELP TURN THE TIDE?

Tagged with: Diabetes Rising by Dan Hurley, Juvenile Diabetes Rising
Posted in accepting my ability to REDESIGN, accepting my authority to set limits, adjusting, courage to see myself, Discernment

A Sunrise and A Chance to Acquire Some Grit

Posted on July 11, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Rabbit Island at Sunrise -- seen while riding to the 8K run

Good Day, God!

Phew! This was not my ordinary Sabbath Day! But it was GREAT! Make that, IS GREAT, as the day is only half over. I took part in the Lanikai 8K Run! And except for a minute or two toward the end — I jogged the whole time!

Not exactly a day of rest — on the other hand I was embarking on a New Form of Play — and I am very pleased. Thanks, God, that my body felt like doing it. Kit tentatively proposed my doing it a couple of days ago and he was amazed that I said, OK. I admit, I did give it a wee bit of thought –but it was clearly a love gift to Kit and to myself. Then yesterday, Kit gave me a love gift when he called to say that if the Run was weighing on me I didn’t have to do it. Imagine THAT, God!

So, this run involved an exchange of “Love Gifts” in addition to being a step forward in my Campaign of Physical Fitness. Yes, God, I know that I am frequently embarking on Campaigns. That’s what comes of being a Biological Optimist — or is it what comes of not having quite as much GRIT as I might have? Hmmm. Good point, God.

So, God, I am willing to receive a light dusting of grit. Or, if Your Hand should slip, more grit. Oh? You say that Grit isn’t so much a Gift as a Skill to be Learned and Earned. Hmmph. It is true, I vastly prefer Gifts and Easy!

Thank You, God, for this marvelous gift of life! Thank You, too for optimism and hope — and a chance to acquire some grit.

Tagged with: A Sunrise Turning, Acquiring Grit -- a Slow Process
Posted in a series of molts and upgrades, adoring Easy, gifts and giftings, grit, growing toward up

Enjoying a Waikiki Sunset

Posted on July 10, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

A Waikiki Sunset from the Elks Club

Good Morning, God

Is it my imagination, or do sunsets last longer than sunrises? The one last night lasted somewhere around 70 photos. I love looking through the lens of a camera. The overall sweep of the scene is marvelous. But then I want to focus and do closeups of portions of the whole. Last night I did before and after dinner shots. And while 90% of the photos were focused on the sun — I did take some looking left and even one photo of the sunset reflected on the windows behind me.

Sunset reflected off the glass doors

Ah, God, surely the Heavens DECLARE Your GLORY.

The words Jesus spoke to Martha come to mind: “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one is needed”. My mind is not exactly worried — but it is FULL of many things. I suppose, God, that is why it was such a pleasure to stand there and admire the Sunset.

And, it just occurred to me — the clouds veiled the full power of the sun so that I COULD focus on it. During the mid day the Light is TOO BRIGHT for me to stand and gaze at it. Hmmm. Perhaps that is part of the appeal of a Total Eclipse? Being able to stare awestruck at our life giving Sun!

The Old Testament tells us that we cannot behold Your Face, God and live. Surely, YOU in all Your SPLENDOR are BEYOND US. Thank You for showing us small glimpses of Your Glory in Sunsets! I am GRATEFUL!

Tagged with: Small Glimpses of the Other in Sunsets
Posted in appreciation, attunement, stopping to see, Sunsets, visible turnings

Mushrooms, Trees and the Web of Life

Posted on July 9, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Morel mushrooms

Good Morning, God!

An excerpt from the Omnivores Dilemma caught my eye this morning in Delanceyplace.com. I don’t buy or fix mushrooms very often — and I would NEVER eat a wild mushroom — still, I remember the section about hunting morel mushrooms. I remember they were often found near trees. But I had NO IDEA of the symbiotic relationship between Mycorrhizal mushrooms and trees. Apparently they evolved together — I love the way You do things, God!

Help me here, God! The mushroom is only the “fruit” of a complex web of microscopic mycelium which are composed of bunched hyphae. It is tiny but extensive — one was found occupying 40 acres. And they live so long that Michael Pollen said their “lives” should be measured by “Arboreal Time”. I love that — Arboreal Time — Tree Time. My thoughts go spinning off into Redwoods and Sequoias. But, back to mushrooms.

They have enzymes that are able to breakdown minerals and organic molecules into simple molecules that “feed” their tree. Their web wraps around the roots of their tree –enhancing and making more effective — the tree’s root structure.

All this going on below ground — below what we can see and measure. Kind of makes me think of Your Kingdom, God! We can’t see it — but we are enhanced and fed by it.

Oh! That we could be Oaks of righteousness — Trees planted by the River — help us God. Please encourage us to request and receive Your Help!

Tagged with: The amazing Web of Life, The Kingdom of God
Posted in a matter of scale, God wants to nourishes us, Humility or Needing Help!, web of life

Bright Spots — Learning to Look for Them

Posted on July 8, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

A young man from the Langley Ukulele Ensemble

Good Morning, God!

What a lovely way to start the day — hearing high school students from Langley, British Columbia, Canada play their ukuleles at Kit’s Rotary Club. This ensemble comes every year to Hawaii — playing our “State Musical Instrument” — the ukelele. How fun is that!

This morning, when Kit asked me to join him my first thought was Nothing is better than Something! You see, God, I am appreciating the value of LESS. However, I was free this morning as my walking friend is in San Francisco. DUH!

