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Category: The Spirit
The Quaker Testimonies in a Digital World
If I were to show George Fox a silly TikTok dance, I imagine this would be his response: All ye poets, jesters, rhymers, makers of verses and ballads, who bend your wits to please novelties, light minds, who delight in jests and toys, more than in the simple naked truth which you should be united…
Gratitude as a Subversive Act
I’ve been enjoying Braiding Sweetgrass by native American botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer. This quote about gratitude as a radical act has been bouncing around my brain: And, while expressing gratitude seems innocent enough, it is a revolutionary idea. In a consumer society, contentment is a radical proposition. Recognizing abundance rather than scarcity undermines an economy…
What objects would tell the story of your life?
I’ve been ruminating on this question for awhile now after visiting the amazing San Francisco Columbarium earlier this week with my friend Lainie. Unlike other columbariums that I have visited, this one has niches with transparent walls that the family of the deceased can use however they wish. Of course the main focus is typically…
Storming the Kingdom (poem)
I recently came across this while looking through old writings of mine. I wrote it at the end of a month long volunteer training led by the Brethren Volunteer Service in Chicago in the summer of 1992. During those four weeks, I was sequestered with a diverse group of twenty-some volunteers from all over the…
The Beautiful Hour (poem)
For Kim The Beautiful Hour,You said,Is at twilightWhen the sun reaches that perfect angleAnd her beams linger and shimmerSoftly on the faces of creation.When people look more vibrant, fullLike TV peopleOnly better cause they’re on the biggest screen. It’s a nice thought,This Beautiful Hour.As the sun lets out her tressesOn the edge of the worldLet’s…
What I Believe about Love
I spoke from the lectern for the first time at the First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco service today! I was asked by Rev. Laura to share what I’ve learned about love, since joining a book reading group she started about two months ago. Here’s what I shared…. I started coming to Reverend Laura’s…
bell hooks on Love
The practice of love offers no place of safety.We risk loss, hurt, pain. We risk being actedupon by forces outside our control.
“We can only change what is in our reach….” (quote)
From Call of the Bone Ships by R.J. Barker She looked down at the white boards of the deck. “Maybe that is the true nature of prophecy – we can only change what is within our reach. So do not worry about the gullaime, do not worry about their prophecy. Hold close those you care…
I Don’t Follow the News Anymore
Full Disclosure: I work for a news organization and I don’t actively follow the news. I am a media literacy educator at the local public media station KQED. I love my job and I’m proud of our hard working journalists covering the stories that matter for the Bay Area and beyond. But when I’m not…