I’m currently reading through a collection of poems from Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk who was a prolific writer and social activist.
This excerpt from Figures for an apocalypse (Part V) really resonated, contrasting the promised future of unbridled capitalism with the stark reality of it’s environmental cost and human toll.
Thanksgiving is such a good reminder to stop and reflect on the many blessings in our lives. In difficult seasons (and sadly in good ones too) I can so easily focus on what I don’t have, or what I’d like, rather than seeing the display of God’s abundance all around me.
So today, I’ve been trying to see everything that I can be thankful for; while making breakfast it looked something like this:
Gathering ingredients from the fridge...
Lord thank you for refrigeration!Picking a pear from the fruit bowl...
Lord thank you for fresh fruit!Washing the pear...
Lord thank you for indoor plumbing & clean water!Eating breakfast...
Lord thank you for the ability to taste and enjoy food!Child persistently requesting more cheerios...
Lord thank you for the blessing of children!
I will admit that this didn’t continue for too long, but it was amazing how many things I found to be thankful for, and the number of sub-blessings within each. May your thanksgiving remind you of the good giver of every gift.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
Psalm 136:1
for his steadfast love endures forever.
I’ve been slowly working my way through Wendell Berry’s collection of Sabbath Poems called Another Day.
As a nonagenarian with deep connections to farming and care for the land, he has witnessed significant changes in how we extract from the earth for profit at unprecedented scale.
Berry advocates for connection to the place we live, both the people and the natural world, and pushes back against the dehumanizing effect of technology and the raw exploitation of capitalism – arguing that the benefits don’t outweigh the costs.
It is well worth a read. The poem below, from 2014, captured me with its prescient view that technology will both replace our work (AI) and bring division rather than peace (social media etc).
The expert on resistance to torture
Wendell Berry, Another Day, IX (2014)
becomes an expert torturer.
The machine that helped a woman
to do her work replaces her at work.
The machine that helped a man to think
ticks on in absence of the man.
The communications technology that was
to become the concourse and meeting
of all the world, bringing the longed-for
peace to all the world, becomes
a weapon to break the world in pieces.
Poor Richard’s Alamanck was an annual publication by Benjamin Franklin from the mid-1700’s. An enduring legacy of the almanac is a large number of sayings and maxims, many still used today.
I was able to borrow a compilation of these sayings from the library and found it quite a fun read. Some sayings have not aged well, but many contain timeless life advice. I’ve included a few of my favourites below.
After crosses and losses, men grow humbler and wiser
How many observe Christ’s birth-day; How few his precepts!
O! ’tis easier to keep holidays than commandments.
The poor have little, beggars none;
the rich too much – enough not one
Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead
He does not possess wealth, it possess him
Good heals and the doctor takes the fee
Words may show a mans wit, but actions his meaning
A wise man will desire no more than what he may get justly, use soberly, distribute cheerfully and leave contentedly
I don’t recall where I found this poem, but it resonated with me, as its both funny and true (though I’m not sure if we use rags for paper any longer).
Rags make paper
Anonymous
Paper makes money
Money makes banks
Banks make loans
Loans make beggars
Beggars make rags
I’ve always loved plants, and have been a semi-serious gardener for the past 10-12 years. Though still a beginner in many ways, I am well acquainted with weeds.
I’ve been a Christian for most of my life, but have been serious about my pursuit of Christ-likeness for the past 20 years or so. Though I still have far to go, I’m well acquainted with sin.
These two pursuits have made me realize how similar sin and weeds are, and as I garden, I’m tangibly reminded of the battle against both.
A small section of the garden, before and after weeding
Over 20 years ago this was the quote I used in my high school yearbook. I’m not sure how serious I was, but it is a good one.
Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day.
Unknown
Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.
Recently I heard a variant of it, and think it’s better – but I may just have an odd sense of humour.
Give a man a fire and he’s warm for a day,
Terry Pratchett
but set fire to him and he’s warm for the rest of his life.
Sitting in our garden on a sunny summer day, I am reminded of what an amazing space it is, nature in the city. The breeze causes dappled sunshine to break through the leafy canopy above me, busy bees flit from flower to flower, and wasps scratch at the cedar posts. I also hear the hum of the nearby road, and the sound of neighbours – music, talking, and washing dishes.
Getting away from busyness to spend quiet time with Jesus is vital for our faith. Yet we don’t do that apart from the people we’re called to be in the world, sharing Jesus’ love tangibly with those around us.
Being in the garden gives a blend of both, a quiet place to read, listen, and pray, but also to remember where I am, in the midst of a city with millions of souls created in God’s image. My call is to be a light here, not to everyone, but to everyone God leads me to. The garden reminds me to find that balance between stillness & quiet, and work in the real world.
Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
TS Eliot, The Rock
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?
This quote from TS Eliot’s play, The Rock was written in 1934, but seems even more relevant today. We are amassing an ever increasing amount of information, and can now get an answer for anything from AI (though not necessarily the right one). However, we forget that the value is not just in the information but the wisdom that it took to gain it.
How can we be people that value the hard work of gaining wisdom in an age of instant gratification and ease? How do we push back against hoarding information without truly understanding the world in which it belongs?
I consider the success of my day based on the seeds I sow, not the harvest I reap.
Robert Louis Stevenson
This is how I want to evaluate my days. Not based on my output, but if I invested my time in the right things. It may feel less productive, but that is okay.
The Bible is full of gardening analogies that spoke to the mainly agrarian culture of the time. My favorite of these is in the Gospel of John, where Jesus calls us to abide (or remain) in him, summing up the secret of the Christian life.
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
John 15:5 ESV
Although I have known and studied these verses for years, it recently got a fresh meaning for me.
In our garden there are two grape vines that I am beginning to care for more earnestly. I cut off one of the branches, but left it in place. The next day, all the leaves were completely withered and dead; I was surprised at the speed.
This immediately made me think of the verse above. When Jesus says apart from him we can do nothing, he doesn’t mean we can limp along on our own, but without him and the life he provides as the “vine”, we wither quickly and completely.
Compare the before and after of my grape branch below 👇
Men imagine that they communicate their virtue or vice only by overt actions, and do not see that virtue or vice emit a breath every moment.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
This quote is a good reminder of how every thing we do, especially the small things, show our true character and what we actually believe. What does your life (and my life) say?
Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
Psalm 98:7 ESV
the world and those who dwell in it!
As I travel through a somewhat turbulent North Pacific ocean, with nothing but water as far as the eye can see, the verses in the Psalms that speak of the seas are seen in a new light.
I am in awe of their size and power, and my own insignificance and lack of control in comparison. And yet, these verses are a comfort, as they tell us that these seas are created by our God, that they (and all in them) worship him, and that his love for us is as vast as the ocean!
We should no longer think of work as something that we hastened to get through in order to enjoy our leisure; we should look on our leisure as the period of changed rhythm that refreshed us for the delightful purpose of getting on with our work.
Dorothy Sayers, Why Work?
This is such a refreshing view of work, and one that challenges me personally. It isn’t something merely to be dutifully completed so we can do the things we like, but an opportunity to give of ourselves to make a positive impact here.
Read Dorothy Sayers full essay called Why Work? for a great perspective on the value of work.
This past season has been quite challenging – both in work and life. And yet, it’s amazing how small mercies … like sitting in the sunshine with my wife and a good cortado (while the kids play quietly in the car) can do wonders for the soul.
I love the idea of craftsmanship, the man or woman who has dedicated their life to their craft and continually hones their skills. They are not satisfied with merely completing the job, but outdoing themselves every time.
Yet, in the world of business startups, it is completely different. We live by the concept of MVP or Minimum Viable Product. You don’t know if the product you are building is something people actually want, so you build the minimum that allows you to test and validate your idea, and then iterate as you learn.
This philosophy resonates with my personality. I love bringing new ideas to life; software for work, and projects of any kind for fun, including brewing kombucha, gardening, and building wood furniture.
Continue ReadingOne of the benefits of having children is the excuse to play with toys that would be considered odd as an adult. I have spent countless hours building Lego contraptions, block towers, and ball tracks with my boys.
This isn’t my craziest magnet tile ball track, but it was a fun way to spend time with my son and exercise my creativity. Every time I try new techniques, sometimes with a goal in mind, other times just building randomly. I try not to get too serious, but I have been known to keep the kids away so I can complete my masterpiece 😆.
As life gets busy and the world gets crazy, taking a walk has been one of the most helpful escapes. Looking away from the screen and seeing the reality we live in, engaging with people, not profiles, and realizing how much bigger and more nuanced the world offline is.
In these times, I look at the wonders of creation, smell the scents of the season, listen to noises around me, think about my thoughts, and pray to the God who is bigger than it all.
If you can, take that time away from the desk or phone or whatever you are focusing on, and walk.
A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.
Herbert Simon
We are living out the fulfillment of this quote today. We have more information than ever before, but we’re losing our ability to actually focus, and think critically.
This can be seen in the adoption of AI to do work that normally requires deep attention – writing, coding, designing. Yes we can have it done for us, but at what cost?
Additionally, as attention decreases, commanding that attention requires ever greater provocation; no longer can we read and evaluate long form content, but we are swayed by the most shocking soundbites, leading to … even more shocking soundbites. How do we regain our ability to focus and think when every platform is designed to consume us?