Racial Justice Examen

A spiritual practice, inspired by Madison Mennonite’s Racial Justice Team


Based on St. Ignatius’s Daily Examen, the Racial Justice Examen invites prayerful reflection on the ways race has impacted events, relationships, and more in our daily lives. The Racial Justice Examen is a practice for persons and faith communities seeking to participate in and pay attention to the Spirit’s invitations for justice, transformation, and healing.

Practical notes: This may be practiced alone or with a group. If practicing in a group, invite participants to share after each reflection. Allow responses to simply be held; release the urge for discussion. For each of the prompts, choose one time frame to reflect on (month/week/day), not all.

Begin with a moment of centering. Breath, spoken prayer, silence, or song.

Reflect on the first prompt: Thinking back on the last month/week/day, open your mind and heart to a moment when you were keenly aware of race, racism, or white supremacy on a personal, communal, or work level. 

Allow your thoughts to settle on one experience with curiosity and gentleness.

Reflect on the second prompt: Thinking back on the last month/week/day, open your mind and heart to a moment when you felt a measure of healing, reconciliation, or justice–in yourself or in your community –concerning race.

Allow your thoughts to settle on one experience with curiosity and gentleness.

Close with a prayer of gratitude for the Spirit’s presence with you.

Image: Yarrow by Tatiana6 from Pixabay. Yarrow (Achillea) is a plant native to the US midwest and is known for its medicinal properties.

The Fruits of Harmony: Genesis 2

A story-sermon shared with Madison Mennonite as we entered into this month’s focus on our core value, “Harmony in Diversity.” With special gratitude and credit to North American Indigenous groups and cosmologies, particularly the Lakota, who have influenced my thinking on names for God (“Great Mysterious”) and the naming of other-than-human relations.


In the early days, the one you call “God” walked on the earth. God didn’t have a proper name then, nor, for that matter did my companion or I. Later, we would call God “I am who I am,” the Great Mysterious. But in those first days, we did not need names for we knew one another; we shared breath. We were not one, but we were not separate.

In the early days, the one you call God walked on the earth they had created, like a gardener puttering around their flower beds… They knew every nook and cranny of creation, every volcano and every canyon. They fine-tuned the direction of the four rivers that flowed out of Eden, aligning them just so the waters ran out to meet the Great Light in the morning to the east, and then put it to sleep at night in the west. For good measure and balance, God formed two more rivers, one to the north and one to the south so that the whole earth was never far from the waters of life.

Others tell a story of God speaking down from the high heavens to create all of this, turning the chaos into order; that may be so. The way I remember it, the earth was neat and tidy and then when the creating started, a holy chaos ensued: the trees sprang up from the soil, and then beasts of every kind were shaped out of the same mud as us. The garden went from being a placid, “peaceful” place to a muddy, wild, and beautiful mess.

Two of those trees that sprang up need further mentioning, but can I talk first about the animals?

God and I — or I guess you could say, “we,” for my companion and I were still embodied together at the time — took daily walks in the garden when we were first planted there. We’d walk for a long way toward the east in the morning, along the river, then when the Great Light was partway through the sky, we’d turn around and head back west to the other end of the garden. There was always so much to talk about and to tend along the way. 

One day, as the Great Light was sinking into the west, we sat down for a few moments, and God blurted out, “It’s not good for you to be alone. I will make a fitting companion for you.”

Not good…?! It hadn’t struck us that anything about creation was “not good.” Nor had we ever felt alone; the concept felt foreign; God was ever present with us. These were the days before we knew fear or insecurity…So, we were perplexed. 

But, also, true to our design, we were curious.

While we we sat there, God picked up a handful of the earth, and motioned for me to bring some water from the river. I found a fig tree nearby and after popping a fruit in my mouth, took one of its large leaves, scooped up some water, and brought it before God. They moved quickly, their hands a blur of motion, then they leaned down and breathed, and it lived! 

God gathered up more earth, asked for more water, and soon we were surrounded by a whole host of earth creatures — some with four legs, some with six and eight legs, others with just two legs (some of which seemed to hover in the air), and a few with no legs or arms at all. They were all breathtakingly marvelous! 

Over many days, God kept creating more and more and would try variations of what they already created, until there were so many that I could hardly tell some of them apart.

God rested after a long day of creating and turned to me and grinned. “There must certainly be one among these creations who will be a fitting companion. It will be your task to name them so that you will be able to tell them apart,” God said. 

