I am deeply challenged by the following Facebook post by Parker Palmer. My heart has been heavy with concern and fear for the earth as we have seen high temperatures and super dry conditions give rise to wild fires all across the western United States. The situation with the wildfires and the shocking amount of acreage lost (7000 square miles in Alaska) is very grim but the larger environmental calamity that this all points to is staggering. We here in Alaska have enjoyed day after day of warmth and sun and we all revel in the great beauty. It’s hard to imagine how this could possibly be bad news when it looks so beautiful.
This is the “impossible” for me. Turning around climate change. It is a task right up there with achieving world peace. We all want it, but have no idea how to get there. And yet, I know that I am called to act. To DO something. What is that something? I am not sure. But, I have allowed the overwhelming nature of the issue to let myself off the hook. To think that I can’t change anything. I will be praying with these words from Parker Palmer over the next many days and see where things might lead.
What about you? Please share with the rest of us what the impossible task is that is calling to your heart and soul.
Click on the article below to read the full text. If the Facebook post doesn’t show up on the email you can go to the Blog HERE.
[facebook]
Because of my August schedule, I won’t be able to post new material on this page until early September.So for the rest…
Posted by Parker J. Palmer on Tuesday, August 25, 2015
3 Comments
By Roy Corral
Faith. It is the one thought that resurfaces each time I think about the degradation of the earth as a result of human impact on the natural cycle. In my confusion to attempt to understand the cause and effect of severe climate change on our planet, which often leads me to a sense of despair, I think about Faith. One of the greatest gifts I’ve ever received came from you, Rebecca Johnson, when you once read to me Jeremiah 29, and I heard for the first time the words … “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” My life dramatically changed as a result, and I am grateful beyond explanation. I have concluded for myself that I am but a microcosm of the earth, and my heart tells me that Jeremiah 29 also speaks of Mother Earth. That is not to say we do nothing and rely on Faith alone to resolve this grave calamity we’ve caused as a result of human materialistic greed. On the contrary, we must rally all our talents and energies to work individually and collaboratively in whichever way we are led. It is through great efforts of what may seem like futile attempts, combined with prayer and intention that will turn the tide. Will it be in our lifetime? I don’t believe it will be in mine. But you and I, and others of the same mind, will have planted some seeds of change for our children, and for their children to tend and affect the course of life on earth. That is my hope for the future.
By Rebecca Johnson
Beautifully said, Roy, and such an encouragement. Thank you.
By Roy Corral
Here is my impossible task — Violence has now become such a daily occurrence in our neighborhoods and across the world that not a day goes by that we don’t hear news of senseless killings. Guns have been blamed. Mental illness has been blamed. The Constitution’s Second Amendment has been blamed. There is so much blame. We’ve been kicking this can down the road for a long time now. Meantime, lives continue to be lost at the hands of those who do not value human life, much less their own. We see the horror on television, newspapers, social media … it’s everywhere we look. We’ve now heard the common line, “I thought this would never happen to us!” Anyone, anywhere can be touched by the hand of violence. Family’s continue to grieve for the loss of their sons, daughters, fathers and mothers. This issue has been politicized, and the arguments are fierce, and still nothing happens. The violence continues as it has from one month to the next, one year to the next, one millennia to the next. What is to be done? What do we do as a nation, as a community … and most importantly, as an individual? What is the resolution to this problem? I am profoundly confounded … every day.