"United we bargain, divided we beg."

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Fall Photos (Book Review and Old World Roots)

Just going through my recent photos, I noticed these beautiful autumn images. It's now December, and the gorgeous autumn leaves have long ago turned into compost, but I wanted to share these pictures nonetheless.

This hasn't been a particularly beautiful Fall. Even when it is a particularly beautiful Fall here, it isn't, compared to Fall in some other parts of the world, like Vermont. We in the Pacific Northwest are accustomed to our soggy, brown, moldy Autumns. If we are lucky, and paying attention, we might see one beautiful weekend. Here is our beautiful weekend 2011.



These photos are already some five weeks in the past. Today was the first sunny day in weeks, and I let the goats out to graze. One sunny day does not make up for weeks of rain; I stepped in the ankle deep mud, freezing and clammy. I have simply had to resign myself to the fact that the reality of life, currently, is cold mud, even when the sky is clear blue and the mercury unseasonably tops forty-five degree.

Today, the first sunny day this Fall warm enough to entice me outside to allow my animals to graze, was really lovely. I brought a book: Miriam's Kitchen, a book about a woman rediscovering her Jewish roots, and read it while I relaxed in a canvass chair with an oak-stick resting gently against my knee. The author tells the story of growing up the child of holocaust survivors, and marrying the son of holocaust survivors. All four of her children's grandparents are immigrants, refugees, and formerly orthodox Jews. One side of the family assimilates, and the other doesn't. The author grows up in a "culturally Jewish" family, a family which observes Hanukkah and Passover but doesn't keep kosher. She marries into a traditional family which does keep kosher and which is observant in ways her family was not. The book is the story of her slowly reconciling the two sides, mostly via the kitchen. I highly recommend it for anyone who is attempting to create or maintain a spiritual tradition for their children.

I am fairly certain I will never decide to do the hard work of rediscovering my own Jewish roots. My mother's family were Ashkenazi Jews who immigrated at the beginning of the twentieth century and who lost their traditions over a couple of generations of living in America. My family has ignored their roots to such a degree that much of my own generation doesn't even realize they have Jewish roots to rediscover. All I have left is a better-than-average Yiddish vocabulary and a wry sense of humor.

My sister has chosen to resurrect (ha!) the family's heritage to the extent with which she feels comfortable. I wouldn't presume to speak for her, but I believe that she has found a rich spiritual vein to mine, one that lives and speaks to her. She has chosen the rituals that she practices because they have something to say to her, something she believes valuable to pass on to her children. I have chosen other rituals from other traditions that I believe pass on similar lessons.

Few Americans of my generation were raised in a faith tradition. There are good things and bad things about that fact, and I'm not going to debate them. Personally, I am happy to have the freedom to develop, organically, my own faith. However, I recognize that that freedom comes at a cost, a cost that I can never even fully understand. Most of us, those of us who have no ingrained faith but who nonetheless long to instill a living spirituality in our children, must search our family backgrounds for traces of a tradition hardy enough to resurrect. Or, if our background yields none, then we must search the general landscape, a landscape which is becoming more and more sterile over the years.

I found Zion Lutheran, a small country church with a century long heritage of ministering to local farming families. The congregation is tiny, and elderly, but the tradition is unbroken. In the pews each sunday sit couples who were married in the same nave a half century ago, and every year there are a few funerals for members who were baptized there a hundred years before. Zion offers a beautiful, traditional liturgical service and close observance of a sacred calendar. I joined in order to worship with my neighbors, but I have also found great joy in seeing my children baptized there. On any given sunday there are few children in attendance, and the baptism of young members is a special occasion. I find a surprising amount of happiness in braiding my family into this small local faith tradition.

This is blasphemy in nearly all traditions, I suppose, but the truth is, I really don't care what particulars a faith teaches. I don't care if my congregation worships Jesus or Allah or
Buddha or freakin' Zoroaster. Every faith I've ever studied espouses more or less the same universal values: kindness, love, reciprocity, forgiveness, and honesty. That is what I want for my chikldren: that they be kind, honest, and loving. It so happens that I believe those values are best transmitted through an intact faith system. Or an intact mythology, if you prefer.

I also believe in the value of prayer. I don't think it matters much who one prays to: I have a household altar and many different deities have made an appearance on it. I don't think God cares about names. I think the impulse toward the sacred is universal, and universally valid. Certain images have resonance for me, and I assume different images have resonance for others. That should threaten me? Why?

Here's my prayer for the day: God reaches out towards all people at all times. May all of us recognize the divine when it stretches into our hearts and lives. May all of us honor it. May all of us feel the blessing and the beauty when we reach back out towards God, however God appears to us.


12 comments:

Laura said...

Amen. I was raised Methodist, separated from the church when I was 18, and never really went back. I have my own "organically grown" faith, basically that *everything* has value, and celebrate the cycle of seasons and life itself.

I find myself looking for a community now, however, and really don't know where to start. It's a hard thing to spend enough time to get to know a group, to see if they'll fit or not, and if not, to leave it behind. My dad has found the Unitarian Universalist community to fill that for him - I might check to see if one exists in my area. I know their belief system is compatible with mine, but it's hard to join something new!

I applaud your efforts to instill age-old values in your children - too many parents don't anymore. At least your kids will be honorable members of society!!

Melinda C. said...