“Name them?” I asked, confused. “Are they not the same as me? They are made from the same earth, the same waters, and made by the same artist. Why should they have any other name but ‘earth creature’?”

“You speak wisely,” God said. “Indeed, these are your siblings. You have the same creator. You are made of the same essence and materials. Yet, each of these is a little different from you. When I set out to make you a companion, my intent was not to create an earth creature who mimicked or mirrored you completely. I sought to make a fitting companion who will balance you and whom you will balance in return.

And now, you must test these creations to see if they meet that requirement, and in naming them, you will be able to remember which ones may be suitable.” 

“How shall I test them?” I asked.

God paused for a moment, thinking.

“Spend time with each of them. Get to know them. Discover their gifts, their motivations. That will help you discover their name. Then when you know their names, sing with them.”

I listened intently, trying to follow God’s logic.

“So,” I started, hesitatingly, “I shall bring each one apart, discover their name, and then sing with them.”

“Exactly,” God replied. “When you sing with them, you will listen: do your songs match in any way? If so, is it because they are singing the same notes as you? Who simply follows your melody, and who adds depth to your song? In the richness of tones, you will find your companion.” 

I did as God suggested. For many days, the earth was full of singing. There were some who clearly were not the kind of companions God had imagined for me: the one I called Donkey was an early choice to eliminate, along with Elephant, Crow, and Great White Shark (…that one couldn’t hold a tune at all but just sort of eyeballed me). 

There were others who initially had potential—Meadowlark, Hyena, and Cricket—but our harmonies were short-lived. Others tried to convince me that our song was complementary—the one I called House Cat and another I named Husky Dog, and for their efforts and charisma, they were ensured a spot near my nightly resting place. 

But when I had gone through auditioning all my fellow earth creatures, none of them quite matched God’s vision for a companion for me—for us.

I was pleasantly tired after such rigorous work and fell into a deep sleep. When I awoke, I had a strange sense that part of me was missing. I looked across the resting place, past House Cat and Husky Dog, and saw a new earth creature that looked strangely familiar but entirely foreign. God sat at the side and with a sparkle in their eyes, whispered to us, “Sing!”

We did; and though House Cat and Husky Dog gave us the stink eye from their cozy spots, we sang until we ran out of breath and could sing no more. We passed the test; we did not sing the same note, but our notes blended together. Their voice balanced mine, and mine, theirs.

In the stories you tell, my companion speaks first, which is true enough. They said, “This time, this is the one! Bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh! Now she will be woman and I will be man.” I could have said the same thing, for they were bone of my bone, too. And flesh of my flesh. …Only, while they were busy verbally processing the revelation, I was composing the next song to sing together. 

I said I would tell you more about the trees, didn’t I?

There were more trees than I could count in the garden, many of which were heavy with fruit, day after day after day.

The favorite tree for us to gather under — God, my companion and I, and all our earth creature friends — was the tree of life. It was where we talked, sang, rested, and danced, and where we slept most nights. We held a council most evenings, beginning as the Great Light was embraced by the western river and as the Centering Light rose into the darkened sky.

In the very early days, when it was just God and the one-before-we-were-two, God brought us to this tree of life and taught us about it. “You may eat the fruit of this tree; it is among the sweetest in the garden. Remember, as you eat from it, that your lives are interconnected. You are made of the same earth as this tree. Its roots, which you nourish with compost, support the ground you rely on. Its branches, which you prune to keep it healthy, shield you in the rains. It breathes in what you breathe out, and breathes out what you breathe in. Study this tree; it is your teacher in the ways of harmony when I am not here.”

Then God brought us to another great, towering tree. This tree God called “The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.” God said, “This tree is not one to eat from. To eat from this tree is to choose division over unity, dissonance over harmony. To eat from this tree is to see the world in black and white, in zeros and ones. To eat its fruit would be to teach you another way to live, but it is not the way the Garden. There is so much to enjoy in the Garden that there is no need to eat from this one. Even here, alongside abundance is a limit. I have planted this tree here for the sake of balance, and in its shade, you can still learn much.”

Our days in the Garden stretch on and on. My companion and I are creating new songs, astonished by the mystery of harmony. Unity is intrinsic to our origin story, us and all the other earth creatures and trees and wild bushes. We are one. We are all made of the same earth, mixed with the waters and breath of life. Yet somehow, in the mystery of creation, the one you call God chose diversity, not uniformity, to grow out of that unity and interconnectedness.

