Christ’s Body, Earth’s Body
Something’s got to change. I mean in my life and how I respond to the environmental crisis. Because global warming threatens our political stability, our food system, and our health; it’s already eliminating the water source for thousands and will soon displace whole populations, particularly in poor countries. Things are bad. Out of love for the earth, out of Christian duty, out of concern for the world our children will inherit, something’s got to change. Emily and I do what we can. We grow our own food, wash and recycle our plastic baggies, bike most places, get our energy from wind power, compost, strive for zero waste, buy local organic food, we even cook with a solar cooker, for heaven’s sake. It’s not enough. We’ll continue to make what lifestyle changes we can, but they won’t be enough. So here I stand, a small, caring person, helpless in the face…
Love in the Work of Writing
I write about love because I tell stories; and it is impossible, I believe, to tell any kind of powerful or valuable or meaningful story without writing about love. And, too, I have found that it is impossible to write a story without love. The writer must love her characters, must open her heart to them, give the whole of herself to them, in order for those characters to give themselves back to her. –Kate Dicamillo, “Characters who Love Again” Today I’m pondering love’s role in the making of literature. Love is a basic ingredient, like water in a soup. Without water, you have no soup. Before there’s any hope of writing well or of an audience appreciating your work, you must love writing itself. You must love…