"Green Blue Sea"

"Green Blue Sea” profiles an Arab-American youth of Palestinian descent. Here’s the surprise for main-stream Americans – his Muslim values have instilled in him a deep love and respect for nature and the world around him.

This is contrary to the media stereotype of "young Muslim terrorists." The fact is, young Muslims have more than one story to tell. If you care about world peace and learning more about our neighbors, this may interest you and any Muslim friends you may have.

Eboo Patel, founder of the Chicago-based Interfaith Youth Core, writes “The Faith Divide” column in the Washington Post. He says, regarding this four-minute film, “At my organization, Interfaith Youth Core, we couldn't agree more with the idea that while we share the earth, it's more important to work together than argue over our views of heaven."

Film Description

An inspirational profile of a young Muslim Scuba Diver with a deep love and respect for the sea and the world around him.

Why cross country?

Completing the 2.2K loop

My oldest grandson and I had a special adventure. We went north to the snow country to visit Kim and to learn cross country skiing. And there was so much love.

Cross country is quite fun once you get into it. Unlike downhill, cross country skiing is work. While gravity helps you a little, you use your whole body most of the time – which is also part of the appeal.

And it’s beautiful. Even as your feet glide across a foot of snow, at eye level the white stuff perches delicately on green pine branches against blue sky. You hear the quiet.

Like most quiet sports, you are one with your environment. It’s like the difference between driving through your neighborhood and walking along the same streets. You discover special details at the slow speed that are lost when driving.

In cross country, you ski downhill, and you also ski uphill. Fish-scale etchings on the bottom of these narrow skis keep you from sliding backwards as you trek up the gentler inclines. And they don’t interfere with gathering speed downhill.

Kim’s son – a gentle giant of a guy on the Conserve School cross country ski team – was so kind and patient, guiding me through the 2.2 K loop.

When my grandson felt he had failed because he fell down in the first 15 minutes and was ready to quit, Kim made him feel loved and worthwhile.

She helped him put learning new skills into perspective by telling him funny stories about her own “face plants" – when she had fallen flat on her face. So he cheered up, went out with our group, and proudly completed the 2.2 K loop.

“All nature teaches God's love to man . . .” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy)

And so do kind people.

Taking a break

Sandhill cranes coming in at sunset

-- Pulaski Preserve, Indiana

Hello Dear Friends,

I'm taking off for a couple of weeks, and look forward to writing again the week of November 10th.

Until then remember that no matter how the US elections go, both candidates are good men, and whoever is elected will do his best.

And that man is going to need the support of the entire country. This is a time for uniting and getting the economy back on its feet.

Migrating cranes, geese, and ducks understand the need for flying together, as a unit, to support one another, to conserve their strength.

It's not that different in our country right now. In order to move in a healthy direction, we must work together, and that effort can be as beautiful and effective as a V-formation heading for a friendlier climate.

The crane in the driftwood

This carving adorns my friend, Nancy's, fireplace.

A Michigan craftsman finds driftwood and studies the pieces. In this piece he saw a graceful Sandhill crane.

Knife stroke by careful knife stroke, he skillfully removed from that dirty mass of old disfigured tree everything that was unlike the magnificent crane he saw in his mind.

A carver must keep that perfect model in his thought while carving and not be distracted by what everybody else sees as merely an old piece of wood.

What a great lesson! How many people have we met who have lost their beauty, their joy, their peace of mind, maybe even their purpose for living? Perhaps their lives have been storm-tossed for a long time.

Somehow our paths cross.

Sometimes exchanging a smile of blessing, we each continue on our own paths.

Other times, like the Michigan carver, we connect. We make the effort to look deep beyond the battered and weathered exterior to find something extraordinary, something unique that remains of what their Creator created.

Like that carver, we focus on the beauty and goodness that cannot be seen with the eye. The eye stops at the scraggly surface. We have to look past the surface for the spiritual identity. I like to call it the Christ in me seeking the Christ in another. It takes patience and a lot of love.

Holding to that vision, it’s surprising how often we find beauty and goodness coming to the surface to be recognized and appreciated. The Creator's love that brings inner goodness to the surface also transforms the life.

Like the crane, hidden so long in the gnarled wood, that now rises to soar in the sky.

"We must form perfect models in thought

and look at them continually,

or we shall never carve them out in grand and noble lives."

