lux et amor

When I taught AP English Language & Composition at the high school level, one of my favorite essays to teach came from Henry David Thoreau's Walden , the famous account of his time apart from the modern world, living in a cabin on Walden Pond.  (I mean, his mom still brought him sandwiches, because that's what moms do when their kids do weird things like go live in a cabin, "to suck the marrow out of life.") Thoreau was skeptical of the modern world's impact on humanity, and he wanted to get back to the basics, to what mattered. He criticized technological advancements like the daily news and the railroad expansion. He said we do not ride on the railroad; instead "the railroad rides upon us," as we become reliant on train schedules and cross-country commerce. Thoreau questioned the role of the government and advocated for a less hurried life.  It was 1854.  In class, I'd swap out "railroad" for "cell phone," and ask my student...

When we hear the phrase "come to your senses," we tend to interpret it as returning to commonsense. We use the phrase to mean that someone was once not thinking rationally, and now is. But, I was challenged to reconsider this phrase by writer Liz Gilbert. What if, she asked, we take the phrase literally? So often, we are in our minds, aren't we? What would happen if we got out of our minds and into our bodies more often? I decided to experiment with this concept about 2 weeks ago. I chose one sense a day, for 5 days, and focused on it as often as I could. I started on a Monday, with smell. It is absolutely incredible how many scents we encounter in a day, and when I brought my attention to my sense of smell, it was remarkable. I noticed that I take many smells for granted -- my morning coffee, my favorite body wash, my scented candles. I also noticed that filtering out smells helps me function in busy places like markets or cafeterias.  I continued with sight on Tuesday, ...

About a month ago, I watched a Swedish show on Netflix called The Breakthrough.  The concept was interesting and ethically complicated: the police were using DNA from genealogy sites like Ancestry.com to solve cold cases. Pros: old criminal cases and being solved and families are receiving justice. Cons: the people sending their DNA to family history websites do not consent to it being used by the police.  Aside from the moral dilemma presented by the show, here's what struck me, even all these weeks later. The main police investigator is a man whose wife is about to give birth when a young boy is murdered in broad daylight. A witness to the murder is also killed. The case hits the news with the expected splash. It's going to be a huge case, time-intensive and high-profile. The lead detective takes the case, despite the fact that his wife is literally packing her hospital bag when he tells her he has to work late.  You can guess the rest, right? Highly capable members of ...

I've not written much lately, for a few reasons. For one, I've just been really busy. For another, I've been at a loss for words, which doesn't happen all that often.  I have not intended this blog to be "political" per se, though, all of life is related to politics, one could argue. I have found, though, as I've watched people I love and care about have their rights stripped away in less than a month, I find I need to speak up.  Now, I will preface this by saying too often, we allow critiques of one leader to be met with, "So, are you saying that the previous leader was better? Look at what they did . . ." Maybe you've heard the phrase "Two wrongs don't make a right." Criticizing one leader's actions is not an automatic endorsement of the opposite-party's leader. I find myself truly trying to seek understanding.  To begin, I am truly struggling to understand how we as a nation can accept the fact that our president can ...