Keepers of Creation

"Gone are the days of the shovel and pick
"And with it the simple practice of extractives
"Replaced by big business and abuse.

"Removing the very heart of the Earth,
"The ores and minerals that leave behind
"Gaping holes, slag heaps and acid rain.

"Developing countries rich in natural resources
"Become the targets for the raping of the land
"Stealing away the very life of its people.

"Nothing green can grow here anymore
"Mining translates into increase of poverty
"And the question remains:

"Who is to blame?

-- Catholic Relief Services

Who indeed is to blame?

Can't possibly be us, could it? Why would we, who are 100 percent reliant on the Earth for our very existence, endanger it and thereby risk losing everything?

"Then God said: Let the Earth bring forth every kind of living creature: tame animals, crawling things and every kind of wild animal. And so it happened.

"God made every kind of wild animal, every kind of tame animal, and every kind of thing that crawls on the ground. God saw that it was good.

"Then God said: Let us make human beings in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the tame animals, all the wild animals, and all the creatures that crawl on the Earth." (Genesis 1:24-26)

And why would God entrust us with all of his creation, give us dominion over all life on Earth, and then encourage us to rape and pillage it? Answer: He did NOT expect us to do any of that. He expected us to respect and care for it just as he did when he created it. He gave the Earth to mankind and to all forms of life on Earth and expect us, as the pinnacle of his creation, to take care of it, to make sure that we were good stewards of his creation and thereby ensure that there would be plenty for future generations -- as many future generations as come into existence until the end of time.

And we are now escalating the pace at which our precious planet is dying. We couldn't be further from being careful stewards of creation. We are hastening its demise with our greed and sense of entitlement, our pursuit of profit, wealth and power.

Shame on us.

How am I called to care for God's creation? Do I reduce, reuse and recycle? 

What I am called -- what we are all called -- to do for God's creation is to take only what I need to use, and leave the rest in good condition for others who need it. I'm pretty sure I do not know a single soul who actual practices that. And our brothers and sisters in Third World countries might be said to live that way, but what would they do if they came here to live? Would they dedicate themselves to convincing the rest of us to live more frugally and gently, to stop polluting the Earth and stop using up resources that are desperately needed elsewhere? Living that way because you have no choice -- as miserable as that may be -- his not the same as making a conscious decision to conserve resources and live simply. Our Third World brethren are living better than we are, there's no question, in the sense of caring for the Earth, but given the opportunity, it seems likely many (if not virtually all) of them would change their ways.

Do I reduce, reuse and recycle? I reduce when I can, but must confess, I do not go out of my way to reduce. I do try to reuse some things, but could absolutely do better. I do some recycling, so that is becoming a habit -- we recycle newsprint, cardboard and plastic on a regular basis. We do not use a lot of glass anymore, but if we did, we would also recycle that. We could start recycling cans, and perhaps we will in 2015 begin adding that to our recycling heap.

In what ways do extractives abuse human rights and increase poverty in developing countries?

This refers to mining, in particular. And we do it in this country, too. We have based entire economies on mining operations. Take, for example, West Virginia, where coal mining has ruined much of the landscape in one of this country's most beautiful states. Not only does labor get paid woefully low wages, but the mining operations, much like today's controversial fracking operations, create pollution in the air, in water, the soil and anywhere else in the way. These pollutants threaten health, causing cancer, respiratory and other unspeakable health problems -- yes, in the name of corporate profits, but there's a larger issue: demand. Those low wages and pollutants make possible much of the lifestyle we enjoy today, including the technology that allows me to write and post this blog. Sadly, people in developing countries are also sacrificing their lives, in essence, so that we might live as we do, but they do not see any of the rewards.

In what ways does my lifestyle aid in the abuse of natural resources? 

We buy cheap clothing made in Asia and South America by low-wage earners. We eat food grown in those countries, and because we have the resources here to pay for it, we get their food in mamy instances, without realizing it or thinking much about it. And we throw away far too much of it, unthinking, uncaring.

Clothing, food, and then there's plastics, which eat up petroleum-based resources. We drive cars and ride buses and airplanes, and heat our homes and offices, all of which use oil resources.

Our parents used to tell us we should clean our plates at dinner because kids in Africa were starving. Well, they are, but unfortunately by the time it reaches our plates, our garages, our closets and offices, the damage is done.

The question is this: If demand for those things dropped, would people in those countries get to keep and use it? Or would they just lose their jobs and only source of income?

