Category: Essays
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Tough Old Broad
In the summer of 1996 my then 71-year-old grandmother joined my family on a whitewater rafting trip. We rode the musty school bus up and around narrow mountain roads to get to the put-in. We slathered on sunscreen and strapped on life vests. We climbed into an equally musty raft with another family and a…
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A Wisdom of Eve
“The health of the family, society, and culture that revolves around a woman depends to a large degree on her health, and her health rests in turn on her ability to keep her creative energies flowing (Shakti). Our concern in Ayurveda is to help women find those channels, both inside and outside themselves, within which…
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Plastic Fruits
“Your proper concern is alone the action of duty, not the fruits of the action. Cast then away all desire and fear for the fruits, and perform your duty.” ~ The Bhagavad Gita I have a tendency to grumble, to get cynical, to be in anxiety and fear and tell myself the story that I’ve…
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You are Nature
The saddest part about fall is the disappearance of blueberries. Thankfully, this loss is tempered by the return of hot soup and warm bread. Nature gives and nature takes. And we are a part of that give and take. We are Nature. Which I sometimes forget. Setting aside theologies of incarnation for a moment –…
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On Flow, Labor, and Crucifixion
Several years ago my family and I went tubing down a clear mountain river in Saluda, NC. I remember noticing, perhaps for the first time, the number of currents in the water. Some hugged the trees growing on the banks. Some meandered in the middle, and some brought a little spin to my inner-tube. Staying…
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That Would Be Enough
In response to the violence in Charlottesville, in followup to my last post, In Protest, and with inspiration from three members of the clergy . . . “That is all very well, little Alice. But there is a third thing you must do,” said her grandfather. “What is that?” asked Alice. “You must do something…
Melinda Emily Thomas 