True equality for anyone depends on true equality for everyone. We are either all equal participants in our democracy, or none of us are. Work for true equality, which intersects with all our lives.
Pine Street Episode 202: Recalibration
There was a time when David would never have done such a thing: bring groceries to someone, leave before they could thank him, much less before he could plant the seed for what he wanted in return. The experience of giving freely has made David giddy with joy. He feels fifty pounds lighter, and ten … Continue reading Pine Street Episode 202: Recalibration
Discomfort
Let us not run from our discomfort into misplaced certainty. Discomfort is a sign of a powerful, profound opportunity, that we cannot afford to squander. In the discomfort of this moment, there is an opening for something beautiful: Change.
Pine Street Episode 201: Recalibration
Summer starts, according to the calendar, the third week in June. For many North American humans, including our friends on Pine Street, the rhythms of the climate make the end of May feel like the true start of the warm season. By the end of May, the spring blossoms are fading to a delicate shade … Continue reading Pine Street Episode 201: Recalibration
Focus
If, like me, you are having a hard time focusing this week, I offer this: Focus on the love made visible around you; Focus on the birds swooping in the wind; Focus on the willingness of so many to stand for change; Focus on the first blossom on a pea vine; Focus on all the … Continue reading Focus
Listen
In 1966, Martin Luther King, Jr., said: "A riot is the language of the unheard." As my country experiences so much pain, so much injustice, so much anger, so much sorrow, and so much loss, all expressed in sweeping, massive protests, my intention is to ask: What, and who, have we refused to hear, that … Continue reading Listen
Pine Street Episode 200
Our 200th visit to Pine Street: the world is upside down.
Opposites
On a day we heard of a terrible milestone of losses in our country due to the pandemic, can we feel anything but sorrow? This morning, on a walk in this beautiful valley, sun shining and birds singing, I pondered the invitations we receive, all too often, to divide ourselves from one another. It occurred … Continue reading Opposites
Our memories of this time
This weekend in the United States, we take an extra day off work to honor those who died in military service. "Memorial" - the name calls out our intention to use our memories in this way. Memory looks backward, brings the past into the present, brings those lost into our immediate awareness, and makes them … Continue reading Our memories of this time
Pine Street Episode 199
Ursula, Allison, Kassandra - all wonder about their own ability to face what life brings.
Elizabeth Fountain, Author 