those awake

Will Change Come without a Fight?

awake & reading : Orion | by Shaun O.

 
I was somewhat surprised to read Derrick Jensen's quite confrontational piece in the latest Orion Magazine: Resistance Resisters.

The basic premise concerns current environmentalist issues, movements against corporate (and governmental?) greed and trampling of forms of life, mostly those that cannot fight for themselves; and Jensen is asking me if riding my bike to work is doing all that much, or if I'm really fighting the good fight at all... 

Nicely played. 

Just as I've grown more fond of peaceful rhetoric to guide my values - especially in any religious setting - Jensen's violent environmental rhetoric might be appropriate in this context. And, I've recently witnessed Bill McKibben and Wendell Berry, among others, take strong "stand-up" action against mountain top removal mining at protests and sit-ins - see ilovemountains.

So I'm pondering my passive resistance stance. There's more going on than bicycles and poetry. 

I'll leave it to you to read his short piece linked above and let's discuss.

 

"What Day Is It?" - explained

awakening: by Shaun O'Reilly

As we put together the zine based on "Winter," we discussed a sort of subject/title that could continue in the event we had any inklings of future publishings, seasonal or otherwise.

The question: What Day Is It? came to mind. It's a gut-shot phrase, but is also deeply connected to much that we've chronicled at this blog before.  And, it should be no surprise that some of those connections could be described using a couple of phrases from Henry Thoreau's Walden as a base:

• He writes in Walden, "Morning is when I am awake and there is dawn in me."  The question we asked friends to write for in the Zine was something like: Will you give us a winter story? Or: right now, what wakes you up about winter?  And so the question, "What Day Is It?" relates to the bringing of the day, the dawning, that we sense and describe in our stories.  These stories introduce the dawn, introduce us to the "day."
• • As a follow up here, I think the stories we came away with describe winter "days" of wonder, cold, loneliness, and connection.

• The other H.D. quote of mention is from "The Village" chapter of Walden, where he writes of the need to "find ourselves and realize where we are and the infinite extent of our relations." Asking What Day Is It? is akin to asking the writers to locate themselves and us in their stories.  These winter stories help us realize "where" we are (or what day it is) and they are stories about the extent of our relations.
• • As a follow up here, I think the stories in this Zine describe relations to our modern, "safe" lifestyles, relations to where we live and to the cold, and relations to each other over distances.

Here's to hoping this makes sense!  The truth is that the stories inside are really the marrow of the project.  But I think it's safe to say that we'll continue writing and creating, all in the hopes to convey points of light, periods of awakening, experiences and thoughts that locate us in mind, body, and soul. 

We are glad to share. 

an open zine

From a reading/sharing of stories, poems and songs on Dec. 23rd, 2009

 

photo by Michael Witt 2009
 

A New Community

awake & participating: A New Community| posted by Nate

If meeting new people is sometimes a challenge then meeting an entirely new community might be even more so! When I arrived in New Orleans this past month for the 2008 Nonprofit Technology Conference I had to move beyond the hurdle of a thousand plus attendees whom I had never met in person and get down to meeting people for more than just a smile and a handshake. I had gone there to meet my fellows in the technology world who had chosen (or been chosen...) to use their skills for nonprofit purposes.

NTEN (Nonprofit Technology Network) "aspires to a world where all nonprofit organizations skillfully and confidently use technology to meet community needs and fulfill their missions." I joined the organization at the end of last year as I thought about attending this conference mainly because you got a huge price break! But also because I liked the idea of supporting an organization with that stated aspiration.

A few years ago Pastor Andy and several others at Irving Bible Church where Leanna and I attend went through a series called "Acts 29." It was so called because we believe that the story of the early Church which was detailed in the book of Acts has continued on through history on up to our time, even to our community! One of the messages that stuck with me was from Jay Utley, former full time preacher, now part time at IBC and a full time lawyer. He talked about how we were made for community yet there are difficult choices we have to make as we enter into whatever community we are around.

Being part of community is a chore! It's not easy! He quotes John Ortberg and three choice points we all make in the creation of community. These are relevant to the conference I attended, non-faith-based as it was. All of these can be derived from reading through the second chapter of Acts.

