Nature Spirit

Finding our place in nature

January 26, 2018 Leave a Comment

I was raised a Mennonite, taught from a young age to pray and to reflect on faith in everyday life. So I was happy when Ann Hostetler, professor of English at my alma mater, Goshen College, posed a few questions to me after Tamed by a Bear came out. It gave me a chance to… Read More…

Opening to truth

December 28, 2017 Leave a Comment

The rise of the near-full moon in early November took my breath away. Sundown often shows a soft pink blush on the eastern horizon, but this twilight showered us with beauty beyond measure. The truth of nature In these times of political turmoil, opening to truth—that is, to nature—is crucial. Even if natural forces are… Read More…

Crocheting for Earth: What one person can do about climate change

October 21, 2017 Leave a Comment

First in a new series! Climate change is so huge that it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and think that no one person can change anything. Yet individuals can and do make a difference. Each person we’ll meet in this series is ushering change forward in some way appropriate to them. So borrow inspiration from their… Read More…

It’s all mercy

October 14, 2017 4 Comments

What happens when we see ourselves as separate from or a part of nature? The Center for Humans and Nature in Chicago is asking this question. Invited to respond, I found myself remembering a little Mouse and how her life experience challenges all my favorite assumptions about merit and success and who deserves what. We say… Read More…

Opening to beauty

September 29, 2017 3 Comments

The scene above interrupted our dinner one recent evening, the sunset glow too beautiful to do anything but stare. We stopped eating and simply looked. Long golden rays kissed the tips of chamisa and rose and wild hyssop and Russian sage in our garden while at the same moment lighting up the Sandia Mountains a… Read More…

What can one person do about climate change?

September 19, 2017 6 Comments

Supercharged hurricanes in the Southeast and millions of acres ablaze in the West—all amplified, we now know, because of climate change. Yet most of us feel powerless in the face of an issue so overwhelming. When it comes to climate change, what can one person do, anyway? A lot! Individuals do have power. It just… Read More…