Musings from Deeptime

  Sunday Meditation June 17th, 2   cog·ni·tive dis·so·nance /ˈkäɡnədiv ˈdisənəns/ noun PSYCHOLOGY the state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes, especially as relating to behavioral decisions and attitude change. Definition from Oxford Languages.   I'm not sure how to approach this subject, so I'll just kinda throw the bloody carcass on the table and see who grabs a steak knife; In business, periodically The Company sits down and asks itself, "What are we doing right, what are we doing wrong, what are we not seeing?" I think the American christian churches should consider doing the same.  The pandemic is in its second year, and while many consider the battle won, I am aware God has a fondness of forever tinkering with the genes of all living things and I don't dismiss the possibility of a more virulent form showing up.  That said, enough time has passed, we have enough data points we can sit down and look at how we played the cards God dealt u...

When the Birds Converge Deep in the Thicket  Maybe it is the fact I'm retired.  Maybe it's just that I love icy cold days with a hard February sun.  Last night we had one of those winter storms that blow through about once every 7 -15 years depending on whether you were in the worst of it or on the edge of it.  I went to bed with with the wind chimes clanging and the rusty windmill throwing blades.  I woke up while it was still dark, drank my coffee, pulled my boots on and slipped out into the darkness.  It was the kind of silence that even a hurried soul couldn't help but notice.  Above, the stars were soo bright.  It was like they were caught in a beam of the purest, most intense white light possible to imagine.  And each star shattering that beam into millions of sparkling shards and sending them back out across eternity. It is good to be alive, not alive like breathing and eating, but alive as in being fully aware, of being hyper-attentiv...