1. Will I accept people as flawed human beings just like me or will I pronounce judgment on them? The irony is that this judgmental spirit is frequently found among the most religious people of a community.
2. Will I share or will I withhold? What will I do with my time, talent and treasure? Will I hoard and protect?
3. Will I attend or will I ignore people? Will I be authentic? Will I take the time to pay attention to others or will I shrug them off?

Applied to my first visit to an NTC event here are just a couple of observations.

First, I wanted to come with an open mind. I wanted to be open to what they had to say ... the focus this year being primarily on Web 2.0 technologies (blogging...social networking...). Blogging is something I've done for a couple years now (and I've seen how heated and opinionated everyone including myself can get) but I've only recently begun using some social networking sites. From talking to the high school aged kids I work with at St. Mary's church, some of them use it a lot more than I do! So I was open to learning more about it.

Second, I wanted to share any information I had, provided I didn't have a heart attack from the effort of breaking out of my shell first. Each time I wanted to speak up in a class, I struggled. I'm probably more introverted than I like to think I am and so the nervousness of speaking in front of 40+ people (each session was packed with doors typically open to allow some standing room!) sometimes made my voice shake. I know this may not be quite what Jay U. had in mind...but I think it's perhaps still applicable. I need to practice sharing, in a way that benefits others and does not waste their time. For instance, there was one session on data integration where it took all I had to speak up about an area of work that I've been in since 2000!

The final point that Jay made around really listening to others was also difficult. I think there is a common urge to "get yourself out in front of others" and really network so that people remember you. However, when doing this I think there is a temptation to focus on yourself and neglect to look for ways in which you can really help others. I was fortunate to be able to really listen (at least I thought so) to several people who seemed to actually have problems I may be able to offer advice on. I also succumbed to a bit of free spirited socializing and card grabbing, but there were a few spots I was able to identify others with whom I may be able to interact further in the future. Unfortunately, they were all far far away (NYC and Washington D.C.). Thankfully though, there is technology available to help us stay better connected these days, such as LinkedIn, not to mention your basic email correspondence.

The conference was great. I had a chance to deepen a couple relationships with my friends (previously known only via email) from Colorado and Canada and develop some new ones with people sharing like interests including a nearly 7 foot tall former ESL teacher from Japan who now does technology consulting and a former weight lifting champion / Notre Dame football player with Irish parents! Was it easy? Perhaps easier than I thought it would be. The community of people I met was excellent. They care passionately about their work and they were willing to meet me, an outsider coming from the corporate world, many times over during the conference. I'm looking forward to taking my wife next year when it's in San Francisco.

The Color of Loss

awake & participating: The Color of Loss| posted by Shaun

I continue to post updates about this gallery on our blog here.  I really enjoy visiting this place, so I'll continue to post updates.  I feel like I've found an art outlet that just seems to match up with me- much like this magazine.  At Sun to Moon Gallery, each exhibit is very interesting to me.  I'll miss not living near it come June.
And, because of the Ohome's latest plight - "the color of loss" is mildly fitting.  Let me know if you want to go! 

The Call to Conversion: Community

awake & participating: The Call to Conversion| posted by Nate

I read this book last year after picking it up at a Half Price Books store. I paid $3.58 according to the sticker I still have on it. Some of the best money I've ever spent on a book. Jim Wallis wrote this book almost 30 years ago. He wrote from experience out of a community of Christians in Washington D.C. known as Sojourners. I want to quote from a passage for reflection. Today my wife and I worked with the youth at St. Mary's church in Irving again. We actually had a game day, took a break from teaching out of scripture on various topics and went to teach through experience...which was the subject of this passage. Experiencing community. It's tough sometimes. That's for sure. Hear these words from the community of Sojourners.

