christmas eve poem

I found this at the Blog of the Grateful Bear. I think it's lovely, especially today.

Enjoy the holidays, and I hope 2006 brings light, love and peace to you, in whatever way works for you.

Light looked down and beheld darkness.
"Thither I will go," said Light.
Peace looked down and beheld war.
"Thither I will go," said Peace.
Love looked down and beheld hate.
"Thither I will go," said Love.

So Light came, and shone.
So Peace came, and gave rest.
So Love came, and gave light.

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.

Laurence Housman (1865-1959)

delete column?

I wrote an entire column on Monday on the bus. However, it sucked. So yesterday I wrote another, on an almost entirely unrelated subject (inventing a new winter holiday-bad, how to make effective New Year's resolutions-good), which I think is going to fly.

I approach this particular column, which is opinion-based, in a very different way than I have been working on my Bright Livelihood sample columns. Obviously, it's easier to research and structure a documentary column (even if I have to invent a slant) than to "research" a column that's about what I feel.

Also, I should add that I worked for the publication that I'm doing the opinion column for for three years as an editor. I have a (largely unconscious) tendency to act as the "community thought leader" that I once thought I was. It's hard not to preach.

This isn't the first time I've rewritten a column and liked the result better. I am realizing though, how much pre-writing legwork (or thought work) makes a difference in whether I have to rewrite at all.

santa baby

You knew it was coming...he's been kinda snuffy lately, but he LOVES Christmas lights and the carols we sing him. Can the joy of wrapping paper be far behind?

stories in the boardroom (or cubicle)

Surfing the 'net today, I found this book: The Leader's Guide To Storytelling, by Steve Denning. Before you haul out your (very well-founded) cynicism about corporate storytelling, I think that it's a good sign that business types are focusing on stories as a means for communicating with customers.

I have had a related book, The Story Factor: Inspiration, Influence, and Persuasion Through the Art of Storytelling , in my possession for the last couple of years and I like it too.

another voice in the creation debate...

Sorry I haven't been very active in the blogosphere lately...my friend's death and holiday illness have sort of taken the wind out of my sails lately. However, I'm planning to update my freelancing website, turn it into a sort of "portfolio" site that showcases my writing skills in a way that actually appeals to the reader and makes them want to hire/contract with me! (Imagine!) I hope to have the copy done for that by Christmas.

I've been watching the KU-Intelligent Design battle (see the latest development in the melodrama here, as well as this article about repercussions of the ID debate) with disappointment about the behavior of all sides. And I have many friends who are all over the spectrum of belief/certitude on this one.

I'd just like to introduce a couple providing an interesting, creative response to the whole idea of how to explain the orgins of life on Earth, as well as the orgins of the cosmos, period. Connie Barlow and Michael Dowd (a married couple) are a science writer and a former Pentacostal minister, respectively, and they are on the road with a traveling ministry called The Great Story. Their presentations and papers are a very interesting fusion of valuing traditional Christian (and other faiths') values, as well as our accumulated scientific knowledge. They also store some of their information on another website called Evolutionary Christianity.

Take what you like from their sites, and leave the rest. And take some time during the holiday rush to contemplate the mystery and wonder our orgins, no matter how you think humanity reached this time and place.