Hope's Cafe

Two Cups of Tea at Hope’s Cafe

JR Tolkien authored those famous words, a reminder to us that exploration and discovery are valuable, essential even. The accolades have poured in over the last week for Dolly Parton, celebrated singer, Country Music legend, astute business person, actor, author but most of all a downhome, authentic person, always curious and open, a generous soul who exited this world recently, leaving the world to mourn her passing.

But the memory of another “Dolly” has been obscured over the years, one whose life also exhibited the importance of discovery. A sheep named Dolly (after Dolly Parton because said sheep was cloned from a mammary gland) broke into our awareness in February 1997 when it was announced by the Rosin Institute in Scotland that Dolly had been successfully cloned! Cloned! How astounding! She was not the first sheep to be cloned. However, she was the first to be cloned from an adult cell.

Up to that time, scientists believed that it could be impossible to clone mammals in this way. Researchers thought specialized adult cells — such as skin cells or liver cells — held only the information to do that specific job, according to the Roslin Institute as reported in an article by Charlotte Phillipp in People magazine. Researchers began the cloning process by taking cells from the udder of a six-year-old ewe and culturing them in a lab using microscopic needles — a method that had first been used in human fertility treatments in the 1970s, according to the Institute.

The researchers were rather puzzled by the attention they got from the announcement of the cloning, not fully aware of all that this discovery portended. Dolly’s birth heralded a major milestone in genetic research and inspired global conversations about cloning ethics and advanced stem cell rearch. Dolly’s cloning technique is still used today, influencing biotech innovations and therapeutic cloning advancements.

What we learn builds on those before us and we have the sacred trust to make the most of that learning that those after us can continue to build.

As Henry Ward Beecher wrote and the (human) Dolly exhibited: “ We should live and labor in our time that what came to us as a seed may go to the next generation as blossom, and what came to us as blossom, may go to them as fruit. This is what we mean by progress.” 

The invitation is open to share two cups of tea anytime at Hope’s Café or anywhere you share companionship and conversation.

May we be bearers of hope, the “wait staff” at Hope’s Café, for each other and all those we encounter.  Shalom, Kate

Repost of blog from August 30, 2024; in memory of Wendell Berry who died this week.

Two Cups of Tea at Hope’s Café

For a long time, all I knew of Wendell Berry was his poem “The Peace of Wild Things.” A few years ago I discovered he has written novels.  I particularly liked Jayber Crow, a book a friend had suggested to me. This week in one of the sites I like, I received a quote of his, which grabbed my attention:

“Whether we and our politicians know it or not, Nature is party to all our deals and decisions, and she has more votes, a longer memory, and a sterner sense of justice than we do.”  How beautifully he captures in one sentence what we seem to deny or ignore!

When I searched his name to pull up which site had posted that quote, I found many of the sites from whom I receive posts had his work on them: Sojourners, Plough, inward/outward. His gifts are well recognized. 

Something of a rebel, he has no computer, no internet, no cell phone, no voice recorder.  Counterpoint Publishing is his publisher, a name which seems apropos for his style.   His typewriter must get a workout as in his ninety years he has written over 80 books of poetry, fiction, essays and criticism. 

A New Yorker article “Nick Offerman on the Essential Wisdom of Wendell Berry”the author notes Berry’s “most well-known essay, ‘A Native Hill’” in which Berry recounts the story of himself as a young writer living in New York City. There he finds himself writing mostly about his native Kentucky.  Following his own instincts, instead of the dire warnings of other writers, he moves back to Kentucky.  There he buys a plot of land and begins a life of socio-conscious farming. 

While I sometimes give in to a sense of doom about our planet, his works remind me that our task is to continue efforts to meet the challenges of life on earth in the present moment. His writings reflect a deep love and respect for the land. I leave you with this quote:

“The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after all our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal is our only hope.”—Wendell Berry

The invitation is open to share “two cups of tea” anytime at Hope’s Café, or anywhere you share companionship and conversation.

Two Cups of Tea at Hope’s Cafe

September 9, 2020, in an early post on this blog, I wrote about journaling, noting the many journals I have kept over the years.  Occasionally I review some of the older ones, reminding myself where my journey has taken me during the course of my life.  In them I often recorded quotes I had found helpful as encouragement or comfort or guidance.  Sometimes I am startled by how powerful those quotes can still feel.