Mary Baker Eddy

Photo thanks to Nancy Fischer

Seeing the forest by removing the clutter

Notice how you can see distant treetrunks

-- because (except for the person sitting on the log)

there is no clutter!

In the Chicago area, we are blessed with somebody’s foresight decades ago – to set aside green areas now known as the Cook County Forest Preserves. These are acres and acres of green space scattered around this big county, that include picnic tables, fields, forests, trails, and ponds.

Nearby counties have followed suit, and most have their own Forest Preserves as well.

The villain in this happy picture is buckthorn. Buckthorn was brought to America from Europe in the 1800s because it made good hedges. It also thrived and became a problem because it out-competes native vegetation. Its leaves become green earliest in the spring, and create dense shade that native flowers and plants cannot tolerate.

Forest Preserves frequently tap volunteers to help remove these hardy pests, and follow up with controlled burns. These prescribed fires remove ground litter like dead leaves and branches that would otherwise accumulate to become fuel for an unplanned and uncontrolled fire.

It’s been exciting to see some amazing results. Walking through controlled burn areas, you can actually see between the trees without the clutter of invasive buckthorn. Only the litter is gone. The tree trunks haven’t even been scorched. In spring tiny and magnificent wild flowers actually keep growing because they have light. Harmful insects that live in Buckthorn are also gone.

So I got to thinking, buckthorn can be a metaphor for our lives. It’s something that isn’t native to us, that out-competes what is natural to us, by cutting off the light of God’s goodness.

What’s natural to mankind as the likeness of a universally present God, are qualities like patience, kindness, thoughtfulness, wisdom.

The buckthorn of life would be anger, hate, resentment, jealousy, impatience, self-importance. If indulged, these take over and snuff out our innate intelligence and caring.

Sometimes we realize what’s going on, and we voluntarily dig out the roots of the buckthorn that’s messing up our life view.

Other times, our Father-Mother starts a controlled burn that removes the clutter of rage and criticism – without harming us. We may resist the heat and the smoke, but it is so much easier to fulfill our purpose in this world when the buckthorn has been uprooted and the clutter burned.

That’s when we can look around and see how very beautiful life is. That's when we gain a better sense of our value and discover new opportunities to contribute to the infinite scheme of life.

Interrelatedness

Monet-like quality in the Koi pond

The perfect autumn afternoon beckoned, and the boys were reluctant to come. Their dad’s office party was happening at their home, and they were curious to see who would be coming, and what might be happening.

That party was precisely the reason we were leaving, so the grown-ups could have their grown-up party.

We picked up Les on our way to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Glen Ellyn. She instantly and cheerfully improved the ratio to one-to-one, one boy to one adult.

The grandsons are city boys, so I look for opportunities to introduce them to nature and to the creatures who live in the forests and fields.

We saw animals that wouldn’t be released due to injuries that would prevent their successful hunting – golden eagles, bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, peregrine falcons, barn owls, great-horned owls, a bobcat, raccoons, and foxes –in large circular cages carefully furnished with various-sized branches and box-like structures for dens.

Red-tail hawk on an outing

The boys were keenly interested in the young woman volunteer sporting a magnificent red-tail hawk on her gloved arm. She answered their questions with skill and respect for the wild bird on her glove.

Why this treasure in the middle of suburbia? Someone had the vision to save the forests – at least parts of them. What a gift these green expanses are to us, our children and grandchildren.

I am gleaning from that afternoon that everything fits together as ideas in one universal Mind. Not as wounded, recovering, or impaired animals, but each one a spiritual idea already complete in Mind.

There were glimpses of everything related – the foresight for establishing Forest Preserves, the dedication to create and fund the Center, the people who staff it, volunteers who serve, public who come to learn; a sense of peace, order, and beauty, hope and caring.

These are spiritual qualities, natural to all mankind. We had our own party, our celebration of creatures special and wonderful.

Divas discover nature

"Whatever you do, don't lean!"

(How to not tip over)

The local REI store has this amazing arrangement with the DuPage County Forest Preserve. They co-sponsor programs. They share a common goal of helping people learn about and appreciate nature. What a happy concept!

Thursday night was “Divas only” (ladies night!) – some kayak instruction followed by a paddle around Hidden Lake.

Nine of us showed up. Ray, a senior ranger for DuPage County, met us in the parking lot, and directed each vehicle to the boat launch – a modest gravel stretch sloping to the water. There two competent and friendly REI kayak instructors, Margie and Colleen, greeted us.

