Article s About This Journey Of Life
The Pollinator’s Corridor ~ Biodiversity in the Bronx
“One day I turned over a stone,” Sam explains, “and the rest is history.” When we turn our minds to aspirations of healthy eco-systems, images of clean and running waters, verdant mountains (still with their tops), woodlands, songbirds, well-traveled corridors for animal migration, honey bees, bats who’ve outlived the white-nose fungus, and humans (and not…
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Cultural Diversity in the Environmental Movement
A few months ago I gave a talk entitled Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire ~ The Missing Thread in the Environmental Movement, the thread itself being that of spirituality. The question I was (and am still) holding was this: if we could come to understand the spiritual and sacred dimensions of this astonishing planet, would…
Read MoreEdible Villages
“There’s so many people that don’t really recognize a vegetable unless it’s in a bit of plastic with an instruction packet on the top.” These are the words of Pam Warhurst, the co-founder of Incredible Edible in Todmorden, England. Pam herself is not new news, but her TED talk is provocative and ought to inspire…
Read MoreUrban Insistence
It’s often the case that a poem or a piece of art or a book review finds its way into my inbox; not nearly so often that I repost it. This is a powerful, imaginative piece of writing, and by way of confession, I wish I had written it. (Still, the introvert in me most…
Read MoreWhat Language Shall We Use?
Once again, the images come from the generous camera and heart of Rex Nelson. This post follows on the heels of a recent conversation with my friend Candis Whitney who chairs the Central NH Permaculture Meet-Up. Check out the site. Build one in your area. For the past few years, in my book and in…
Read MoreAcoustic Ecology ~ The Core of Democracy?
(With gratitude to Rex Nelson for the finches and the old mill) Something fell into place for me this past week, when I listened to Gordon Hempton interview with Krista Tippett on her show On Being. The experience was one of finding a missing thread to weave with the various threads that have been dangling…
Read MoreEarth, Water, Wind, & Fire ~ The Elements of Spirit
The organization called The Center for the Arts serves the Sunapee Region of Central New Hampshire, and the organization’s newest “arm”, The Literary Arts Guild, held it’s first event Friday, May 4th. The venue was perfect, a gathering room in an old NH house, the deck of which overlooks Sunapee Harbor – would have been…
Read MoreEco-Spirituality ~ Thinking Like an Ecosystem
Frances Moore Lappe’s recent article in Yes Magazine, “How to Think Like an Ecosystem” brought to mind a lively round table discussion last fall when a small group of us gathered on Tuesday evenings at our village library, ostensibly to discuss my book. The conversations usually had a starting point, but often meandered in surprising…
Read MoreEco-Spirituality ~ An Elemental Perspective
My thanks always to my generous friend Rex Nelson who just gets better and better with his camera. His generosity and kindness have never faltered. I know that the majority of the people who read this blog and respond to my work are among the many who have left churches and won’t return, or have…
Read MoreEcology and Morality ~ Reconfiguring our Moral Compass
It’s giving me much pleasure to speak to the local Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. I am grateful for the invitations. Edward O. Wilson is a remarkable biologist-slash-ecologist who introduced himself to his audience of a 2007 TED talk in this way: “I’ve come on a special mission on behalf of my constituency, which are the 10-to-the-18th-power…
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Spirituality and Ecology ~ The Partnership
I want to introduce my friend Steve Blackmer to the readers of Restoring the Waters. Were I pressed to give the substance of embodiment to the intersection of spirituality and ecology, it would look pretty much like Steve. Steve’s about to graduate from the Yale Divinity School, probably as big a surprise to him as…
Read MoreEarth, Water, Wind, & Fire ~ The Missing Thread in the Environmental Movement
I debated a long time whether or not to post a talk I gave recently, at the invitation of the Kearsarge Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. As the content itself is appropriate for the “space between”, I don’t feel as though there is an integrity issue here. The “don’t do it” concerns were: one) it’s long; and…
Read MoreEco-spirituality ~ A Colleague Newly Met
I want to introduce you to a woman with a passionate heart for the most vulnerable among us, the creatures whose lives and habitat we humans continue to place “beneath our feet.” LoraKim has boundless energy and compassion for all life-forms, as you will see from her short bio below. I have linked this site…
Read MorePandora’s Hope
I am exceedingly grateful to Occupy! I suspect that, in general, we need someone(s) outside ourselves to wake us up; I don’t think we’re particularly adept at self-awakening. Wherever people are gathering in the name of Occupy, others of us are waking up, not always happily, and not without a fair measure of trepidation. In…
Read MoreWinter Solstice Celebration ~ December 22, 2011
I know it’s late, but the winter solstice is on the 22nd, not the 21st, this year, so I thought I’d post this Order of Celebration in case anyone was casting around for one. This would have to be adapted to your own situation, of course, because this particular ceremony was designed for a particular…
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The Space Between ~ We Know What it Looks Like
I’m beginning to understand two things: one, what I call the space between is the ground for holy exchange, not only between humans and the biotic world, but also between and among humans; and two, that the space between is hard to come by, even harder to hold. When I was in the process of…
Read MoreEco-Spirituality ~Web of Life Activities
I write often about what the biological sciences have named the web of life; I suspect that people reading these posts have a pretty good idea of what that concept embraces, yet it’s a metaphor that might be difficult to teach in an experiential way. It’s one thing to read the science; it’s another to…
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