This past week I reread some of the entries from 2005-2006.  America had gone to war in 2003 in Iraq and Afghanistan .  It  dragged on. (Peter, Paul and Mary had it right years before as they sung “When will they ever learn?” but I digress). In 2005, there was a push to elect veterans, folks who had been through war and knew the risk and the cost, also the aftermath.  My husband ran for congress in what we knew would almost certainly be an unsuccessful effort but still seemed worth putting forth the message.  I found my journal full of quotes about that time, as I searched for writings that might somehow help me keep my bearings. 

I share a few:

“I shall take my voice wherever there are those who want to hear the melody of freedom or the the words that might inspire hope and courage in the face of despair and fear.  My weapons are peaceful, for it is only by peace that peace can be attained.  The song of freedom must prevail.”—Paul Robison

“My heart is moved by all I cannot save.  So much has been destroyed.  I have to cast my lot with those whom, age, after age, perversely, with no extraordinary power, reconstitute the world.”—Adrienne Rich

This one broke my heart:  “I didn’t want a monument, not even one as sober as that vast black wall of broken lives.* I didn’t want a postage stamp.  I didn’t want a road beside the Delaware River with a sign proclaiming: Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway. 

“What I wanted was a simple recognition of the limits of our power as a nation to inflict our will on others.  What I wanted was an understanding that the world is neither black and white nor ours.”—anonynous

I wrote my own angst as well, earlier though, at the beginning of the war.

Just a Question

              (A Just Question)

When the coffers are empty

And the coffins are full;

When the world is littered

With war’s putrid aftermath;

When the pale, ghostly hush falls;

Will we hear the echoes

Of those voices who decried

This insanity?

                             —-composed  March 18,2003 by Kathleen Emerson Stulce

   I often return to the words of Clarissa Pinkola Estes: “Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach… One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Soul on deck shines like gold in dark times. The light of the soul throws sparks, can send up flares, builds signal fires, causes proper matters to catch fire.”

And: “”In any dark time, there is a tendency to veer toward fainting over how much is wrong or unmended in the world. Do not focus on that. Do not make yourself ill with overwhelm. There is a tendency to fall into being weakened by perseverating on what is outside your reach, by what cannot yet be. Do not focus there. That is spending the wind without raising the sails.” ~ Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Or:  As Dalton Roberts, a local politician, author, singer, once offered a more succinct quote in his weekly column:  “I do that which is before me to do.  I embrace the present moment.  I embrace God.  And I embrace peace.”

Let us do that which is before us to do, my friends….let us seek to be present to one another…and to seek Goodness by whatever name…and peace.

The invitation is open to share two cups of tea anytime at Hope’s Café or anywhere you share companionship and conversation.

May we be bearers of hope, the “wait staff” at Hope’s Café, for each other and all those we encounter.  Shalom, Kate

*The Vietnam Veterans’ Wall located in Washington, D.C.

Two Cups of Tea at Hope’s Café

In the early weeks after my daughter was born, I was lying in bed with her in the crook of my arm just gazing into her eyes.  Her father said “What are you doing?” and I said “Bonding with my baby.”  “Well, it looks like you are going to be fused!” he replied, with some consternation. 

Once in a church service the pastor had us partner up and spend two minutes making eye contact but not speaking.   While initially that was a bit uncomfortable, I realized that over that time I began to see the person I was paired with not as a needy n’er do well who tended to press for attention, but as a human being, another companion on the journey we all share.

Some years ago I sought out a local recording studio and made a CD I titled “Eyes to See,” composed of songs that had the word “eyes” in it, emphasizing both the effect that eye contact has in bonding as in the first example and as a means of comprehension, as in the second one.

As  a child, I went through a period when I considered what it might be like to be blind.  Sometimes I would close my eyes and make my way around the room seeking to experience what that might feel like. Who knows what inspired that.  But clearly I was aware that our eyesight is important in multiple ways.

Eyesight and vision are often used interchangeably but are distinct which a site called “This vs. That” describes:

 “Eyesight refers to the physical ability of the eyes to see and perceive objects, colors, and shapes. It is a measure of the clarity and sharpness of one’s vision. On the other hand, vision encompasses a broader concept that includes not only the physical ability to see but also the interpretation and understanding of what is seen. Vision involves the brain’s processing of visual information, allowing us to make sense of our surroundings, recognize faces, read, and navigate our environment. While eyesight is a measurable aspect of vision, vision itself is a more complex and multifaceted concept that involves cognitive and perceptual processes.”

Some quotes reflect this, both unattributed:

“The eyes are useless when the mind is blind.” And its corollary:

“Eyes that are open see lessons everywhere.”

