by Roxanne -

Golden Temple Guests

My last post asked the question, “Who is a guest?” At the Golden Temple this question is answered every day. The least among us are treated like royalty. DH writes,

“I ate lunches there, and washed dishes and even helped cook some of the stuff, about 5 times… Quite an experience, very much like the pics show. The one thing about Golden Temple: It is CROWDED beyond anything Americans or Westerners EVER feel comfy with. You get about 15 cubic inches of space <G>… The picture of the kid sleeping is quite peaceful, but when I was there, there would have been another 15 folks sitting, sleeping and otherwise occupying the space in the picture… And yeah, the kid would have been asleep unbothered right in the middle of that :)))”

This is the vision. See for yourself. Take a virtual visit to the The Golden Temple.

You may also like Malls of Justice, Does Everyone Have a Voice? and Babette’s Feast.

by Roxanne -

August Evening Picnic

Photo R. Meshar

This evening we gathered with some friends for a last minute picnic. It was a serendipitous, spontaneous idea. We decided to meet at Lebanon Park. The weather was warm, but not too warm. We didn’t cook, but enjoyed salads – including a tomato and sweet onion salad with ripe, Minnesota tomatoes from this week’s Farmers’ Market. Buttered corn on the cob was the first of the season as well.

Photo R. Meshar
Photo R. Meshar

We chatted, laughed, shared and enjoyed each other’s company. J noticed a snowy, white egret in the distance as we wandered up the hill to head home at sunset.

These pictures will give you a sense of the park. There is a swimming beach nearby, hiking trails and snow-shoeing trails in winter. A nature center has fun activities for kids and adults. Consider Lebanon Park, next time you are out and about.

Photo R. Meshar

You may also like Prairie Walk, Picnic in a Jar and Great Lakes Revisited.

 

by Roxanne -

The Guest

Reframe. Who is a guest? This intriguing film clip provides yet one more way to understand the core of Christian theology – in order for any of us to be saved, healed or made truly whole, ALL of us must be healed.

As St. Paul wrote long ago, “All of creation is groaning, laboring toward salvation, toward becoming a new creation” (Romans 8:19). In other words, we are saved together.

Similarly, in this short film which you can click and watch: The Guest, Henrik Malmgren writes, “In a society where we take care of each other with bullets, the old widow Elsa is trapped in old habits. When her lonely dinner gets brutally interrupted, Elsa makes a decision that changes more than her own life, understanding that Paradise is lost without others.” (Emphasis mine)

You may also like You’re Invited!, Salut! To Your Health, and Come to the Feast!.

by Roxanne -

Inequality Hurts the Rich Too

Here’s an excellent article by Yves Smith detailing why, “Income Inequality is Bad for Rich People” that is worth your time to read.

The reverse is also true. Social justice with progressive taxation is good for poor and rich alike – for the same reasons. Everyone benefits from an educated, healthy society with good infrastructure and public safety nets.

Here’s an excerpt:

But even more important is that high levels of income inequality exert a toll on all, particularly on health. Would you trade a shorter lifespan for a much higher level of wealth? Most people would say no, yet that is precisely the effect that the redesigning of economic arrangements to serve the needs at the very top is producing. Highly unequal societies are unhealthy for their members, even members of the highest strata. Not only do these societies score worse on all sorts of indicators of social well-being, but they exert a toll even on the rich. Not only do the plutocrats have less fun, but a number of studies have found that income inequality lowers the life expectancy even of the rich.

Although those who can afford it may feel that they can use their wealth to insulate themselves – that insulation is not very pleasant either. Smith writes:

You might argue: Why do these results matter to rich people, who can live in gated compounds? If you’ve visited some rich areas in Latin America, particularly when times generally are bad, marksmen on the roofs of houses are a norm. Living in fear of your physical safety is not a pretty existence.

Education, knowledge and compassion about the reality and existence of others is the way forward.

You may also like Are We So Different?, How Extreme Inequality Destroys the Economy and Demanding Social Justice.