There will be stories that come after this one, I am told. Of broken harmonies and dissonance, of rifts in the interdependent web of creation. Stories of domination and destruction.

But when I look at you–when I look at us–I see a wild, beautiful, and muddy mess; this chaotic goodness is where life grows. Just like a garden. 

May the one we call God, “I am who I am,” the Great Mysterious, give us the courage, the wisdom, and the notes to sing a new world into being.


Image by Pexels from Pixabay

Centering Prayer for Peace, Love, & Action

A prayer inspired by Luke 24:36b-48 and 1 John 3:16-18 and written for the Mennonite Action mass call on 4/18.

Spirit of Peace,
who is eternal and who is now,
we are thankful that your presence knows no bounds.
Come into the chaos and the hope and the uncertainty of this moment,
gently tend to the wounds in our body-minds,
and root us in peace.

Spirit of Love,
who is eternal and who is now,
we are thankful for the creative connection you inspire.
Come into the longing and the joy and the fears of this moment,
so that the spark of true love that is within us all
will blossom into action.

Amen.

image: Yakup Ipek, Pixabay

Remembering Our Baptism: A Ritual of Water

For my Doctor of Ministry class this week, we were assigned the task of creating a ritual related to the course’s themes: Worship, Ecology, and Social Change. We brought the rituals into the class to trial. Below is the ritual I designed and wrote (with the exception of the opening prayer), and it is intended, in this form, to be used with a fully online group. It could easily be adapted for in-person groups or hybrid groups. Words for the ritual facilitator are in italics.


Welcome and Gathering Prayer

[Participants are invited to gather a glass of water or other drink derived from the water of their location, e.g., tea or coffee.]

This morning, we celebrate the gift of water. A gift that has channeled the love of the Divine since the beginning of time. God’s gift flowing out of a big bang, of mysteries within mysteries. A blessing born and reborn in the cycles of life that flowed before us, into us, and we pray will flow beyond us. At three points in this ritual, we’ll pause together to receive the gift of water (or tea/coffee). 

As a way of centering into this space, we will begin with “A Prayer of Blessing Water” by Roberta Egli.

Gathering Prayer*

I will read the “One” and invite you to unmute, joining in after I say “Together…” with the response, “God’s love flows through the water.”

One: In the beginning water cradled us in the womb
Holding us in suspension until we burst forth in the waters of Birth
Together…
Many: God’s love flows through the water

One: In the desert a small drop of water causes life to bloom
A tiny drop of water can quench our burning thirst for justice
Together…
Many: God’s love flows through the water

One: In the roots of our being water provides sustenance
Without water our lives would shrivel and wither
Together…
Many: God’s love flows through the water

One: In the times when we feel sullied and broken
We long to be reawakened by soaking in forgiving, transforming love
Together…
Many: God’s love flows through the water

One: All water is holy.
A sign that we have passed through troubles,
That we have been refreshed by a gift of life
Sustained by a love poured over us.
Together…
Many: God’s love flows through the water

One: In the aftermath of water…
Flowing, pouring, falling, dropping, gushing, spilling, surging, tumbling, showering…
is the rainbow sign of God’s continuing love at work within us and through us.
Together…
Many: God’s love flows through the water.


The Waters of Our Birth

We have then before us our blessed water, and we move into three opportunities for receiving the gift of water.

We begin by remembering together the waters of our birth, and in doing so, remember our ancestors—biological ancestors, ancestors in faith, transcestors, or others—and the watersheds that nourished the ecosystems in which they lived. I invite you to offer in the chat, or to speak aloud, the names of ancestors whose stories feel close to you this day, and if you know it, you may also name a water source that supported these ancestors.

[allow time for people to offer names and watersheds]

One: Spirit of the Deep,
Remembering these ancestors and our ancestral waters, 
we receive the gift of water before us,
and we drink in gratitude for the waters of the past.

[drink]

Amen.


The Waters of Our Baptism

We turn our mind-bodies to the memories of our baptisms. Whether as infants or adults, we imaginatively remember the experience of being welcomed into the universal family and Body of Christ through the gift of water. As it feels comfortable, I invite you to push into that memory, tracing back where the waters for your baptism came from—the water source used to fill the font, to fill the pitcher, or the body of water in which you were immersed. 

Again, as you feel led, I invite you to offer in the chat or to speak aloud the names of the water source in which you were baptized. It’s okay if you don’t know the watershed area/name; a local creek, river, pond, or lake whose name you know is a part of the intersecting threads of the waterways and is also welcome!