May we seek to keep our eyes open and our vision clear.

The invitation is open to share two cups of tea anytime at Hope’s Café or anywhere you share companionship and conversation.

May we be bearers of hope, the “wait staff” at Hope’s Café, for each other and all those we encounter.  Shalom, Kate

Two Cups of Tea at Hope’s Café

This week I encountered the Japanese word “komorebi,” translated “sunlight leaking through trees.  Trees and sunlight are essential to wellbeing in my estimation.  This “komorebi” encounter prompted further exploration. The Japanese have no corner on descriptive words for this phenomenon.  The Germans have several related words :waldicht, referring to light found inside a forest;  “lichtspiel,” the shifting, dancing patterns of light and shadow;” maeinschein,” a rare, poetic term describing the specific green-gold light falling through fresh spring trees. In English we are more likely to hear the term “dappled,” the spotty light on the ground.  “Shivelight,” a less frequently used description, penned by Gerard Manley Hopkins in 1888 means “lances of light that pierce a tree’s canopy or foliage.”

No descriptors adequately convey the experience of witnessing the light filtering down through the leaves, the interplay of sunlight and shadow on the carpet of forest or lawn.  That experience is matched by the amazing way trees “cooperate.”  The leaves act as “solar panels” filled with chlorophyll to catch sunlight; the roots pull water up from the ground; the stomata (tiny pores) let the tree breathe in carbon dioxide from the air.  The sun’s energy fuses water and carbon dioxide into glucose, giving the tree fuel to grow tall, to make new leaves and build wood.  The trees release extra oxygen back into the air for humans and animals to breathe. 

Trees store winter energy as starch in their roots and trunks before the cold weather sets in.  And what I find so extraordinary is their capacity to communicate with other trees through a fungal network in the soil, often called the “world wide web,” by which they can send nutrients and chemical signals to help each other survive.  They even warn each other about pests! 

The importance of trees is reflected in the 3-30-300 rule in urban forestry. This serves as a guideline to ensure that every resident can see at least 3 mature trees, live in a neighborhood with 30 percent tree canopy cover, and be within 300 meters of a high quality green space.

Trees remind us again of some of the very fundamentals of life: they communicate and cooperate for the good of all.  What a powerful comfort it is to know that even when their leaves drop as winter descends, to all appearances hopeless for life to return, much life-sustaining activity upholds them, carries them through the colder, darker times.  For this reason, in this gloomy, somber, shadowy time in our world,  again and again I return to the lessons from  these stalwart servants of our wellbeing.

The invitation is open to share two cups of tea anytime at Hope’s Café or anywhere you share companionship and conversation.

May we be bearers of hope, the “wait staff” at Hope’s Café, for each other and all those we encounter.  Shalom, Kate

Two Cups of Tea at Hope’s Café

The concluding phrase on last week’s blog “sway with the wind” stayed with me all week.  The gentle swaying of trees is akin for me to watching water lap the shore, a peaceful rhythm, spirit-calming. Intrigued by what I might discover, I explored this.

Swaying is a healthy biological and mechanical response, indicating a tree is actively dissipating wind energy to prevent structural failure.  Furthermore, I learned: “Leaves flutter and the canopy reconfigures to reduce wind resistance, allowing the wind to pass through more efficiently….Smaller branches…sway independently of the main trunk to absorb up to 50% of the kinetic energy before it reaches the base….The remaining energy is neutralized within the wood tissue as cells rub together, converting mechanical force into harmless thermal energy.” * Fascinating!

So much information is available that expands beyond this.  The Planet Pulse site discusses the benefits of satellite technology to monitor tree health, touting an important aspect in this age of so many wildfires.  Given the immense task of overseeing millions of acres of forest land—321 million in the United States, 815 million in Canada, 160 million in the E.U., 808 million in Brazil—satellites provide a valuable resource to anticipate and address problems beforehand.

The parallel of this to human beings is noteworthy.  When we “sway with the wind,” we function more efficiently.  When we pay attention to our health, we can often avoid medical problems.  This applies to families and other societal systems as well.  The more rigid, the less resilient; the less rigid, the more resilient.  Structure and boundaries are important. But the inability or unwillingness to adapt to change, to cope with difficulties when they are encountered, to thoughtfully problem-solve, results in obstacles of monumental proportions. 

Tasneern Harneed, a writer and consultant on topics like innovation, AI and human adaptability, suggests that we: “Learn character from trees, values from roots and change from leaves.”