So our lifestyle here may aid in creating demand for goods that eat up the world's resources, but would reducing that demand really help any of those poor people in Third World countries? Recycling has become its own industry here. Maybe that's the problem: Everything has to become profitable to continue to exist.

How am I called to change my lifestyle?

Surely reducing demand would help somewhat. Reducing waste would have to help. Reducing reliance on technology like transportation that eats up the world's oil reserves and adds to pollution would be beneficial to all.

Should we move back toward the village concept, perhaps keeping the best of the technology we've developed but relying more on sustainable agriculture and industries and services that employ our neighbors and help sustain our own small corner of the world? Would that work, and how long would it take to get there?

We must all do our small parts, and the more of us who do, the better things will be. The only remaining question: Can we do enough in time to save the Earth? Now there's something to pray about.

"There is inherent integrity to all creation and it requires careful stewardship."

-- Catholic Social Teaching

Health Care for All

Last night I had a dream.  In it, a friend from India told me we couldn't meet because her doctor had informed her she was "Eucalyptically Train-Stopped."

I woke up at that point. "Eucalyptically Train-Stopped," I thought.   "What ever does THAT mean??"

When I dream about plants, I always research their value both as homeopathics and as flower essences.  So I grabbed my phone, punched in "Eucalyptus Homeopathic" and waited for the results.

Very quickly, I made an amazing discovery.  This homeopathic is useful for both chronic sinusitis and the symptoms of food poisoning.

Now how in the heck did my dream not only know I was recovering from a cold AND food poisoning that week, but what homeopathic would be helpful???

A few hours later, I called Whole Foods to see if they carried that particular homeopathic.  When the answer was no, no worries.  I simply went to the website where John and I have bought other homeopathics and ordered it right then and there.  For $17.76.

Is that not a great story? Amazing? Doesn't it remind you of the age-old truth that God has always spoken to us in our dreams, guiding us in healing and wisdom?

Doesn't it also tell you I have electricity, money, access to a smart phone, a computer, Whole Foods in my neighborhood, that I can order anything I damn well please on the internet and expect speedy delivery, and that I feel totally entitled to these services?

Don't get me wrong.  I'm glad and grateful I'm getting this homeopathic.  I believe God wants me to have it,.  But I get a bit of a buzz-kill when I consider how easily it comes to me in a world where 2,000 children die every day from diarrhea, in large part due to unsafe water supplies and poor sanitation and hygiene.

Not to mention an appalling lack of Walgreens in third world countries.

How has access to health care helped me grow and develop?

I was raised by doctors.  I know about health care.  Every time I was sick, I could expect my mother to come home from the office and give me a shot of penicillin in my rump.

And you want to know how I felt about hospitals?  I thought of them as my second home.  Whether because I was hanging out in the hospital soda shop to be doted on by the shop clerk while my mother made her rounds, or I was wrapping my arms around a nurse's neck following my tonsillectomy, I always felt safe there.  It's where people went to get well when mama didn't have the right medicines at home.

I don't feel quite the same way about hospitals today, or traditional medical care.  My choice of health care is now primarily Complementary and Alternative.  I'd rather give flower essences, homeopathy, reiki, Eden Energy Medicine, nutrition, exercise and meditation a whirl first.   When and if that doesn't work,  traditional medical care will still be there.

Not that traditional care hasn't done well by me.  It saved me when I had an allergic reaction to sulfa drugs and went into anaphylactic  shock.  It helped me hear better when water was clogging my eardrums.  It helped me see better when it set a pair of nerdy-looking pointy-rimmed glasses on my nose.  It kept me from much worse when my surgery took care of an appendix on the verge of bursting.  It has restored pep and balance with a simple medication used to treat Hashimoto's disease.  It restored my sanity when well-trained doctors took the time to listen to me.

All of these benefits have enabled me to live, see, hear, learn, love and work.

What does the future hold for children caught in a cycle of poverty?

Let's not over-think the obvious, here.

It means basic needs for nutrition, clean water, education and health care will not be met.

Unless somebody does something about it.  Somebody like you and me.

How can I help provide a healthy future for all people of this world?

This is a problem where the only thing I know to do is throw money at it.  John and I have a little checking account we call our "tithe account."  Every month we put a percentage of our income in it.  At the end of the year, we donate it to International Justice Mission.  It's such a pittance, but it still helps to know we're saving someone's child from being sold into sexual slavery, and we're helping her mom start her own home-based business.

