Sticks and stones ...

I've been reading and thinking lately about eco-theology, a topic I've just become aware of, though it may have been around for years.

J. and I consider ourselves environmentalists-in-the-making. We recycle everything. Last month I recycled the gas/electric bill before I paid it (this was the source of much hilarity when I had to call them up and ask for the amount due). Last year, when the plight of the honeybee was in the news, J. called our lawn-care company and had them eliminate anything non-organic from their applications to our lawn (so now we have weeds; oh well; I'm the one who wants to turn the front lawn into a meadow anyway!). But we have miles to go before we make any impact, if we ever do!

So I've been reading Thomas Berry, who echoes my feeling that everything belongs, and that we and the earth and all its inhabitants are all interconnected. I could quote from every page of Evening Thoughts (but I won't, so I'll still have some friends left!). I cannot even begin to select a quotation from this book. Reading it was a marvelous experience. Go and buy it right now!

This may be the right time to talk about rocks. Years before I read Iris Murdoch's The Green Knight, I was bringing home rocks and stones from my travels. Mine don't move around on the shelf, unlike those in Murdoch's book, but they all seem to be individuals. And certainly they are all unique, like all humans. I would feel a real loss if any of them were gone.

Well, there you go. We all have our secrets! I like the solid feel of rocks in my palm. One fits perfectly in my hand while I say prayers at night. It makes me feel some elemental connection with places I've been, with people I've known, with God. Eventually I forget which rocks represent which places, and I think that's probably a good thing.

So I recommend rocks and stones as a way of connecting -- go collect some! And may yours move around on the shelf!

Comments

"Ms. Cornelius" said…
I love to collect rocks and fossils. My son fills his pockets so full that he almost breaks out the bottoms of the pockets and they scatter everywhere.

Popular posts from this blog

Just call me Grumpy

When life turns on a dime ...

What I said ...