Sway with the wind, my friends. Sway with the wind.

The invitation is open to share two cups of tea anytime at Hope’s Café or anywhere you share companionship and conversation.

May we be bearers of hope, the “wait staff” at Hope’s Café, for each other and all those we encounter.  Shalom, Kate

*Multiple sites revealed information related to this including https://stormwise.uconn.edu; https://auf.isa-arbor.com;https://www.reddit.com;https://phys.org  (and many others!)

Two Cups of Tea at Hope’s Café

Paul McCartney wrote “A World Without Love” at age 16, when he had already been writing songs from the age of 14.  It is a mournful song, reflecting the experience of many teens (as well as adults) of unfulfilled longing for love.  In the dramatic style often employed by teens, he declares “Please lock me away…and don’t allow the day….here inside where I hide with my loneliness. I don’t care what they say, I won’t stay in a world without love.”  The Beatles never recorded it.  But Paul passed it on to the duo Peter and Gordon who made it a number one song on charts in both the US and the UK in 1964.

 As a teenager, I keenly felt that sentiment. Admittedly, some days now I can identify with those lyrics. Despite record high temperatures everywhere, the emotional temp of the world presently feels icily cold.  In contrast, in 1971 Rare Earth recorded the upbeat song “I Just Want to Celebrate” which focuses on getting through difficult times and maintaining a positive attitude.  I can identify with that as well.  In fact, it is the antidote to those times when I despair of the world.

Val T. Boyko is another blogger, an apparent kindred spirit, whose theme is “Find Your Middle Ground: Living From the Center of Your Being,” a focus not unlike my own “Hope’s Café: Practicing Hope, Balancing Life.” Finding the space where we can recognize “a world without love” and still “just want to celebrate” our encounter with life is a challenge, a balancing act, but yields a middle ground that is sustainable.

Afterall:   “The art of living is knowing when to hold on, when to let go, and when to simply sway with the wind.”—Alexander Schlinder

The invitation is open to share two cups of tea anytime at Hope’s Café or anywhere you share companionship and conversation.

May we be bearers of hope, the “wait staff” at Hope’s Café, for each other and all those we encounter.  Shalom, Kate

Two Cups of Tea at Hope’s Cafe

“Life is too short not to sparkle.”  I came across that sentiment this week but wondered “What if one isn’t feeling particularly sparkly just at the moment?” I considered that the expression wasn’t “Life is too short not to sparkle constantly.”  It was simply a reminder that we have that capacity and we can develop and utilize it to enhance our lives as well as those of others.

But there are plenty of other suggestions about which life is too short.

“Life is too short to just go through the motions,” said Phillip Rivers.

“Be patient and understanding.  Life is too short to be vengeful or malicious,” in the words of Phillips Brooks. Along similar lines, Charlotte Bronte wrote: “Life appears to me too short to be spent  in nursing animosity or registering wrongs.”

Bhakti Singh expanded on Brooks’ and Bronte’s  thoughts: “Life is too short to give pain to others.  I eat to the fullest, sleep well and make people laugh wholeheartedly.”

“Life is too short and too sweet to complain about the silly things,” adds Michael Chandler.

On a more reflective note, Mark Manson wrote “At some point we all must admit the inevitable: life is short, not all of our dreams can come true, so we should carefully pick and choose what we have the best shot at and then commit to it.”  As Joshua Fields Milburn points out: “There’s no refund on time poorly spent.”

On a somber note, Ryan Holliday reminds us that “Eventually, all of us will pass away and slowly be forgotten.  We should enjoy this brief time we have on earth—not be enslaved to emotions that make us miserable and dissatisfied.”  We are admonished by Marcus Aurelius: “Life is short.  Do not forget about the most important things in our life, living for other people and doing good for them.”

But this one particular quote I first skipped over thinking it was a bit frivolous.  On further reflection, I considered there is wisdom encased in it:  “Life is too short to miss out on the beautiful things like a double cheeseburger,” spoken by the actor Channing Tatum.  Even the ordinary things, the simple pleasures in life, are beautiful, to be noticed, appreciated.  As the singer Glen Campbell said: “Life is too short not to enjoy it.”

So, my friends, what about you?  How would you complete the sentence “Life is too short……”?

The invitation is open to share two cups of tea anytime at Hope’s Café or anywhere you share companionship and conversation.

May we be bearers of hope, the “wait staff” at Hope’s Café, for each other and all those we encounter.  Shalom, Kate