Land Iguanas and the Prickly-Pear Land iguanas on the Galapagos Islands eat centipedes and carrion, but they prefer prickly-pear fruit. Unlike their marine cousins, they can’t climb the cactus, so they stand beneath the sprawling limbs and gaze up at the pears, waiting for one to ripen and fall to the ground. This can take hours or days, yet through it all, the creature waits. [1] I first learned about this startling reptile from one of our URC members who shared his experience of seeing them sit unmoving for days at a time. From reading about the reptiles, I learned that the creatures take breaks to catch insects and copulate,…
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Seeing God in Everything
God in Everything Bede Griffiths, the monk and Hindu spiritualist, wrote, “I was no longer the centre of my life, and therefore I could see God in everything.” [1] What does it mean to be the center of our lives? How do we stop doing living there? How do we learn to see the mystery that lies beneath the surface of the simplest things, like the wind jostling the branches of the kiwi vine, the red-breasted house finch plucking seeds from the borage, the sweetness of butter on toast, the stickiness of clay? Even within the sharpness of ice, the roughness of dirt, the coarseness of fitful snores there is…
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Our Natural State of Altruism
Is Altruism Real? Some people claim that altruism is a myth, that we humans do nothing except that it serves our own ends. True, there are those who calculate the value for themselves of everything they do, whether benevolent or hurtful. They don’t understand that altruism feels good. It boosts endorphins, increases oxytocin levels, and sends dopamine to our dopamine receptors, but only if we act out of a true desire to help and heal. [1] Perhaps those who discount altruism do so because they have no such desire, so have no idea what it feels like. Concerned more with their own reputation or financial well-being, their own comfort or…
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Present Moment, Wonderful Moment
Living in the Present Moment In Bone Crossed, by Patricia Briggs, the main character, Mercy Thompson, is captured by a cruel and violent vampire. To manage her fear as she waits in a cage for the torment she knows will come, she reminds herself to stay focused on the present moment. She won’t let herself think about the past or the future, not even the next second. Whenever she finds herself imagining what might happen, she snaps herself back to this instant, to what she sees and hears and smells. She doesn’t even allow herself to judge or analyze what she’s experiencing. That way, she can avoid the thoughts that…
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On Faith and Privilege
Wealth and Piety Being poor doesn’t guarantee a strong nor an honest faith, but something in a precarious existence opens us up to religious devotion. The opposite can also be true. When we have prestige and wealth, we depend less on others, whether they are human or divine. Although the well-off and privileged may feel less need for a god who loves and holds them, many wealthy people attend religious services. This doesn’t prove they’re believers, of course. We go to churches, synagogues, and temples for many reasons, not all to do with faith. Still, the rich can be as pious as anyone else. They may pray and feel relief…
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Acting Out of Anger and the Power of Love
Acting Out of Anger For some reason, I’ve never been able to stay angry very long. The energy dissipates, and the resentment fades away. I suspect it’s because my attention span isn’t long enough. I get bored with the same old story, so I’m not likely to keep bitterness alive by rehearsing the injustice of it all. Nor can I convince myself of my own infallibility, so feeling self-righteous and aggrieved doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. That doesn’t mean I don’t get angry, though. Indeed, as recently as fifteen years ago, I liked my aggressive outbursts. Being a shy person, I didn’t act out in public, but…
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Falling Into Life
Trusting the Catcher Priest and author, Henri Nouwen, loved the circus. Once, while watching some trapeze artists perform, he became so entranced that he pushed his way backstage to introduce himself to the them. After their conversation, Rodleigh, the troupe’s leader, invited Nouwen to travel with them for a week. During that time, he learned all he could about their art. One day, he asked Rodleigh about flying. Rodleigh explained that the one who releases the bar and sails toward his partner is the flier. The other is the catcher. Once launched, the flier does nothing but trust. “When I fly to Joe,” Rodleigh told Nouwen, “I have simply to…
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Promises We Make, Break, and Renew
The First Covenant Some scholars argue that the first covenant God made was with Adam. This was not a joint covenant, like most modern marriages in Western cultures. Before my husband and I got married, for instance, we collaborated on our vows, considering together the promises we would make. God, however, did not consult with Adam before deciding on the rules of the covenant. Instead, he decreed that Adam should till the garden and keep it, and that he — and Eve, once she was created — must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Should they do so, they would die. As the story goes,…
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Robots, the Internet, and Humanity
Robots Among Us Your life might not be populated with whirring and clicking creatures motoring around your house, but all of us depend on artificial intelligence in some way, even if only tangentially. Manufacturing plants and hospitals use robotic machines. Many of us interact with Siri or Alexa. Apps manage our finances and our entertainment. If you use those self-checkout lanes at the supermarket, you’re being helped by a computer that is, essentially, a stationary robot. In the technological and business world, there’s a lot of excitement about the possibilities. Sarwant Singh expressed the hope that we’ll soon be able to “create a new breed of mobile robots that act…
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The Treasure Within
Freedom Versus Money When I was younger, I chose freedom over money. This meant I could control my life and my time. To earn a living, we must make sacrifices, but forty years ago, those sacrifices were not egregious. I could make ends meet by working part-time at a minimum-wage job. I had plenty of opportunity for rest, creativity, and friendships. These days, supporting myself is harder. I’m grateful that I was able to finish seminary and become a chaplain, for now I enjoy my work and make a decent salary, but it takes more time than work used to. Money and Work Not everyone, though, has the means to…