On finding hope & inspiration in an era of environmental devastation Global carbon dioxide in atmosphere passes milestone level Climate warming greenhouse gas reaches 400 parts per million for the first time in human history – The Guardian, May 10, 2013 I’m in the middle… Read More
For the next five weeks, I will be in Peru with my colleague Gregor getting Digital Democracy’s new Remote Access program off the ground. My mom called me a few days ago to ask how to contact me on the trip. I joked – smoke… Read More
This weekend I traveled to St. Louis to speak at Clinton Global Initiative University. The last time I was in St. Louis was October 2011, when I flew to St. Louis to attend my friends’ Lara and Steve’s wedding in Carbondale, Illinois. I’ll never forget… Read More
Last spring I traveled to Chiapas, Mexico to conduct trainings as part of a Digital Democracy project. Months later, I am still inspired every time I hear updates from our local partners. These slideshows tell the story of what we worked on, and what the… Read More
Ten years ago I picked up Haldor Laxness’ book Under the Glacier, a superb (and absurd) piece of literature that explores topics of religion, spirituality, and the clash of modernity with tradition at Snæfellsjökull, the Snæfells glacier on Iceland’s western peninsula. I think it’s in… Read More
Mentor, role model, friend: Story of a Tenessee Chaplain
Some days the world looks dark – not because the darkness outweighs the light, but because the task of healing the world is not easy, the problems we face are complex & myriad.
One one of those days a few weeks ago, when I struggled mightily with this concern – how do I best carry forward my part? – I called my old friend, guide & mentor, Joe Eldridge. For fifteen years he has served as University Chaplain at American University, my alma mater. When I was in college I was fortunate enough to work directly for him, as one of the faciliators in the office of Community Action & Social Justice (CASJ), which was then under his umbrella.
On that day a few weeks ago, Joe gave me wise advice, just what I needed to hear to keep forging forward, even in those moments of uncertainty. And he told me this quote, from the Talmud:
”It is not incumbent upon you to complete the work, but neither are you at liberty to desist from it.”
Read this wonderful article on Joe’s life story, from his boyhood in the Smoky Mountains to human rights work in Chile to the incredible moral voice & passion for students which he brings to American University.
I think it’s a very damaging mythology that has grown up around the idea of art being a product of pain, as opposed to being something that is created in spite of pain.
Yesterday evening I read a poem to my dear friend Simran Dua, a truly lovely human being. She’s mid-way through a move from NYC to New Haven, where she’ll be attending Yale School of Management in the fall, and all I can say is that… Read More
Yesterday morning I used skype credit to place a call to my friend Alex Eble, who is 12 time zones ahead of me, doing research in China this summer for his PhD in Economics. When I reached him, he told me he was in a… Read More
Yesterday began the #BedtimePoems experiment, with a lovely conversation with Brian, a friend from college. Despite keeping up with one another via Facebook and the occasional email, it’s actually been probably eight or so years since we spoke in real-time! We caught up briefly on… Read More
Emily Jacobi 