The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox |
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Caring: The Opposite of Weird?
(continued)08/10/2024 |
One way to define a term is to go to its opposite first. We are asking: What might be the opposite of weird? |
Is it weird to tell someone in a violent marriage that they should stay married for the sake of the children? (VP candidate Vance supports that policy.) Is that as weird as calling women without children “childless cat ladies”? |
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Might the opposite of “weird” be Caring? Non-caring is weird. Not caring about oneself; or not caring about others. No self-love; no other love. Thus, not caring about the environment, about climate change, about the rising of seas and the increase in wildfires and droughts and floods and the intensity of hurricanes and warming of the oceans and fate of rainforests and millions of species the world over upon which we depend. That is weird. |
“Biden slams Republican climate change deniers.” Reuters | Is it weird to propose that an education system not tell the facts about slavery and oppression? Is it weird to propose that an education system not tell young people about the varieties of human (and others species’) sexuality? |
So, Caring might be the opposite of weird. Another word for caring is compassion. Compassion is unweird. Caring is unweird. Giving a damn is unweird—about what counts, about the common good, about the privilege it is to be alive in this astounding universe on this astounding planet. Giving a damn only about yourself is narcissism and narcissism is not only weird but dangerous, foolish and a sickness. Taking stock of yourself is unweird. Self-criticism therefore. Self awareness. Would that all presidential candidates practiced self-awareness. Honoring the dignity of others is unweird. Seeing others exclusively in the light of envy and competition is weird. But common. |
I wish politicians who lose an election fair and square had the integrity and manliness to admit they have lost and move on. That’s the unweird thing to do in a democracy. Sadly, in January of 2021, one politician was so weird and self-serving |
Trump supporters invading the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, ultimately leading to several deaths. Wikimedia Commons. |
that he tried to burn down our democracy and riled up thousands of Americans to charge the nation’s capital to interfere with the electoral count rather than admit he lost an election. Millions are following him as he seeks the presidency another time. |
Such an underdeveloped human being needs prayers, not votes. Sometimes weirdness and self-ignorance are dangerous to others and to democracy as a whole. |
See Matthew Fox, Creation Spirituality:Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth. And Fox, A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice. And Fox, Original Blessing:.A Primer in Creation Spirituality And Fox, Essential Writings on Creation Spirituality.
Banner image: Caring is
supporting LGBTQ+ folks. Vice presidential candidate Walz at a Twin Cities Pride Parade in 2022. Wikimedia Commons. |
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Responses are welcomed. To add your comment, or read other comments and enter into dialog, please click HERE to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments field. |
Queries for Contemplation |
Do you recognize Caring and Compassion to be the opposite of weird in the political sphere? What follows from that? |
Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth
Fox’s spirituality weds the healing and liberation found in North American Creation Spirituality and in South American Liberation Theology. Creation
Spirituality challenges readers of every religious and political persuasion to unite in a new vision through which we learn to honor the earth and the people who inhabit it as the gift of a good and just Creator.
“A watershed theological work that offers a common ground for religious seekers and activists of all stripes.” — Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice. |
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A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice
In A Spirituality Named Compassion, Matthew Fox delivers a profound exploration of the
meaning and practice of compassion. Establishing a spirituality for the future that promises personal, social, and global healing, Fox marries mysticism with social justice, leading the way toward a gentler and more ecological spirituality and an acceptance of our interdependence which is the substratum of all compassionate activity.
“Well worth our deepest
consideration…Puts compassion into its proper focus after centuries of neglect.” –The Catholic Register
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Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality
Matthew Fox lays out a whole new direction for Christianity—a direction that is in fact very ancient and very grounded in Jewish thinking (the fact that Jesus was a Jew
is often neglected by Christian theology): the Four Paths of Creation Spirituality, the Vias Positiva, Negativa, Creativa and Transformativa in an extended and deeply developed way.
“Original Blessing makes available to the Christian world and to the human community a radical cure for all dark and derogatory views of the natural world wherever these may have originated.” –Thomas Berry, author,
The Dream of the Earth; The Great Work; co-author, The Universe Story
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Matthew Fox: Essential Writings on Creation Spirituality
Selected with an Introduction by Charles Burack
To encapsulate the life and work
of Matthew Fox would be a daunting task for any save his colleague Dr. Charles Burack, who had the full cooperation of his subject. Fox has devoted 50 years to developing and teaching the tradition of Creation Spirituality and in doing so has reinvented forms of education and worship. His more than 40 books, translated into 78 languages, are inclusive of today’s science and world spiritual traditions and have awakened millions to the much neglected earth-based mystical tradition of the West. Essential Writings begins by exploring the influences on Fox’s life and spirituality, then presents selections from all Fox’s major works in 10 sections.
“The critical insights, the creative connections, the centrality of Matthew Fox’s writings and teaching are second to none for the radical renewal of Christianity.” ~~ Richard Rohr, OFM. |
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In the Beginning There Was Joy: A Cosmic Celebration for Kids of All Ages
The first book in the Father Fox’s Fantastical Fables series tells the story of the big bang and how humans fit into the awesome, fantastical,
cosmic picture! With artwork curated from illustrators around the world, this book expresses the joy and wonder of all peoples and cultures, planting seeds of respect, cooperation and hope to work together for the healing of our planet. "Matthew Fox has created a narrative, for every parent, grandparent, both spiritual and
scientific, that is a gift for all elders who recognize their responsibility in initiating the young ones into the grandeur of existence." Cosmologist Brian Swimme, Author of Cosmogenesis and The Universe Story "Matthew Fox has given all of us, children included, a wondrous and enchanting view of creation
and all that humanity should aspire to." - Caroline Myss, Author of Anatomy of the Spirit and A Time for Grace |
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UPCOMING EVENTS See Matthew Fox's full calendar
HERE |
MONTHLY: Join Matthew Fox, Mariko Middleton, and Skylar Wilson of the Order of the Sacred Earth in a free virtual meeting for connection and networking with other mystic warriors. Last Tuesday of every month, 4:00-5:00pm PT.
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88665302478
Meeting ID: 886 6530 2478 Learn more at www.orderofthesacredearth.org |
Join Matthew Fox as he discusses his book Order of the Sacred Earth: An Intergenerational Vision of Love and Action in an Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, Thursday, August 15, 4:00-5:30 pm PT.
Register HERE. |
Join Matthew Fox as he discusses his book Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision for a New Generation in an Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, Thursday, September 19, 4:00-5:30 pm PT.
Register HERE. |
Creation Spirituality Conversations |
Matthew Fox speaks on "Preserving Things in the Good" at the Unity of Walnut Creek Earth Day worship service held on April 21, 2024. |
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Inspired by this post? Share your insights on Universeodon, Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #RevDrMatthewFox and tag Matt with @RevDrMatthewFox FOLLOW MATTHEW FOX: |
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