I mean, seriously. Me. I'm helping a woman in India start a business with my pittance. It makes me feel like Oprah.

It makes her glow with pride, and smile with deep relief, and thank God for me in her prayers with a gratitude you know I don't deserve. It's just a pittance, for God's sake.  A widow's mite.

Need a home for your widow's mite?  How about the Musana Community Development Organization?

Why not listen to this song while you reflect on your answers to these questions?

It only takes ONE voice to change the world ... will it be mine?

"So often in our world ...
"The least of our brothers and sisters
"Have become the faceless and voiceless ...
"People who are forced to walk the path alone ...
"Carrying with them ...
"The burdens of injustice.
"Knowing only a world of limited resources ...
"As limiting as the air she breathes ...
"Can anyone hear her plea?
"She can no longer be faceless and voiceless ...
"I can no longer be faceless and voiceless ...
"How am I called to share the journey with others?
"It only takes ONE voice to change the world ...
"Whose voice will it be... Will it be my voice?"

"Speak out for those who have no voice." Proverbs 31:8

Limited resources. I complain about waiting too long in traffic, about slow Internet, about a furnace that doesn't keep me toasty warm all the time. I complain about not having time to finish catching laundry up or about poor customer service. There's no end to ways we complain.

Yet some of our sisters must walk miles just to get water for the day. Some of our brothers live in huts with dirt floors. Many of our brethren don't have more than one or two sets of clothing to worry about washing. They have no motor cars, no traffic jams or customer service complaints. No one serves their needs. No one even knows they exist, except in the abstract.

Interesting that I got this first reflection, about voices. I am not really a complaining sort of person, most of the time, and much of my career has been spent giving voice to those who seek it. Yet now I sit during this first week of Lent and ponder:

What burdens do I carry?
Perhaps the burden of feeling entitled ... to good customer service, to smooth roads with few obstacles, to comfort and convenience. After all, I am paying for those things, yes? Yet this sense of feeling entitled is a burden.

Recent industry changes in my career field caused me a good deal of stress and worry recently (also burdens). I had to consider the possibility that I might be unemployed, looking for work, even work in a different field. Almost certainly work in a different field. It was unsettling. I came to realize how much of my own sense of identity is wrapped up in my job, my work.

Who would I be without it? Would anyone care what happened to me anymore if I wasn't writing columns, soliciting commentaries, helping to give a voice to others, yes, but also giving me my own sense of value in my community.

What within me is faceless and voiceless?
Like those who live in Third World countries? Faceless and voiceless? What value do I bring to my community, if not that function of helping others to find their own voices? I would have more time to volunteer if I didn't work. That's a good kind of facelessness. Just giving to others. I could crochet more scarves for kids. More baby blankets, more lap blankets, more hats and gloves. I could keep my house a lot cleaner if I had more time. If I was faceless and voiceless. If we could pay for it, that is.

What do I need to embrace in my life to help give voice to others?
I can't travel to Third World countries. That costs money. But if I could pare down my own spending, cut away the excess, empty my house to some degree and in the process, empty my own being to some degree, maybe it would be possible. Maybe.

Yet maybe, by doing my job, simply by doing what I get paid to do, I am in my own way giving voice to others. Maybe in time, there will be an opportunity to extend that same voice to others who truly live in poverty, in need.

How can I speak with ONE voice of justice on behalf of all people?
Well, sometimes a voice doesn't have to involve sound waves. Justice is a complex concept. Fairness, equity, at least an equal playing field.

But it hurts to look at pictures of people whose lives are so difficult compared to my own. But how to make my own sacrifices somehow relevant to them? There's something to think about.

Sometimes actions are louder than words. Not everyone can get up and travel around the world to help others, but we can make our sacrifices count -- not just during Lent, but all year long -- if we can direct our efforts toward giving to agencies and organizations that can help.

And we can do things in our own communities. I coordinate an effort to gather handmade scarves that are given to young children whose parents seek help at a local ministry. I support a very informal effort by some friends to collect food and clothing to distribute directly to the homeless in our own community. I support other similar efforts.

It's never enough, but it's a start. If everyone could make a couple of small sacrifices, give up just one luxury or vice and give the savings to a community charity, the collective effort could make a huge difference for those in need right here in our own communities.

That's a loud voice in support of justice.