2011

We all lived together in an eco-village in the Scottish Highlands. Tucked high up on a south-facing hillside, overlooking a long-stretching loch that mirrored the sky, we were establishing an alternative community, working towards a self-sufficient, zero-waste life.

We’ve all probably heard of the concept of original sin, which is from the story of Adam and Eve in the Bible. In the book of Genesis, the world is described as a perfect paradise, up until the first sin was committed, when Adam and Eve disobeyed the Lord and ate the forbidden apple.

Recently, I was watching a television documentary called,  The Real Face of Jesus?  in which computer artists generated the possible face and body of Jesus. They used advanced 3D computer technology and forensic data based upon impressions made on the Shroud of Turin to master this.

A little over two years ago, I was elected First Reader of my Christian Science branch church. You can imagine the joy I felt that night after accepting this new position.

To outward appearances, Mary Baker Eddy was just another mortal walking around in her corner of the world. And in a way, she lived a normal life for someone who was propelled into the world’s limelight.

When I answered the phone, I heard my two grown daughters crying in terror. They were in the mountains of Colorado watching a gigantic mudslide.

Why did Mary Baker Eddy, who founded the Christian Science Church, establish a secular international newspaper, The Christian Science Monitor? Why would a religious leader also have a purpose for news and information? As a staff editor for the Monitor, it’s a question I have thought about a lot.

Beginnings and endings. Starts and stops.

Toward the end of March, I was enjoying springtime at my heavily wooded weekend country home in the rolling backwoods of southern Mississippi. The winter ryegrass was at its peak, brown tree limbs on the beech, white oak, blackjack oak, and sweet gum trees were all sprouting fresh green leaves.

The ultra-enthusiastic singing, flag waving, drum beating, and cheering at the soccer match I attended in Guadalajara, Mexico, while visiting our son, was great fun. But something about it surprised me.