I've been curious to do this for awhile, so I remembered tonight to try an online Carbon footprint calculator. I don't know the info on my "house" as I'm in an apartment with utilities included. I'll have to try and run into my landlord and ask what they pay. I did find a secondary carbon footprint 3.77 tonnes of CO2 in a year. I feel like I do a pretty good job not being wasteful, but clearly there is room for improvement.
Seems like I'm doing a lot of reading lately. I think that's the influence of public transportation. Most recently, I finished the Soloist by Steve Lopez. It was a gift from Terrie, my supervisor last year at the West Side Catholic Center. She has "absolutely loved" the book, and there was no way I could say no after that. It took awhile to get to, but it was well worth the wait.
The book was most important for me because of its realism. It doesn't cut too many corners in describing mental illness. It also makes the clear link between homelessness and mental illness. Mr. Lopez is very accurate when he talks about war veterans and people who have experienced trauma populating places like Skid Row. Trauma makes some people stronger, but it can also send a person to very dark places and change a person's brain chemistry. Many times, people who have experienced trauma seek to isolate themselves. We had plenty of guests last year who were reluctant to talk to anyone. Trust is a difficult piece to repair, especially when it is broken between a person and all of society. This book, however, shows the redemptive power of friendship. Mr. Lopez and Nathaniel's journey is a powerful one, and it has the potential to change the perception of mental illness in this country. I hope it does, and I hope their friendship lasts a lifetime, for both of their sakes.
*I wrote more about trauma in another book review here.
...just as long as you don't call me late for dinner. I heard this joke a lot last year. Of course, it made a lot of sense working in a soup kitchen. Like everyone who participated in the process, I ate alot. So, in the vein of trying to once again re-establish better food habits, I decided to read a book I had heard about called In Defense of Food. Michael Polian authored it to take back dinner from a variety of threats. His book is a great examination of the problems of nutritional science and the difficulties of eating well from supermarkets full of processed food. His simple rules, such as "Eat less food [especially meat], eat mostly vegetables," are easy to understand, but may require more trips to the farmers market to follow. The main thrust of the book is that diseases like diabetes and obesity have been greatly exacerbated by the Western diet and that we should avoid eating that way as much as possible. It is hard to do when most food in stores fall right into a Western diet, supposedly low-fat but with its calories more than replaced by refined carbs. Even most of our breads have more ingredients than the 5 Polian allows. He believes the more complex the food, the more likely it is to come in the context of a Western diet that is either killing us or making us overuse the health care system. So pick up the book and head to your local farmers market, or follow Polian's advice to shop only in the outer walls of the super market. Cook a delicious veggie stir-fry and raise a glass of wine to better food and better health.
I just finished Paul Mariani's memoir of his experience with the Long Retreat - thirty days of silence and contemplation. It is a tradition passed down by the founder of the Jesuits, St. Ignatius, and is required of all who seek to join the Company of Jesus and empty themselves for its missions. It is the best memoir I've read outside of Dave Egger's Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, and it shares the same quality of brutal honesty. Paul's journey is one of sin and grace, as was Ignatius of Loyola's journey to sainthood, as are all of our journeys to be what we will become. The power of the book is the way sin is overcome by grace. Paul discovers the truth that the transforming Christ is there for all who are willing to look for Him. Even as I struggle to commit myself to prayer, I am encouraged by Paul's experience. I believe his truth shows us a way to better know the Truth. And that is truly Good News.
Today, I finished a database of properties in foreclosure in the neighborhood I work in. I was saddened by the fact that 4 homes went into foreclosure on my recent birthday. This day of rejoicing for me was for 4 families the beginning of possibly the end of their most important material investment. A home is something I'd taken for granted until becoming acutely aware of social injustices in college. Then I spent last year seeing the toll homelessness can take on people, trying to understand and minister as best I could. The positive note is that for those 4 families, there is still time to save their home. NHS may be able to help them. And maybe next year they'll be rejoicing with me.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness month. I recently saw a statistic that attributed nearly 10 percent of Chicago murders in 2008 to domestic violence. Please consider contributing in some way to the work of domestic violence hot-lines and shelters. Prayers wouldn't hurt either...
I introduce with this post the new Value of the Month feature for intention, and also a collaboration with photographer Jeremy Ruzich. A life of intention is developed like a garden, with tenderness, care, and precision. The gardener cannot work on each facet of the garden at the same time, and must focus on individual aspects while keeping in mind the other working pieces and his or her broader goals. So with this feature I welcome readers to think about the way each monthly value influences their life.
I chose Simplicity to be the first Value of the Month, focusing on Presence. Presence, to me, is the act of focusing on the conditions and people present in a given time and place. It is an active choice to give up anxieties and anticipation toward the future in order to respond to the demands of the moment.
Technology has always worked to expand spheres of presence, whether by Train or by Twitter. There are great aspects of these inventions – they allow us to bridge geographical divides and experience events and occurrences nature would have otherwise kept private. But these technological advances can be isolating, giving priority to planning the upcoming Facebook event across the country while we miss our next door neighbor’s birthday party or difficult day at work. However, seeing Presence as a debate over technology’s merits and limitations, which is always my first thought, is useful but does not capture the whole meaning of the word.
C.S. Lewis challenged me in The Screwtape Letters, a book of communication between a supervisory demon and his ground-level associate over the temptation of a man, to look deeper into the issue of Presence. His supervisor demon Screwtape writes that devils have worked very hard to focus human attention on the Future to “inflame hope and fear…[because] in making them think about it we make them think of unrealities.” Screwtape advises his associate Wormwood that much of vice is based on future expectations, that, “We want a whole race perpetually in pursuit of the rainbow’s end, never honest, nor kind, nor happy now.” I was inspired in college by the possibilities of reform for businesses, politics, communities, and individuals. But C.S. Lewis brings up a strong point. If I let future aspirations consume all of my time and self, there is nothing left over to actually be understanding to the people within arm’s reach.
However you decide to frame the value of presence, I suggest you consider another passage by Lewis, where Screwtape writes, “[God] does not want men to give the Future their hearts, to place their treasure in it. We do.”
Image: ©2009 by Jeremy Ruzich
