This morning I saw a sunrise that looked like thinnest slices of white cheese in a grey-white sky. Later, the sun resembled a neon peach buried in milk. By mid-morning, the sky is oyster-grey with smoke and the sun cannot break through. I read once that, with the climate catastrophe, we will soon reach a time when we never see the stars or a blue sky. Smoke and smog will cover the entire planet every day. This morning I believe that.
Last night, Jim and I drove out to Spring Creek Prairie for a picnic with friends. Sunflowers ten feet tall filled the ditches. The camel-colored soybeans, the browning corn and the purple sumac all reminded us that the season is turning. The prairie was at her best. The bluestem was over our heads and the grasses across the pond shone pink in the late afternoon sun. The goldenrod, sunflowers, wild aster and liatris were in full bloom. Monarchs floated by and katydids sang as we walked the wild prairie paths.
I cannot walk this prairie without feeling a sense of wonder. For 20 years now, I’ve brought visitors to the prairie to show them the best that Nebraska offers. I’ve come to this place when I want beauty or need solace. When my time comes to feel deep grief, I will come here every day.
I invite you to check out this excellent podcast about regenerating our rural communities.
anchor.fm/questforfire/episodes/Episode-21---Graham-Christensen--regenerating-our-rural-communiti...
anchor.fm
Graham Christensen is president/founder of GC Resolve, and as a 5th generation Nebraska farmer, Graham has been working to raise awareness about the degenerative effects of modern, corporate farming systems, while also voicing the need to expand regenerative, community-focused farming systems. He sh...This morning, a tomato-red sun on the horizon signaled another day of wildfire smoke ahead. With smoke, ragweed and high temperatures, I am staying inside this week. But I have wonderful books to read. One is about our past and present, Isabel Wilkerson’s brilliant book "Caste" is helping me see the similarities in the ways India has treated the Dalits and America has treated people of color. As I read her book, I am realizing how our systemic racism has distorted and damaged both our country and all of our individual lives.
The other book, Rob Hopkins' “From What Is to What If?” demonstrates what can happen if we imagine a good future and then work to co-create it. He is the leader of the world-wide Transition Town movement and an inspirational thinker who argues that only our imaginations can move us away from Doomsday scenarios and help us save our beautiful world. Both books are life-changing reads and I couldn’t recommend them more highly. Thank goodness, we have books to guide and inspire us.
Dear friends, On September 2, I will be speaking at the Lied Center on the topic of Trauma and Recovery: Reviving Ourselves in Our Capsized Culture. I am the first in a series of four speakers for the Thompson Forum on World Issues. Their theme this year is Regeneration: Leadership and Hope for a Changing Planet.
Please come in person if you feel safe doing so. The Lied will limit tickets to 500 in the 3000 seat auditorium and require masks. It's a free event, but you must reserve your ticket at ENTHOMPSON.UNL.EDU.