Quest Blog
They Walk Into the Place Where (a reflection on immigration)
2013-06-20 They walk into the place carrying a bandana, carrying a balaclava, carrying a bordada made by abuela. They walk into the place that burns the soles of huaraches, the soles of tennis shoes into twisted rubber. They walk into the place carrying an extra tee shirt. An extra dress for a hija. They walk…
Read MoreArguing Over the Light
2013-06-27 All religions, all this singing, one song. Rumi 1. A poet I met once, Leslie Scalapino, said “stay in continual conceptual rebellion.” She thought we must “re-form” our minds, “make it new, every day,” as Pound put it, or fall for the snake oil routines of all the drummers and askers around us. “No”…
Read MoreA Bad Day for Theocracy (14 May 2013, marriage equality Minnesota)
2013-05-16 A bad day for creeds; a bad day for stares; a bad day for blind obedience to blundering oracles, as Henry put it long ago. A bad day for obedience. A bad day for “act like us.” Why not, Ralph asked, long ago, why not behold god and nature face to face with our…
Read MoreCreating Life
2013-05-11 Standing in the doorway between the ticket table and the concert last night, the music from the incredible jazz trio on the chancel washing over me, I was overwhelmed with gratitude. This is my life! Somewhere between scheduling the termite treatments and the ceiling repairs from a leaky roof, between taxes and budgets, between…
Read MoreBenediction for the Wind (on the occasion of a killer tornado)
2013-05-23 What better way to get people praying than to remind us of random chance? What better way than the cold logic of air rising, falling, killing here, not there; this one, not that. Where I come from we name them by a year: 2011, 1957, 1925, and remember deaths, 695, 255, 12. What better…
Read MoreCompassion and Connection
2013-05-19 His Holiness the Dalai Lama has graced New Orleans with his presence this weekend. Prayer flags are fluttering from balconies more accustomed to Mardi Gras beads and brass bands are sharing the scene with throat singing… HH Dalai Lama arrived under the auspices of a conference called “Resilience: Strength Through Compassion and Connection.” Those…
Read MoreRole Camera
2013-05-25 It will only be five minutes. A favor. Celebrating women in the month of May and need a female minister to represent. When she asked a few weeks ago, calling in the middle of a rich and full work day, I said yes, okay, sure. I needed practice publicly speaking about ministry, especially as…
Read MoreIncarceration Nation
2013-05-30 Incarceration nation, where did you put your young men? You put them in a plea bargain; you put them in a felony record; you put them out of your mind. Incarceration nation, your heart is in a prison cell; your future is in a prison cell; your conscience is in a prison cell. Incarceration…
Read MoreOn Keeping Up
2013-05-24 I have a half dozen ideas for things I’d like to write about swirling about in my head. Reflections about reflections. Thoughts about thoughts, about how the mind works, about how the mind works when there’s so little time to write or read or have a meandering relaxed conversation with a friend, but there’s…
Read MoreInto the Summer Daze
2013-06-07 We want summer to be leisurely. We want it to be restful. We want it to involve sandals, long meandering days, the sound of ice cubes clinking in a glass, a steady stream of lemonade or ice tea. We don’t, usually, want it to involve more to-do lists and travel details than the winter…
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