“Don’t let your spirit die before your body does,” reminds Jon Foreman. It is a reminder that that which is neglected, ignored, denied can quickly atrophy and be lost. Our soil-ness—body, calendar, deadlines, to-do lists, pay checks—are right in front of us, demanding our attention…and rightly so! Matter matters. But if we ignore our spirit, … Continue reading Spirit and Soil: Part 5—The Back of the Divine
Spirit
Spirit and Soil: Part 4–Mud Flap Theology
Some mud flaps are better than others. Probably the most prominent and famous are the mud flaps carrying the chromed, curvaceous woman. Some would see them as harmless, but I would argue otherwise. It has something to say about reality, about people, about God. There is a theology to it. It tells us that some … Continue reading Spirit and Soil: Part 4–Mud Flap Theology
Spirit and Soil: Part 3–Before the Tesla 3…was the Chevy Nova
It is hard to miss the enormous Tesla factory situated on I-880, between Oakland and San Jose. Not only is the facility mammoth, the signage is matched to its facade: T-E-S-L-A. But before Model 3s were being rolled out there, the plant belonged to GM and Toyota, in a joint venture known as NUMMI. The … Continue reading Spirit and Soil: Part 3–Before the Tesla 3…was the Chevy Nova
Spirit and Soil: Part 2–They Didn’t Tell Me the Doc would Do This When I Turned 40
In the beginning...it was months. And then it was years. And then it was grades. Grades turned into the number of people I could get to attend an event, which turned into how much I could put into my retirement account, which turned into a whole new set of numbers in my G.P.’s office. Glucose. … Continue reading Spirit and Soil: Part 2–They Didn’t Tell Me the Doc would Do This When I Turned 40
Spirit and Soil: Part 1–Don’t Worry, This Isn’t Close to a Thousand Words
1000 words aren’t worth what they used to be. It used to be that they were the given value for a well-taken picture. But more and more we’d rather settle for the picture, no matter how meaningless or marginal or manipulated it is. We take them. We tweak them. We scroll them. We are saturated … Continue reading Spirit and Soil: Part 1–Don’t Worry, This Isn’t Close to a Thousand Words