They spent a good thirty minutes explaining the basics of kayaking, before launching each of us in our little boats. The first thing we noticed was a little furry head moving across the middle of the lake. Turned out to be a beaver. When he decided we were too close, he dove, smacking his broad tail on the water as he disappeared.

A gaggle of Canada geese three times considered settling on the lake for the evening, but turned away when they saw our little boats dotting their sleeping area. There are other small lakes nearby, so they had handy alternatives.

We paddled twice around Hidden lake before darkness threatened to really hide it, and we headed for the boat launch. We each stroked swiftly toward shore, gathering momentum to get as much of the kayak on land as possible before debarking.

We helped our instructors pull the boats up to the rental truck. We gathered paddles and PFDs (personal flotation devices) into a pile as well. Divas stick together.

I appreciated the womanhood of these ladies. It’s very special. They were modest, funny, friendly, eager to learn, attentive, caring, helpful. And they loved being out on the lake in the evening. Even with powerlines skirting the edge of the preserve, and traffic audible from a nearby Interstate, the middle of the lake was totally peaceful.

And nine women gained further insight on engaging respectfully with nature, and finding renewal.

“All nature teaches God’s love to man…”
Mary Baker Eddy

Here comes Lorenzo!

A friend just sent this video of Lorenzo and his horses. Apparently herds of these camargue horses are allowed to run half-free in the marshes of southern France, their natural habitat.

Lorenzo clearly has the respect and trust of his animals. No domination here. He communicates by touching their necks with a small stick. Who ever heard of such a thing?

What a special comment on the oneness of Life, the oneness of Mind.

First, plant your feet

So many choices!

Hiking in the Sierras is amazing.

In back of our cabin a slight granite ridge begins a public trail marked by occasional orange paint dots.

Beyond this ridge, little gray mini-cliffs rise helter-skelter above one another. A stream from somewhere above gurgles through the undergrowth as gravity urges it towards the lake. Aspen leaves quake in the breeze.

I soon learn, at least on this rocky ridge, that stopping to admire nature can be perilous. The narrow path drops too steeply on either side. To safely pause for scenery, first plant your feet firmly, then look around.

That’s not a bad motto for life either: Plant your feet firmly before looking around. How many times have we seen people looking left or right, or even back over their shoulder as they continue walking forward – right into a person, a post, or a tree?

Solid rock is a good place to stand while getting our bearings. It doesn’t shift, provides good footing, and offers a place from which to determine the next stage of our journey.

Let’s take the metaphor a little further. If that rock is Christ, the true idea of God, it supports every honest and unselfish desire as it breaks free of the undergrowth and tangles of selfish thinking. It provides a view of the future with so many possibilities, we scarcely know which path to follow.

Christ also speaks to us in ways we can understand, answering honest questions about life, helping us make wise and unselfish decisions. The path we take with Christ probably won't follow reassuring orange dots.

The confirmation that we are on a good path comes from our own on-going conversation with God, our own listening for His/Her direction, our own desire to walk hand-in-hand with divine Love's purpose.

“To ascertain our progress,
we must learn where our affections are placed
and whom we acknowledge and obey as God.

If divine Love is becoming nearer, dearer,
and more real to us,
matter is then submitting to Spirit.

The objects we pursue and the spirit we manifest
reveal our standpoint, and show what we are winning.”
Mary Baker Eddy

What does granite do when a galcier comes through?

When an irresistible force meets an immovable object

Margaret’s grand gesture took in the surrounding mountains as well as the lake our little boat was bouncing across. Above the purr of the motor, she explained, “These are all granite. This is all glacial formation.”

The deep lake scooped out eons ago by melting ice nestles snuggly among sunlit mountains and a brilliant blue sky. Somehow fir trees, redwoods, and manzanita shrubs have gained a roothold among these rocks.

At breakfast next morning, Jackie threw this out, “Have you ever thought about the granite that withstood the glaciers?” We hadn’t.

In spite of the power of the moving melting ice mass that excavated deep lakes and upheaved massive boulders, granite mountains remain.

I learned from Wikipedia that granite is igneous rock, meaning it was once molten. As it cooled and hardened it changed into the solid form we see today.

So how might this molten stuff-that-becomes-granite that-withstands-glaciers relate to you and me?

Even though we seem weak and vulnerable, our Maker has made us spiritually solid enough to withstand adversity. By turning to that one infinite Mind who created the universe, many people, including me, find strength, courage, and useful ideas.

