Seedlings
Each month we will publish a letter which we call a seedling. A seedling, by definition, is a young plant that has all that it needs to blossom: root, shoot and leaves. It just needs to break through the surface to reach the light. I am hopeful that with your work, care, wisdom, and inspiration the seedling will break through any resistance, reach the light of day and spread like wildflowers.
The letter will include an idea, a theory, a thought to pique your curiosity, to inspire you to delve deeper, to think in new ways, maybe even to imagine a new way of living. As I was exploring various fields I felt myself waking up, paying attention, and being more mindful. It was a though the light had shifted and what was in shadow was clear as day.
The letters may also include a poem, a Bible verse, or other reading. I am hopeful there will be words to inspire, enlighten, and renew and that you will share your insight that you may become a leader and a teacher in a quest to save our planet from ourselves, and for all of its inhabitants.
But we cannot forget action, for action can speak louder than words. Each letter will include a practical action we can take, some larger than others. And those actions can becomes habits, and they can teach others, inspire others to do likewise. And maybe most importantly, they can teach our children and grandchildren mindful and hope-filled ways of living on this beautiful planet for generations and generations to come.
Courage
Dear Partners in Green, Lately, it has become evident as we move headlong into an uncertain and ominous future, that a virtue we must embrace and nurture within ourselves is courage, defined by Merriam Webster as the mental or moral strength to risk, persevere, and...
Repair the World
Dear Partners in Green, Recently as a fundraiser, PBS aired the documentary, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor,” a film that examines the life and legacy of Fred Rogers. In the program, the beloved host of “Mister Roger’s Neighborhood” was described as a person who lived...
The Way It Is
Dear Partners in Green, When I began this website it never crossed my mind that I would ever write a Seedling on politics or voting. My parents’ generation was one in which an unwritten rule was not to discuss such topics in polite company. Being a child of the...
Just the Facts
Dear Partners in Green, It seems so simple: a fact is a fact, right? Well, unfortunately, it is more complicated than that, and likely always has been, but now, today, our future depends upon getting our facts straight and changing our behavior in light of that...
An Awakening
Dear Partners in Green What a month we have had! It has been heartbreaking, disturbing, unsettling, inspiring, and we hope, ultimately life changing, and world changing. Beginning with COVID-19, and then with the killing of George Floyd, the reality of unfairness,...
Empathy and Climate Change
Dear Partners in Green, Lately, as I have watched our society grow weary of the coronavirus and tired of guidelines and restrictions, and anxious as to the pandemics long-term economic effects, I have been disappointed by what seems to be a decreasing sense of empathy...
A New Day
Dear Partners in Green, I am writing this letter on the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day. Let us hope that one day there will be no need for an Earth Day, for every day will be Earth Day, for people will have finally learned that degradation of our natural world is...
A Glimmer of Light
Dear Partners in Green, What a time in which we are living! For each of us the experience may be different. Some may be living alone, some with families, some with one significant other, some may be older, some young and, of course, in the mix there may be beloved...
It’s Time To Wake Up From Winter
Dear Partners in Green, It is time to wake up from Winter and head into Spring, energized and ready to take action. It really is time to let our voices be heard. We must continue to foster our green habits, to live green as though our lives depend upon it, but so too,...
February Does Not Have to Be Cruel
Dear Partners in Green, Those of us living in Northern Hemisphere may feel caught in the doldrums of winter with its short, bitterly cold, gray days. Some believe that T.S. Elliot was wrong when he wrote that April was the cruelest month, that indeed it is February....
Resolve to Teach a Child
Dear Partners in Green, I wish you all a Happy and Healthy New Year! I am hopeful that at the end of 2020 you will look back on the year with a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction for having kept your New Year’s resolutions pertaining to Climate Change. If you...
The Proper Exercise of Dominion Yields Shalom
Dear Partners in Green, December is a month of joy, yet it can also be a month of challenge for us who are attempting to break old habits and set new patterns in pursuit of a healthy planet. Maybe the most important thing is to simply remind ourselves that the holiday...