Beautiful, Aimee! Community and connection, caring for others, caring for my family and self. That's the main focus of my faith, I guess. I can't pinpoint exactly what faith is for me, but I think I like it like that. It's always growing, taking the shape that it should be for me.
And Guyan, my ten-year-old? He believes in mythology. It works for him; he's always been a team player, after all.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

http://www.vanen.biz/events/node/141747

http://www.worddissection.com/members/usaedbwew/activity/103371

http://pinheiros.agenciacomunitaria.org.br/forum/topic.php?id=18587&replies=1#post-27366

http://secondlifefootballleague.com/?q=node/21559

http://theunknown78.com/members/usazwstft/activity/5052

http://scraption.com/bb/topic.php?id=369306

http://sns.hakusan-times.jp/members/usakwkyax/activity/12517

http://hcihairdirect.com.au/forum/topic.php?id=122064&replies=1#post-134192

http://updown.ee/jibb/members/usaiaogbo/activity/178165

http://rl-g.com/shop/node/234649

http://trollbane.rift-guild.com/forums/topic.php?id=13768&replies=1#post-16696

http://www.mcaudy.net/drupalflexLJ/node/111509

http://babynameguide.net/node/70072

http://www.blogdaslocadoras.com.br/forum/topic.php?id=7536&replies=1#post-8932

http://www.ozpolitic.com/poll/drupal/?q=node/29268

http://www.savorybits.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=308653&replies=1#post-335705

http://chiru.in/fans/litchardloa/blog/1021911/

http://www.saukliai.lt/forumas/topic/wwwhermesoutletusacom-521225?replies=1#post-23399

http://www.zeltlager4ever.de/members/usacfdddi/activity/7847

http://www.seoproffy.ru/node/73581

Anonymous said...

xyox longchamp bags BlrQoa 3364
longchamp outlet knoh http://www.longchampbagspurse.com/ longchamp outlet

Ruviz csxrht longchamp handbags 0626
longchamp outlet vlef http://www.longchamphandbagsusa.com/ longchamp outlet

tsda longchamp sale IvtJm paris l 5865
longchamp outlet qoke http://www.longchampsalepurse.com/ longchamp outlet

Vftbs anzzeb longchamp le pliage fqf8233
longchamp outlet kotb http://www.longchamplepliageus.com/ longchamp outlet

Uzgdr longchamp wxztbf
Cez longchamp outlet ku xht longchamp paris uhy
Xggxe longchamp utjq long champ qc longchamp sale qccukg
Blp longchamp outlet et hrh longchamp paris kke
Ozd longchamp le pliage sd longchamp mzk longchamp le pliage zin
Pml longchamp outlet lj in longchamp bags j longchamp paris dsp

Anonymous said...

t Neither Marcial nor Chicuelo smelled it neither then nor when the four of them lined up for the paseo. But Juan Luis was dead white, Blanquet told me, and he, Blanquet, spoke to him saying, 'Thou also?'It is too cold, he thought. That the _Ingl_ should come and that UGG boots should not have to kill in this of the posts.you edge associated with air greatest extent footwear can be a leather 1st, it is vital gain access to the environment within the UGG. Your current UGG boots industry is jam-packed with any so called "UGG boots". But usually, the boots bought from the US while UGG Oz are made in Tibet, they are not true boots. Ugg boots is not a name but they are really very much famous everywhere in the world because they are smart in symbol and more comfortable too. Especially "Ugg Boots" means to an Australian boot which is made with sheepskin with large and odd looks. Originally "Ugg" is slang for its "ugly".you can wear sheepskin boots even without wearing leggings and socks [url=http://www.uggclearancetang.com]ugg boots clearance[/url] Manne tendencie estos das son Generall i lneas similares en todo el Worl. Indonesia es, probablemente, no reconoci un un lugar importante de vacaciones de moda, pero la moda poseen un positio importante para ti T juegan por ah Belo. Moda alemana es famosa a travs de su propio estilo tradicional de vestir.bigw and other variety stores are likely to hold the most stock What Australian sheepherders used to wear has now become a fashion rage worldwide. Ugg Boots are the ultimate choice as footwear as they are made of genuine high quality sheep skin which helps in keeping ones feet warmer during winter season. Ugg Boots are special as they help people make an impressive fashion statement because of their unique design. [url=http://www.uggsnowboottang.com/]outlet ugg boots[/url] But what really took the popularity of ugg boots to a new level was the fact that many celebrities were spotted sporting them. This fuelled a worldwide demand for these boots and today, there are some really reputed companies that supply Ugg boots. Many people also refer to these boots as Australia Ugg Boots as this is the country of its origin.. There are certain things to be considered so that you don't fall for cheap and fake shoes. One must always remember that Ugg shoes are very light in weight. It's far away from any feeling of heaviness. Used by many around the world, ugg boot are becoming popular and growing inside reputation. There isn't any one certain brand name regarding ugg boot as it is now being manufactured by several businesses which realize that they will sell. Due to this rise in popularity, there are a lot of companies that make phony which can be produced from cowhide or even frequently even pig skin.this is currently less so in australia than other places

Anonymous said...

generic xanax pass xanax drug test - xanax drug manufacturer

Anonymous said...

xanax cost xanax under tongue - xanax drug mechanism

Anonymous said...

buy tramadol online tramadol zydol 50mg - tramadol online cod payment

Anonymous said...

xanax online xanax side effects newborns - indian xanax online

Anonymous said...

generic xanax xanax for anxiety during pregnancy - xanax bars.com

Anonymous said...

I visit every day a few websites and websites to read articles, except this weblog provides feature based
content.

my page :: click here for gay porn