I love that local pride sells. There are cute t-shirts with the phone area code for Minneapolis. I’ve drooled over the many lovely shirts out there with the shape of the state of Minnesota and a heart on the inside.…
A New Culture of Place
Why Water: A practical choice became a spiritual journey
One of my biggest weaknesses has been getting overwhelmed by the enormity and depth of our intersecting global crises. This weakness is the flip side of one of my super powers: the ability to see, synthesize, and transmit the big…
Who You Are
Last November I heard Hopi elder Vernon Masayesva speak about his work protecting water. I was struck by how he described his work as a response to the question “who am I am as a Hopi?” His repetition of the…
The opportunity on the other side of overwhelm.
The Mississippi is very high right now and that’s how my life feels to me too. I can barely keep up with all the painful disasters both “natural” and “human-made.” When I get overwhelmed it helps me to go to…
Climate, Water, and Healing Grace
Water is making the headlines big time right now. Catastrophic storms. Severe droughts. Water is giving fearsome expression to the changes in our climate. Climate can be such a vague notion. But water is tangible. Water is my way of…
Why focusing on water is so transformative
I have just returned from a deep dive into the woods. During my retreat we opened up big questions about how we participate in the universe’s unfolding story. This work shakes up our entire worldview – in a good way!…
Transformed by a Song
Without understanding it, I have always longed for a sense of the Motherland. Sort of like longing for Eden. Nature is where I go to remember who I am. Yet because my family has moved enough over the last century,…
Careening Towards Oneness
“We are careening towards oneness.” Recently I heard theologian Cynthia Bourgeault use these words to describe the state of our world. I immediately resonated with the sense of careening. Police are attacking peaceful protesters. Routine traffic stops end in fatalities.…
Falling in love with nature changes everything
For the past few weeks my heart has been powerfully stirred by the indigenous-led effort to protect the water, our shared water, from the Dakota Access Pipeline. The people at Standing Rock who are blocking the construction of an oil…
The Journey is Long
This past weekend I participated in the Minnehaha Creek Water Walk, a prayer walk that traveled the 22 miles from Lake Minnetonka to the Mississippi River. Sharon Day, an Ojibwe elder, led this ceremony. Before you think about being impressed…