[allow time for people to offer water sources]

One: God of all places,
Remembering our baptismal waters,
we receive the gift of water before us,
and we drink in gratitude for the creeks, rivers, ponds, lakes, oceans, and the deep, hidden waters that nourish our spiritual journeys.

[drink]

Amen.


The Waters of Our Beloved Community

And finally, surrounded by the memories of our ancestors, of our baptisms, and the waters that have brought us to this point, we bring our attention to the present. We open our hearts to the waters that sustain us and the Beloved Community of our ecosystems. We pause to recognize that since time immemorial, and during white colonization and occupation of this land, each of our watersheds has been stewarded by Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island. We likely have different roles in this story, but we share this day a mutual hope for the health of this water. In faith, we envision a future with clean water for generations to come.

I invite you, as you feel led, to share aloud or in the chat the names of the Indigenous peoples who currently or historically stewarded the waters where you live. It’s okay if you do not know the names of the Indigenous peoples at this time. You may also share an intention for your relationship with water or your watershed.

[allow time for people to offer Indigenous people groups & intentions]

Before we pause this final time to give thanks, I wanted to note that we’ll have a few moments to drink our water/tea/coffee together while listening to the song Take Me to the Water, performed by the Blind Boys of Alabama. Feel free to let the music move you and your body, even as you drink, if the Spirit so inspires.  

One: Source and Sustainer,
Remembering the waters that quench our present thirst,
we receive the gift of water before us,
and we drink in gratitude for those who steward it today with a hope for the future.

Friends, take this water and drink. Taste and see that it is good!

Song: Take Me To the Water


Blessing

Receive this blessing.

One: God’s love flows through the water
and that love now flows through us,
into our communities and into our earth,
refreshing, renewing, and transforming us all.


*Roberta J. Egli, “Prayer of Blessing Water,” for Reconciling Ministries Worship at General Conference, Pittsburgh, 2004. https://messychurchusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Renewal-of-baptism.docx_.pdf

A Prayer of Lament and Repentance

In a recent worship series on Indigenous Justice at MMC,* I wrote the following prayer. As wars and violence rage around the world and across our news feeds, there is work for peace we can do right here, right now.

Eternal Presence—
Liberator and Deliverer
we cry out to you, 
confessing our faltering fasts.

Our relationship with the land is distorted by greed, fear, and short-sightedness,
and we have not always been good neighbors or stewards of the earth’s gifts.

When you called for liberation,
we tightened the ropes that bind us and our relations.

When you shared a kin-dom vision of restoration
we feigned busyness and blindness.

Forgive us for our apathy, 
our willful ignorance,
our half-hearted commitment to our own transformation. 
Shake the despair from our bones.
Awaken our hearts.
God of mercy, hear our prayer.
(silence for reflection)

Inspired by the mercy of God,
the example of Jesus,
and the enduring presence of the Holy Breath, may we be:
Healers of relationship;
Tenders to the land;
Breakers of chains;
Restorers of ruined neighborhoods;
Campaigners of hope;
Lovers of the living waters; 
Pilgrims on paths of peace.

May it be so.


*A full outline and worship resource on this series is slated to be published in the Leader magazine in Spring 2025.

A Communion Liturgy for One Dying of Terminal Illness

A brief liturgy to share when a sibling in faith is drawing close to death.

Words of Preparation
Sensing that his days were numbered, Jesus gathered around his friends and family—all those who had journeyed with him along the way. They told stories, shared memories, sang songs, marveled at the miracle of honeybees…*

Knowing that these beloveds would need courage for the days ahead, Jesus invited them to join him at a table.

Words of Institution
And taking some bread into his hands, Jesus gave thanks for it.

Then he said, “This is my body, breaking for you. Take it, and eat, and be made whole.” [Share the bread and eat together.]

In the same way, he took a cup of wine into his hands. And he gave thanks for it.

Then he said, “This is the love that flows through my veins. Take it, and drink, and know that you are loved.” [Share the juice/wine and drink together.]

Words of Thanksgiving
The gifts of God for God’s beloved. Thanks be to God.

Sharing the Peace of Christ
May the peace, courage, and love of the Cosmic Christ be with you, now and always. And also with you.


*Include other bespoke wording to reflect what has been important, particularly in these last days, to the person and those who surround them.

Sabbatical, Part 1: Transitions

With a pause and breeze out of the west, a sabbatical ends. 

The long Sabbath sighs with a pleasure-filled breath and takes her exit. 