In Sojourners community, we are still learning what it means to love. God has taught us much, softening our hearts and expanding our capacity to love one another and the whole of God's creation. The process is always one of conversion. The "turning to" part of conversion has enabled God's love to deepen among us in some exciting ways. But the "turning from "part of conversion has never been easy. In the early days of our community, the conversion taking place among us was especially painful. We learned that all our models and schemes for community had to die before God's creative work among us could begin. Our plans and pride over what we could build with our own strength and resources had to be shattered before the Spirit had any room to work. And we had to learn that the necessary building materials of Christian community include two characteristics of love: forgiveness and a humble spirit. Being human, we could not avoid conflict and hurting one another. It took us a while to realize that we were utterly dependent on God's forgiveness in our corporate life. Learning to forgive one another, and to know our own need for forgiveness, were early lessons that tested the survival of the community. We also had to get over any notion of being perfect people building the perfect community, which could then take on all the big issues of the church and the world. The big issues overwhelmed us, because we forgot to tend to the simplest things, like learning to love and serve one another in our imperfection. The lesson here is a basic one: the Church will never discover what it meant to lay down its life for the world until its members begin to lay down their lives for one another. An authentic public witness requires an authentic community existence. The love, care, justice and peace we desire in the world must also be practiced among ourselves.

Responsible for Change

awake & participating: Everything Must Change| posted by Shaun

We notified this readership back in June of McLaren's conference coming to DFW, and now it's two weeks away.  I read most of his book (blogged couple thoughts here and here) and I'm going to finish it before the conference.  I like it, as usual, and perhaps with the voting races going wild right now, the thoughts are fresh and poignant. 

But truthfully I know that this country, our churches, and our civilized societies need new direction.  I don't presume to know the interests and situations of communities around the world, but we'd be blind not to see the effects of all our consumption, pride, and cryptic greed. 
--
I see it each morning, a quiet mirror-surprise that causes me to question things, just for a moment.
Then I shrug, wiping crust from my eyes and reaching for my oral B.
--

Are we truly aware of what has happened and what we can/should do?  Can we try to change? 
I will be at McLaren's conference because I want to be part of a conversation seeking a better way.

 

From the spiritual writer, Hermann Hesse:

"History seems to us an arena of instincts and fashions, of appetite, avarice, and craving for power, of blood lust, violence, destruction, and wars, of ambitious ministers, venal generals, bombarded cities, and we too easily forget that this is only one of its many aspects. Above all we forget that we ourselves are a part of history, that we are the product of growth and are condemned to perish if we lose the capacity for further growth and change. We are ourselves history and share the responsibility for world history and our position in it. But we gravely lack awareness of this responsibility."

*Hesse's Siddharta was my favorite book of freshman English at Texas Tech - my first hints at writing about "enlightenment."   

Going Green exhibit

awake & participating: Going Green| posted by Shaun

A great exhibit - "Going Green" is at a great gallery in Carrollton til February 3rd. 

I really love the Sun to Moon gallery, and it has played a big role in my passion for nature writing, seeing the places I've read so much about.  While at UTA, I passed a flyer about a photo exhibit that would also feature speakers on Thoreau and his continued impact on literature and philosophy.  I showed up there - to the gallery in Carrollton - and was one of the only ones there.  So, I got to meet and talk with some great scholars, including the late Brad Dean. 

Not only am I grateful for the relationships that came from the talks that day, the photographs are truly inspiring.  It is an quite an experience simply to walk quietly through the gallery and soak the images in.  Please leave a comment if you can go to catch this wonderful exhibit, and I'll be sure to meet you. 

One World - w/wombat

awake & participating: Global Mind-Shift | posted by Shaun

On Saturday I had the pleasure of spending the day at small conference on environmental sustainability, spiritual fulfillment, and social justice issues.  I'll tell you more and link to more soon, cause there's obviously a ton involved there.  But one cool/fun link to come out of the conference is below - created by some good people at Global Mind-Shift - an organization about global community, not in terms of creating global consumers, but  more of understanding our earthly community!  Enjoy the wisdom of the wombat!

Eat a burrito tomorrow!

For lunch or dinner tomorrow,  head to your neighborhood Chipotle and  have a burrito while you contribute to a good cause - FarmAid.

"On Wednesday, August 29th when you purchase a burrito, tacos, salad or bowl with any of our naturally raised meats, at any of our restaurants, we'll donate 100% of the proceeds, up to $50,000, to Farm Aid.
This year's Farm Aid concert - "Farm Aid 2007: A Homegrown Festival," featuring Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young, and Dave Matthews, will be held September 9th in New York City. Chipotle will be there too, serving up our great food.  For more information about the show and Farm Aid, please visit www.farmaid.org."

If you're in DFW and headed there, give a call and we'll see if we might break tortilla's together!  :)