(This is a personal post. It’s about my journey to make sense of a few particular aspects of the world around me. I’ve thought long and hard about what I could say that might be of value to the much larger conversation about race that… Read More
A few hours walk through Central Park has forever changed the way I see the world around me. Sounds dramatic, I know. But there is no other way to describe the shift that has taken place between how I perceived the world before the walk… Read More
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
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’ve been writing letters more and more these days, and I think it’s one of the most wonderful ways to share thoughts and ideas. Here are a few excerpts from a letter I sent friends on Sunday, to mark the first day of July, my… Read More
Happened upon this haunting image of Joy Davidman, taken by one of my heroines, Lotte Jacobi. Davidman was a poet, a communist, an intellectual, an independent woman. Accomplished in her own right, eclipsed by the fame of her second husband, C.S. Lewis. Read more about… Read More
One of my favorite poems since I was quite small. It has been on the tip of my tongue lately. Spring Morning by Alan Alexander (A. A.) Milne Where am I going? I don’t quite know. Down to the stream where the king-cups grow- Up… Read More
Emily Jacobi 