Soil, Spirit, and Solidarity #23
A Weekly(ish) Series
“The soil is the great connector of lives, the source and destination of all...Without proper care for it we can have no community, because without proper care for it we can have no life.” -Wendell Berry
Soil, Spirit, and Solidarity (formerly “Soil Solidarity” ) is a weekly(ish) series that delivers ecologically oriented seeds straight to your inbox. On most Sundays I will share a handful of recommended reads and other resources that I am finding helpful, interesting, or important for tending the “soil” of my heart and faith, helping me become a fully ensoiled human. This weekly haphazard list of reads and resources includes things that I have recently been reading, watching, and listening to as I seek to cultivate a spirituality, and way of life rooted din the work of re/membering the soil. My hope is that this weekly email will provide essential ingredients for the work of composting your own theology, spirituality, and politics, becoming rich fertilizer for cultivating your own healthy relationship with the soil.
Soil, Spirit, and Solidarity #23
Blog: The Links Between Spirituality and Climate Change
“Scientists regularly study the ongoing degradation of Earth’s environment and track the changes wrought by a warming planet. Economists warn that intensifying disasters are harming people’s quality of life. And policymakers focus on crafting rules to diminish the health and environmental effects of humanity’s growing footprint. What is the role of philosophers and people of faith in this bigger discussion around the environment and sustainability? Rita D. Sherma is co-chair of a research initiative aimed at bringing the beliefs of religion, spirituality, and ethics to the study of sustainability. Here, she explains the core ideas behind “green spirituality,” how religion and environmental protection are closely intertwined, and the role faith can play in restoring hope amid the drumbeat of discouraging environmental news.”
You can read more here.
Documentary: Fantastic Fungi
By Louie Schwartzberg
Fantastic Fungi is a consciousness-shifting film about the mycelium network that takes us on an immersive journey through time and scale into the magical earth beneath our feet, an underground network that can heal and save our planet. Through the eyes of renowned scientists and mycologists like Paul Stamets, best-selling authors like Michael Pollan, Eugenia Bone, Andrew Weil and others, we become aware of the beauty, intelligence and solutions that the fungi kingdom offers in response to some of our most pressing medical, therapeutic, and environmental challenges.
You can watch the film here.
Book: Generation Dread: Finding Purpose in an Age of Climate Anxiety
by Britt Way
From the Publisher:
“Climate and environment-related fears and anxieties are on the rise everywhere. As with any type of stress, eco-anxiety can lead to lead to burnout, avoidance, or a disturbance of daily functioning.
In Generation Dread, Britt Wray seamlessly merges scientific knowledge with emotional insight to show how these intense feelings are a healthy response to the troubled state of the world. The first crucial step toward becoming an engaged steward of the planet is connecting with our climate emotions, seeing them as a sign of humanity, and learning how to live with them.”
You can order this book here.
Podcast: Holding the Fire: Indigenous Voices on the Great Unraveling
By Dahr Jamail / Post Carbon Institute
“Indigenous thought leaders offer their unique perspectives on this moment of shared crises, the consequence of global industrialized society having been built on extraction, colonialism, perpetual growth, and overexploitation of nature. Award-winning journalist and author Dahr Jamail hosts in-depth interviews with leaders from around the world to uncover Indigenous ways of reckoning with environmental and societal breakdown. If you’re concerned about climate change, species extinctions, loss of social cohesion, the specter of collapse, and other aspects of the Great Unraveling, then tune in for insight and wisdom gained from lived experience and cultural memory.”
You can listen here or on your podcast app of choice.