The 2013 ritual rebuilding of the Ise Shrine in Mie Prefecture, Japan Active Hope helped me to understand that building trust is key to action. One must find strength from others to become an active participant in the greater rhythm of the earth. Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone define active hope as a practice that “like tai chi… Read more »
Above is the cover of my illustrated children’s book, How is a Light Bulb Connected to the Sky. To see interior illustrations, visit https://www.amazon.com/How-Light-Bulb-Connected-Sky/dp/1981178066/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513130103&sr=8-1&keywords=tova+beck For my final project, I created How is a Light Bulb Connected to the Sky, an illustrated children’s book designed to encourage children to contemplate human impact on the earth system. My target audience is children… Read more »
Food Lifeline volunteers pack and deliver leftover food from restaurants to homeless shelters. My group’s original action project evolved from small-scale to large scale and systemic. After hearing in class about the UW Farm action project, a truly impressive implementation, we realized we could expand the scope of our project from UW campus to the community. We decided to ask… Read more »
During the perspectives contemplative practice, I was shocked by the extent to which each perspective changed my emotions and physical sensations. The “we have no hope” perspective paralyzed me. The “world is getting better” perspective made me feel relaxed and relieved my sense of responsibility. The “things are what they are” perspective, however, was both the hardest perspective to take… Read more »
I fall into the same trap every time. I look at my phone. The dark screen calls to me with a sense of urgency. My muscles tense as I reach for the home button. I click the home button and then, with a flash, nothing. I have no messages and no notifications. For a moment, I am relieved. But… Read more »
In Learning to Die in the Anthropocene, Roy Scranton describes how we must accept our death as a civilization so that we can move forward and adapt to the new reality of the harsh climate conditions we are creating. His argument surprised me because the word “Anthropocene” implies that humans have been handed the controls, and it made me realize… Read more »
My perspective on global warming has shifted from individualistic to holistic. Before this course, I thought that if all humans made individual sustainable choices, those choices would form a sustainable system. What I failed to realize is how many public resources we use without acknowledgement, such as roads, public buildings (hospitals, libraries, supermarkets, malls, etc.), and public parks. I use… Read more »