The final weeks of this break have been filled with adventures with our favorite canine companions, moments with family that stretched like taffy, and closets that never looked so good, so scandalously low entropy and fresh. The optimistic to-do list is not fully checked off, but to be fair, it never has been.


True Sabbath sates and leaves us wanting to see her again, like a lover who travels for work or a medium-distance relationship. She leaves us ready for the work of justice, love, and hope that is the every day–and always looking for the next chance to shut the blinds and sneak away for a lingering moment.

Sabbatical: Reading List

I’ve enjoyed the spaciousness of my sabbatical schedule to read often and across a wide range of topics. To date, here are the books I’ve read and a brief review. Links are included for reference; they are not sponsored/I get no financial kickback if you click/buy.


Non-Fiction

  • Translating Your Past by Michelle Van Loon — I was hopeful that this book would spur continued thought about family history and offer me additional tools for the work of researching family history. It didn’t. Rather, it felt simplistic, overly evangelical, and void of any real depth. One commendable area addressed, however, was the impact of adoption in family stories/histories.
  • More Than A Womb by Lisa Wilson Davison — As one who has chosen to not create biological offspring or to raise human children in a Western, individualistic way, Davison’s theological observations on “childfree” women of the Hebrew Bible were captivating, thought-provoking, and affirming of many different (biblical) expressions of gender identity, primarily, of course, of what constitutes “feminine.”
  • The Green Burial Guidebook by Elizabeth Fournier — An easy, quick read for those who are thinking both long-term about their own final wishes, or for those who are needing to address the ins and outs of green burials for others who are currently dying (or even those who have just died). It is broadly practical and helpfully basic–a good starting point for anyone who doesn’t know where to start on the topic.
  • Being Mortal by Atul Gawande — (You might start to see a theme on death and dying here…) This book came highly recommended from some folx at Madison Mennonite, including a couple who worked for many years in hospice/palliative care. Of the many takeaways from this gem of a book, I appreciated the five questions Gewande introduces the reader to that help clarify wishes for any of us as we face illness and/or death: What is your understanding of where you are and of your illness? Your fears or worries for the future? Your goals and priorities? What outcomes are unacceptable to you? What are you willing to sacrifice and not? And later, what would a good day look like? (Note: This is the only book I’ve read written by a man. :))
  • Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do by Jennifer L. Eberhardt — A required text for my Doctor of Ministry session this summer, Biased includes data and reflections on years of social-psychological research on how our mind-bodies react and engage with those we have been conditioned to see as “other.” A fair amount of the book includes Eberhardt’s work with police forces and how bias awareness training ideally helps police in their response to (perceived) crime. Having read a fair amount on the topic of race-related bias, much of the book was a repeat of other material; it is highly readable, though, and would be a good resource for the average reader still exploring the topic.
  • The Art of Dying Well by Katy Butler — Another practical guide related to death and dying, only this one covers a longer stretch of time, and the chapters progress through later life in stages. I appreciated the “checklist” at the start of each chapter, helping the reader gauge their stage and what the pertinent questions were to help them live fully in that particular time.
  • Rooted: Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit by Lyanda Lynn Haupt — Beautiful philosophical prose on our relationship with Mother Earth and all her inhabitants. I enjoyed this book for the ongoing invitation to discover what it means to be spiritual beings in a complex web of interdependence.
  • Grieving the Death of a Pet by Betty McCormack — We encounter death in many ways, and the death of beloved pets is both an area of personal tenderness and grief and a significant experience for those in our communities. This book affirms the real experience of grief that humans are often left with at the death of a non-human companion and encourages self-compassion in the aftermath of loss. I only wish I had read this sooner.
  • Sacred Decisions: Consensus in Faith Communities by Marcia Patton and Nora Percival — Another DMin book for this summer’s session. I read it as Congress and the President argued over the debt ceiling, and I was again reminded that the Church has a prophetic role in showing another way to make decisions that are for the good of the many. The book is a good primer for those who want to learn more about consensus decision-making and why it’s what all communities of faith should be practicing.