Sometimes discovering and using these spiritual qualities means giving up my own view of how solutions should come about. But without exception, divine Mind’s ways are always better.

I think it’s because we tend to think in finite terms and limit our ability to do good – and God's purpose for us is unfettered.

God sees our unlimited potential, and shows it to us as we are willing to connect with that higher view. That purpose is much greater than to be just another rock thrown on the shores of time.

Each of us is made of solid spiritual substance that, something like granite, fully represents all that's enduring and good and true.

How many shades of green in infinity?

A busy stream in Vancouver's rain forest

Are there an infininte number of shades of green?

Joan and I took a before-dinner walk in West Vancouver’s “Canyon.”

The trail begins in the city, and works its way into rain forest. No kidding. A soggy, damp and most beautiful rain forest. Stumps, trees, branches – become a fashion show for as many shades of green as possible. Moss and/or lichens cover everything in jade. Just for variety, one forested hillside is layered with dark ivy. Another with bright ferns. The trail is natural mulch.

Everything is green! Everything.

There had been a recent heavy storm. Already cleanup crews had cut newly fallen logs and pulled them from the path. Washed out paths had warning tape across them, with signs pointing to hastily constructed detours.

We met lots of people – many walking, or running, with their dogs. Dogs are so good-natured, thrilled to be invited to go anywhere their people are going.

After a couple of hours, Joan answered my unasked question, “Yes, there is a purpose to this walk. Only a little further.”

Hidden between the mountains and the rainforest -- Capilano Dam. Vancouver’s water supply.

Off to the east pine-covered mountains perched patiently under low clouds. You had the feeling their tops were in the sunshine.

At eye level, hikers leaned on the railings to view the cataract that plunged magnificently, apparently from beneath our very feet.

Mist rises from beneath our very feet

The dam is manmade, and serves its purpose well. But the magnificent mountains, the incredible rain forest, even the "idea" for a dam to store drinking water. These things make us ask with the psalmist, “What is man that You even take notice of him?”

Lion hug

For you animal lovers, here’s a YouTube video.

The story says that a woman in Columbia found a lion cub, who was wounded and hungry. She took him home and raised him until he was too big. She then gave him to the local zoo, where she visits him every day.

The deep affection between them is clear.





American religious leader, Mary Baker Eddy, viewed animals from a spiritual perspective. She wrote, “Understanding the control which Love held over all, Daniel felt safe in the lions’ den, and Paul proved the viper to be harmless. All of God’s creatures, moving in the harmony of Science, are harmless, useful, indestructible.”

Waterfall Glen and Principle

Controlled burn allows

sunlight to reach the forest floor --

even after the summer leaves appear.

As we walked the crushed limestone paths at Waterfall Glen, my sister made a startling announcement. “Look at all this!” her gesture took in the pond of very vocal spring peepers, the pylons carrying power lines next to a freight train track, and the forest we were about to enter. “God is so Principle.”

“Principle?”

“Umhmm,” she nodded.

Silence as I tried to figure out how this woman whom I love, admire, and respect, came up with Principle, of all things. “And what do you like about God as Principle?”

“Principle is like the big umbrella with everything else included under it. Principle is the structure that allows everything else to work harmoniously. It’s like the pylon that allows power to be delivered to where it’s needed.

It’s like the traffic lights. Everyone knows what the laws are – green you go, red you stop. When everyone obeys the laws, there is order. Not just for you, but for everybody. That's Principle. If somebody ignores the laws, whap! It isn’t that God is angry with you or is punishing you, you just have to obey the laws that are in place.”

We spotted a flicker working the top of a tall dead tree. With binoculars we marveled at his wonderful camouflage -- accented by his magnificent red head.

We marveled at the tidiness of the controlled burn areas. The tree trunks weren’t even scorched. The strangling buckthorn had been vanquished.

Is that what God as Principle does? Sets up a controlled framework that destroys whatever would thwart our spiritual progress – without harming us!

Another week of this weather, and spring wildflowers will dot the forest floors, responding to the warmth and sunlight.

Is that what God as Principle does? Arranges things so that we can thrive in the light of His love?

I’ll be thinking a lot more about God as Principle, and what that means.

New Year's snow frosting

Snow frosting

New Year’s eve brought a light and steady snow all night. Morning light revealed a kind of vanilla frosting on stalks, bushes, branches, evergreen boughs. Deciduous trees and other plants that will be magnificently adorned in summer have needed a touch of beauty to carry them through the embarrassment of having no leaves.