Really, God! I get so stuck in routines that I miss a lot! So THANK YOU for this morning. Thank you for such a Bright Spot in my week. In fact, thank YOU for all Bright Spots.

The book I am listening to today is called Switch by Dan and Chip Heath. In it they talk about how effective it is in Problem Solving to LOOK for Bright Spots — to focus on WHAT’S WORKING and HOW CAN WE DO MORE OF IT.

Now, God, wouldn’t that be a marvelous way to approach my life! In fact, wouldn’t that be a marvelous way to approach a whole lot of things? That change of perspective could really turn our world Right Side UP!

Tagged with: focusing on Bright Spots, What's Working? How do we do more of what's working?
Posted in Enjoyment, Fun, JOY, Music, Perspective

A Counterweight to the Other Six Days

Posted on July 7, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

The counterweight on the Whipple gamma-ray telescope on Mount Hopkins - 50 miles from Tucscon, AZ

Good Day, God!

This week, I really FELT the Sabbath Day. It felt as if the Day of Rest was a Counter Balance to the BUSYNESS of the previous six days. I finally felt that the Sabbath Day has WEIGHT sufficient to balance the other six days. This image of a counterweight at the end of the gamma-ray telescope is so helpful for me. I can see that this big heavy weight balances the telescope — making it easy to turn and focus. It comes to me — slowly — that is exactly what the Sabbath Day does for the other six days.

I guess, God, it is like the Asian use of negative space. In their aesthetics, NOTHING is something — a powerful and useful something. Whereas in Western aesthetics, nothing is just a space to be filled in. Hmmm. I seem to remember that people in Asian cultures don’t just see the Object in a photo — they see the background, too. That’s Interesting, God!

I wonder if people out of an Asian Culture would be able to see the WEIGHT and POWER of a Day of Rest — a Day that looks to us pretty much like empty space — unproductive space.

Oh, God! How hard it is for me to obey Your commandments out of Trust. And You have been giving me so many explanations for this commandment! Each time, I think, OH, NOW I CAN DO IT! Ah, God, I am wise enough to know now, that I can only do it if I come humbly asking for Your Grace.

Meanwhile, I felt a bit of a nudge to post a link to a story from a few years ago called “God’s Repair Trucks.”

Tagged with: A significant Counterweight to the busyness of life, Giving the Sabbath its proper weight
Posted in A weekly day of rest, accepting my ability to REDESIGN, Nothing as Something

Thine Alabaster Cities Gleam

Posted on July 6, 2010 by a moment with god — 1 Comment

Portland - with Mt. Hood in the background - a green city

Good Day, God!

Last Friday I heard David Brooks (a conservative columnist) say that America needed a Massive Infrastructure Upgrade. Then, listening to America the Beautiful (verse 4) on the 4th of July I was struck by the image of Alabaster Cities!

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!

I was taken by the idea of Cities Undimmed by Human Tears — because what really needs rebuilding are Human Lives. So, I got to thinking, God, about JOBS — jobs with pre-training — jobs that bring hope. Hopelessness is such an evil, God, and it breeds from one generation to the next.

I love the idea of helping people learn and work — doing MEANINGFUL work like rebuilding homes for their neighbors. (In one plant in China, workers making high tech products feel so hopeless that they are committing suicide. In America, drugs and alcohol may act as a slow form of suicide.)

Portland, Ore., seems to have the right idea, God. They are not just building a Green City, they are building a City for Human Beings.

I was going to say, God, that You might nudge our President! We could really use a BIG VISION right now. But, the truth is, these ideas can flow UP! Each of us can do something! And it doesn’t take a very large group to make a difference. So nudge, ME! Nudge all of us ordinary folk! Help us take our Faith and Love and use them to create HOPE.

Tagged with: Faith Hope and Love, Thine Alabaster Cities Gleam, Undimmed by human tears
Posted in a hand up, a new view of Commons, Focus on what unites us, generating options, hope, Hope as a gift from God, meaningful work

Drifting Happily Through a Sabbath Day

Posted on July 5, 2010 by a moment with god — 1 Comment

A photo of anthuriums in my office -- a couple of years ago

Happy Sabbath Day, God

A slow leisurely morning, God, then on into Church, and afterwards we had a nice visit with Fred and a surprisingly enjoyable “picnic” brunch with people we got to know over the food. Then home to a long relaxing nap . . . aaaah. And now sitting at Your feet, listening to Iz sing Over the Rainbow. . .

Freed from work . . . freed from doing . . . freed to drift . . .

How could I have failed for so long to embrace this Gift from You? That is a KEY QUESTION, isn’t it, God. Why, indeed. Because my Time & Place reinforced DOING and ACCOMPLISHING? Because I was susceptible to PRODUCING? Certainly those are factors.

Another factor is that it takes a lot of Discipline and Planning to even sort of get ready to Enter Into Your Rest. Today I was not ready but I was so tired and needy from a week of working harder than usual that I knew I had no real choice.

No choice but to TRUST YOU? Oh, my. Dear God, I feel remarkably slow and blind. Ah well. I am loved AS I AM. How lovely to realize that Slow and Blind don’t matter! Ah, now THAT is freedom! THAT is an AMAZING GIFT.

In a sense, the pot of anthuriums pictured above is an image of what my Well Tended Life would resemble. Hee hee! I should go and take a photo of my raggedy anthuriums that live down in the car port — and post it so I can see myself as I am — Not YET as WELL TENDED as I shall become!

Let me rephrase that: As Well Tended as I shall become WITH YOUR HELP.