Fiction

  • The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet — An assigned text at the Oregon Extension, this historical fiction raised interesting issues related to race, family, and society. While I read it for pleasure, it makes me glad to know that this is the kind of stuff that (some) university students are reading and wrestling with.
  • Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley — The first of several “young adult” novels I read (wherein the protagonist is a young adult; the topics are relatable for adults as well). Thoughtfully written with a window into Ojibwe culture, describing through the story some of the impacts of imperialism on one Native American tribe of the midwestern U.S., and the beauty of what cannot be conquered.
  • Shutter by Ramona Emerson — This, along with most of my fiction choices, was a random pick while perusing the shelves at George R.R. Martin’s Beastly Books in Santa Fe. Part mystery, part ghost story, Shutter is Emerson’s first novel, and while I read it and enjoyed it, it wouldn’t be at the top of my recommendation list. It feels like too easy a mystery to solve when you have ghosts on your side…
  • Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel — In driving through Albuquerque with an old friend, she suggested, after hearing the kinds of fiction I typically read, that I check out St. John Mandel and recommended I start with Station 11. At a bookstore later that afternoon, Sea of Tranquility was the only book they had from ESJM, and trusting this friend, I snapped it up. Between a global pandemic situation (which seemed awfully familiar) and time travel, this was a page-turner and left me wanting to read more of St. John Mandel. Suffice it to say, I will trust my friend to give me recommendations again.
  • Shadow and Bone + Siege and Storm + Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo — A young adult fantasy trilogy that both Justin and I got into. Very easy reading and the kind that will keep you turning pages well past your typical bedtime (just one more chapter!). It’s entertaining while also not terribly thought-provoking or original. That’s not to say that I could write these books–just that they probably won’t produce much personal growth. 🙂 (The Netflix version of the books, though, is pretty awful in my opinion, mostly due to the writing and cheap CGI work.)

Currently Reading / Up Next

Sabbatical: Week 3

Solvitur Ambulando

In New Mexico, we walked. 

In the hills above the Ojo hot springs, we wove through the ruins of Posi Pueblo. Pottery shards dotted the trail’s edges, the silent remnants of a vanished village. Passersby had gathered the shards every few feet, installations of creativity, craft, and impermanence. These small, biodegrading pieces of clay were the only visible evidence that humans had once lived here; the rest of the landscape appeared timeless. 

A short drive from Alamagordo, we turned into the drive at White Sands National Monument. We stepped out under the blazing, blinding sun, our feet slipping through the grains of grayish-white gypsum. Gorgeous, pristine, and striking, we walked with the knowledge of this land being deemed worthy—ideal—for testing atomic weapons in the 1940s. 

Days later, we descended the equivalent of 60+ stories into the depths of Carlsbad Caverns. (Oh, how my calves were tight the next day!) Swallows swooped and dived at the mouth of the cave. We slowly made our way through the winding paths, breathless with wonder at the gently lit formations. The caverns were discovered in the late 19th century, and within just a few years, the environment of the subterranean space was impacted by human presence due to changes in humidity, temperature, and natural excretions. Though seemingly minor, these new additions shift delicate ecological processes that have been unfolding since time immemorial.

In Albuquerque, we met a friend from my days as a Service Adventure participant, and we drove to the foothills of the Sandia Mountains. Hiking on the quiet, orange-sand paths, we enjoyed the sight of poppies and blooming cacti. Scrambling up a modest jumble of boulders, we perched atop an outcropping to eat our red chili, egg, and potato breakfast burritos. We looked out over the city: planes ascending and descending, a ridge of spent volcanoes in the distance, the modest downtown cityscape…The air was still—and quiet.

Walking back to the hot springs, walking along the boardwalk above the white sand, standing in an elevator speeding 700 feet to the earth’s surface, walking back into the noise and bustle of Albuquerque, our steps told a story of change and evolution, of human impact and hubris, of resilience and subjugation.

We walked; now, we weep for the beauty and destruction in which we keep wandering.

Sabbatical: Week 2

From the LA Metropolitan Lounge: Another Liminal Space

—Graffiti on a Metro underpass, “where attention goes, energy flows.”

—On the back of a T-shirt, “Don’t trip over what’s behind you.”

—On the Santa Monica Pier, a couple pauses in front of us to take a picture, “Sorry to get in the way—it’s his first time to see the ocean. We came all the way from Oklahoma for him to see this.” His smile is ear-to-ear.

—Me, thinking to myself on the beach as we neared the water, “Ha! that guy walking around in the waves in his tennis shoes and socks is so dumb.” Me, in my shoes and socks, a minute later, “Crap. I misjudged the size and speed of that wave.”

—Most expensive fuel prices seen: >$6 per gallon.

—A tour guide outside the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, “The magnificent cathedral you see before you was made with 151 million pounds of stone…” (…as if this is what makes a church.)