An Evolving Disciple

This was a letter I got from the Democratic Courage organization on my campus. I'll be fasting with them on Sept 4, and I think I'll personally extend it a day or two (I committed to a 2 day fast). Here it is, if anyone wants to join me and sign up: Dear Christina, Will you join me in a fast to stop global warming this September 4th? Click on the link below to sign up, or paste it into your web browser. http://www.climateemergency.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_attend_events&task=view&id=3&Itemid=194 I'm increasingly convinced that polite letter writing and lobbying alone won't cut it when it comes to tackling the global climate crisis. My own experience, as well as several recent studies, shows that politicians only take the kind of dramatic action to address this crisis when there are people putting themselves on the line for change. It's been true from the Boston Tea Party to Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. Now it's time for us to incr...

So a church emailed me today to try to recruit me to their numbers... It's a church label that I used to sometimes attend in Ann Arbor, and it was good for a church... but still church. They'd focus on service to the community and talk about christian ethics in terms of simplicity and global warming rather than regurgitated and bland self-help book stuff or doctrine thats bland at best and wrong at worst. It did get bland sometimes... it was still church. I like spiritual communities, and occasionally one can find one within a church. I'd meet a few people I can relate to, who react to events that move beyond chance the way I do, and who have similar morals for similar reasons. But most of the time I find people who remind me of the same dangerous and hateful things I was raised with... which did more damage than good to a lot of people around me. I'm still trying to figure out if there's a better way to find a spiritual community. I definitely feel now, that Christ...

Today's Mantras: I don't believe in accidents, in that I don't necessarily believe in coincidences on a cosmic level. The only accidents are the ones we make ourselves. I don't believe in guilt, or regret, unless I hurt someone other than myself. Mistake is just a more negative way to say lesson. I don't believe in mistakes, except for the ones we need to make, certainly not when we are aware we need to to make them. Sometimes the jump is worth the fall, and I really can't live without that feeling.

I'm camped out by the river where only I might know to go and no one else can find it 'cept the ones I've never told you can't take back whats given let it fall back, stay or flow The river's always been here so what if water comes and goes? And I can wait and sit here for a moment, for a while But only if you let it out may air you'd breathe be mine

Ithaca is a very emotive and moody woman... but that's why I love her. On the walk up the gorge trail every day there are little change and new surprises, the water rushing over the gorge rises and falls, it's misty or clear, and people leaves stacks of stones all over the place merely to show they were there. Sometime a pile of flower will be in the middle of the water for you to question it's existence, sometimes a painted rock. Sometimes people are meditating in the overhangs by a waterfall, sometimes a (cute) guy is sitting reading a book on a rock in the middle of the river. Once I saw some young lovers sleeping in under the waterfall, holding each other... not caring a bit that the world could see them where they were, mainly because where they were was beautiful. I love Ithaca. And the gorge trail is just as beautiful at 4 AM... I'll miss it in the winter time. An awesome windstorm hit the other day, pulling tiles off rooftops, blowing branches off trees and beg...

Below is Chapter 21 from the Little Prince: one of the best children books, and best books ever. It was then that the fox appeared. "Good morning," said the fox. "Good morning," the little prince responded politely, although when he turned around he saw nothing. "I am right here," the voice said, "under the apple tree." "Who are you?" asked the little prince, and added, "You are very pretty to look at." "I am a fox," the fox said. "Come and play with me," proposed the little prince. "I am so unhappy." "I cannot play with you," the fox said. "I am not tamed." "Ah! Please excuse me," said the little prince. But, after some thought, he added: "What does that mean--'tame'?" "You do not live here," said the fox. "What is it that you are looking for?" "I am looking for men," said the little prince. "What does that mean--...

This post contained personal stuff, and has moved on to a better place... a farm in the country, if you will.

(The beginning of this post has been moved elsewhere due to personal-ness.) But here's my mottoes of the day or week to keep my head straight. Some of these are old, half of these are new... but all of them are things I'm currently trying to live by. 1. People do their best even when it's not good enough. Let it be. 2. Never label anyone less than human... or anything more. 3. To call someone a fool is to prove you don't understand. 4. Never forget, and always forgive. 5. There's a difference between being sorry, and being different. 6. Better to strive for no one and be surprised than lower your standards. 7. People make mistakes, They have accidents... But there is no such thing as a coincidence. 8. The meeting of two individuals is like the meeting of two chemical substances. If there is any reaction, both are transformed - Carl Jung

Whatever the male equivalent of a damsel of distress is... that's what I'm a sucker for. I just am. In other news, I've given up on a password-protected post. I'm just too damn lazy. But being that most of the weird privatish stuff (most, not all) is over and done and easy to digest, I'll start posting again soon. But for today, I'll continue to be a workaholic.