The virtues of a small footprint...

ECOLOGICALLY:

This mini-home comes equipped with a ladder for the loft (sleeping space); also a bathroom, but its bucket with sawdust does require a compost pile nearby!

A minimalist lifestyle is often associated with ecologically conscious folks who work at leaving as small a footprint as possible. In other words, they study ways in which to reduce the drain on our planet's resources generated by their own presence. That may include trying to build living spaces with less material, less waste, with a net result of significantly reduced CO2 emissions. "Small footprint living" intersects at times with Zen Buddhist concepts of simple living, clarity of mind, an uncluttered life.

My uneasiness about this comes from Jesus' own lifestyle and teaching. (Matthew 6:24-33) It would appear that we ought to be examples of the same principles: simple living, clarity of mind, an uncluttered life (1 Timothy 6:6-8).

I drink alone...

I am considering trading in my life verse for a life song. The first minute makes my point for the blog entry. If you just have to watch the whole thing, though, I'll wait for you.

My life in Cancun for the last 29 years might be characterized to some degree as "life in a vacuum". So here go a few thoughts around how I think that has affected me:

IT CAN BE A BAD THING:

Long ago, I chose to accept this life as the Lord's will. So, these comments reflect solely on me, not on anyone else.

Perfect peace...

Turn the volume up! Listen carefully! Can you guess what it is?

A black bear in hibernation... snoring a lot louder than your spouse!!!

Their body temperature drops about 6° F., their metabolism winds down to a mere 25% of normal, they become so efficient in hibernation that they do not urinate or defecate the entire time, their body fat provides nourishment and water, their thick skin shelters from the severe, extended cold, their muscle mass and bone density remain the same in spite of the total inactivity.

Sometimes I wish humans could hibernate... don't you ever dream about just curling up somewhere and sleeping away the next few months? (oops, am I the only one? this could get embarrassing...)

Sometimes we have to choose...

"One can't be a Christian and a nationalist at the same time." (Jean Lasserre, French theologian and acquaintance of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I just finished reading an excellent biography entitled: "BONHOEFFER")

This statement appears in the context of the Nazi crisis emerging in Europe in the 1930's. However, it strikes me that it approaches a maxim of universal import.

If the love of money is the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10), then I'm thinking that nationalism might be a close runner-up.

Excerpting from something I wrote 22 years ago:

Since it has nothing to do with an act of volition, who has the right to be unduly proud or ashamed of his "race" or nationality? (Luke 12:25) Among us we agree, for example, that no one is morally obligated by promises made for him by sponsors when he was "baptized" as an infant. One can be responsible solely for decisions of his own making. How then am I obligated to sing the praises of my nationality to the point where it becomes exclusive and offensive to others? What I owe Caesar is cheerful submission to civil authority and taxes lawfully exacted. But my citizenship is in heaven! An exaggerated spirit of nationalism is the fruit of a narrow perspective. It is arrogant, disrespectful and divisive.

I joined the Resistance...

There are some things for which Christianity is worthless.

If under pressure you revert to violence, enjoy inflicting pain, feel the need to oppress, or are obsessed with working out a "Count of Monte Cristo" type of vengeance... a life with Jesus is not for you.

Remember President Truman's famous saying, "The buck stops here."?

Well, genuine Christians collectively declare, "The violence stops here!"

The high voltage cruelty that touches us and pretends to perpetuate itself through us, just comes charging down a dead end street and fizzles out because it cannot find a crack in our wall. True Christianity is useless as a conductor of violence.

Family stuff...

GRANDPA: I recently added an essay about him in the right hand column. It was written shortly before he passed away in 1992. I have added an introduction excerpted from an excellent book that deals with the complicated history around his life in the early years of the labor movement.

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GUEST CONTRIBUTOR:

It is a rather complicated process to appear as a guest on my blog, but it does help if you happen to be my granddaughter.

Why I Am Happy to Live in My Community

By Angeline Lueb

There are many reasons I am happy to live in my community. Here are some reasons. I have a really nice family and a home. I have a great school and I have nice friends and I get lots of education. I can drink fresh water out of the tap. In Mexico and Haiti, you can only drink water out of a jug. I also came to believe in Jesus while living in my community.

I show that I am happy to live in my community by being respectful, kind and we give food to the hungry. Since we have more money than other people we can give money to people in Haiti, Mexico and here. We also take care of parks, beaches, forests and a lot of other places. We pick up after ourselves and other people. We show God’s love to others so that they believe in him also. We love other people no matter how they look because different is good. I’ll make sure to thank God for what I have because a lot of people don’t have it.

I am also thankful for soldiers who protect us. My Great-Grandpa Bob he fought in World War II and was a prisoner of war in Germany. My Great-Grandpa Bill served in the Navy during World War II and so did Great-Grandpa Ward. My Great Grandpa Jake served in the Army. I think soldiers are brave.

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Mass graves, revisited: from whence the barbarity?

Have you ever taken another person's life? Ever purposely done physical harm to another human being? Ever enjoyed it? I wonder how it feels? (not enough to want to try it, though!)

THE WALL OF NAMES
"a permanent memorial to the victims of the Rwandan genocide - a poignant reminder of the estimated 250,000 victims buried just metres away."

I can be indignant today over yesterday's unthinkable deeds, but I am unable to prevent such atrocities from occurring tomorrow. It seems easier to register my horror at events in far away places than to stand up to the seeds of like brutality in my own backyard.

What does it take to be a perpetrator of -or accessory to- wholesale savagery?