All things stark and skeletal suddenly have a two-inch layer of joyous white fluff.

Translating this lesson of nature for this New Year, why not take one thing that has been bare and unadorned in your life and give it a generous coating of love? Find what you can love about this dormant idea, and love it till it blossoms in the natural warmth of progress.

For me, at this moment, it’s people. People who, at first glance might appear unadorned, have been coming into my life with wonderful gifts of generosity, skill, kindness. I feel that through the message of the frosting, God has been showing me the beauty He/She knows and sees, and is saying, "Look at these pure and good hearts." And afterwards that’s how I see my new friends too.

In the Old Testament, the prophet Samuel had been told to go anoint a new king for Israel. He had been specifically directed to dine with Jesse, a prosperous man with many sons. At dinner Samuel looked at all the assembled handsome young men and made his own assessment about which one would be God’s chosen.

Each time he guessed and asked, "Is it this one?" God said, “No not this one.” Frustration set in. After all, Samuel was supposed to be a prophet; he wasn’t supposed to get it wrong.

The right candidate turned out to be the youngest son, David, who wasn’t even present at the meal. No wonder Samuel had a hard time.

I better understand now what God explained to Samuel, “The Lord sees not as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

The cheerful and temporary coating of snow is a reminder that central to each living thing is abundant beauty.

Love never loses sight of loveliness.
Its halo rests upon its object.
One marvels that a friend
can ever seem less than beautiful.

Mary Baker Eddy

No limit to the good you can accomplish

One of the kids has a report to write on an American who has made a significant contribution to mankind. He knew his choice. So we went to the library today and checked out three books at his reading level -- on George Washington Carver.

As the boys played Legos nearby, I picked up one of the books and was reading it to myself.

Born probably during the American Civil War, infant George and his mother were snatched away by slave kidnappers, to be sold in another state. George was found and returned to his home, but his mother was never located. Despite overwhelming odds, and with the encouragement and faith of adult friends, this youngster was determined to learn, and his love was birds and plants.

Reading about his amazing life and brave decisions, I oohed and ahhed aloud. To the boys’ raised eyebrows, I explained George’s cleverness in securing his first job as a cook at the age of 13. They were hooked and settled in on the couch on either side of me. I continued reading aloud for the next couple of hours as they listened intently.

We heard the story of a child, a young man, and then an adult, who never gave up, who made the best of what he had, and often made the best even better. A man who loved nature. A man whose goal was to improve life first for his own people, and then for everyone else as well. His expertise became farming. And his practical contributions were hundreds and far-reaching.

We also heard the story of a man who was on intimate terms with his God. He had conversations with God, asked Him questions, listened carefully to the answers.

This God connection finally explained, for me, how he could accomplish so much good. Because I also believe that the source of all that is good is God. Yet this humble man teaches me that my questions to my Maker are mostly too small in scope. I need to ask more questions, broader questions, and to listen better for the answers.

To accomplish unlimited good, we must commune with an unlimited God. And not be afraid after asking the basic questions, to go forward with the answers we hear.

When you swerve to the right or left,
you hear a Voice behind you whispering,
"This is the way, walk here."
(Moffatt)

Planet Earth and the Bible

Following his college teaching career, a high school buddy fulfilled his life-long desire to be a forest ranger. He once told me he was unhappy with Christianity because it preached the destruction of nature.

Over the centuries the domination and destruction of natural environments has sometimes been justified by referring to Genesis 1 where various Bible translations say God gave man dominion/ power/mastery/authority over all the earth and its creatures.

What a joy it was to discover a Bible translation that provides the sense of stewardship and care that I felt had to be the spirit of Genesis 1. Taken from the original languages of the Bible, It reads,
“God created human beings;
He created them godlike,
Reflecting God’s nature.
He created them male and female.
God blessed them:
“Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!
Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
For every living thing that moves on the face of the Earth.”
(from The Message)

What I love about this sense of responsibility is the implied harmony of man with his environment. It encourages respect and careful planning for use of resources. If we think of the creator of the universe as a mighty intelligence, as Mind who relates to His/Her creation intelligently, then that same Mind provides solutions for wisely managing these resources, for restoring and renewing abused lands, for practical steps that contribute to a healthier planet to benefit all mankind. And it is man's nature to look to this Mind for good ideas.

Thanks to Doug Mayhall for this great photo!