Wednesday, May 23, 2007
We Cannot Merely Pray to You - Rabbi Jack Riemer
We cannot pray to You, O God, to banish war, for You have filled the world with paths to peace, if only we would take them.
We cannot pray to You to end starvation, for there is food enough for all, if only we would share it.
We cannot merely pray for prejudice to cease; for we might see the good in all that lies before our eyes, if only we would use them.
We cannot merely pray, 'Root out despair;' for the spark of hope already waits within the human heart, for us to fan it into flame.
We must not ask of You, O God, to take the task that You have given us. We cannot shirk, we cannot flee away, avoiding obligation for ever.
Therefore, we pray, O God, for wisdom and will, for courage to do and to become, not only to look on with helpless yearning as though we had no strength.
We cannot pray to You to end starvation, for there is food enough for all, if only we would share it.
We cannot merely pray for prejudice to cease; for we might see the good in all that lies before our eyes, if only we would use them.
We cannot merely pray, 'Root out despair;' for the spark of hope already waits within the human heart, for us to fan it into flame.
We must not ask of You, O God, to take the task that You have given us. We cannot shirk, we cannot flee away, avoiding obligation for ever.
Therefore, we pray, O God, for wisdom and will, for courage to do and to become, not only to look on with helpless yearning as though we had no strength.
To keep struggling against hate and to practice forgiveness need not mean abdicating one's rights or renouncing justice. This should be emphasized over and over again. It is part of loving one's enemy that Christians must remind the "enemy" of justice and right. It is part of loving to speak the truth.
- Naim Ateek
from "Justice and Only Justice: A Palestinian Theology of Liberation"
Thursday, May 10, 2007
23 Earths
So, I did the Ecological Footprint quiz. And I failed. Really badly. It would take 23 Earths to support my lifestyle, if everyone on the planet lived like I do. Gack.
23 Earths! That boggles my mind. It's just so staggering. Impossible to contemplate. Impossible to imagine that I am squandering so many resources. And almost impossible to contemplate changing. I'm such a wuss.
My big problem is my commuting and my gas mileage. 40 miles a day in a van that only gets 22 mpg doesn't cut it. But how do I fix that? This is where I weenie out. I could find another job. Actually I'm working on that one, but we all know that jobs for librarians don't grow on trees.
Or I could .... dun dun dun! Take the bus.
Now, this alternative would be a lot less daunting if I didn't have this issue, that my boss insists I stay at work until 5:30. That one stricture brings my bus choices down to a very narrow few. Like, one. And that one would have me spending an hour on the bus, getting to work a half-hour early, rushing to the bus at 5:30 for an hour-plus commute home. Leaving the house at 7:45 instead of 8:30. Getting home at 7:00 instead of 6:15. 11+ hours a day spent getting to and from work and being at work.
And here's where I have the tantrum because I JUST DON'T WANT TO DO IT!!!! WAAAH!
I don't want to surrender so much of my day to my commute. I'm used to that convenience factor of being able to hop in the car and go, and maybe I have to fight a little traffic, but door to door is 45 minutes on the outside, usually less.
SIGH.
I think gas prices may make the decision for me, though. Already it burns my soul to pay so much at the pump every week. What I could do with that 40 bucks...
So, we'll see. Maybe I'll get this job at Johnson County Public Library and cut my commute in half. Or maybe I'll join the ranks of the Bus Riders. Something's gotta give.
23 Earths! That boggles my mind. It's just so staggering. Impossible to contemplate. Impossible to imagine that I am squandering so many resources. And almost impossible to contemplate changing. I'm such a wuss.
My big problem is my commuting and my gas mileage. 40 miles a day in a van that only gets 22 mpg doesn't cut it. But how do I fix that? This is where I weenie out. I could find another job. Actually I'm working on that one, but we all know that jobs for librarians don't grow on trees.
Or I could .... dun dun dun! Take the bus.
Now, this alternative would be a lot less daunting if I didn't have this issue, that my boss insists I stay at work until 5:30. That one stricture brings my bus choices down to a very narrow few. Like, one. And that one would have me spending an hour on the bus, getting to work a half-hour early, rushing to the bus at 5:30 for an hour-plus commute home. Leaving the house at 7:45 instead of 8:30. Getting home at 7:00 instead of 6:15. 11+ hours a day spent getting to and from work and being at work.
And here's where I have the tantrum because I JUST DON'T WANT TO DO IT!!!! WAAAH!
I don't want to surrender so much of my day to my commute. I'm used to that convenience factor of being able to hop in the car and go, and maybe I have to fight a little traffic, but door to door is 45 minutes on the outside, usually less.
SIGH.
I think gas prices may make the decision for me, though. Already it burns my soul to pay so much at the pump every week. What I could do with that 40 bucks...
So, we'll see. Maybe I'll get this job at Johnson County Public Library and cut my commute in half. Or maybe I'll join the ranks of the Bus Riders. Something's gotta give.
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