Category Archives: The Atheist’s Pulpit

One believer’s view.

The Atheist's Pulpit

I listen to the wind / to the wind in my soul – Cat Stevens

The wind howled for hours last night. It tossed me in my bed as surely as if I were in a hammock strung between high trees, death a long fall away. I cursed the wind. I called it vicious, raging, cruel, and a bully. But, on waking, I realize the wind proves my complete insignificance and powerlessness. Wind isn’t cruel; it is utterly indifferent and beyond grasping.

And so, again, I push together the stones of my sanity, until the wind blows, as it will, long after I’m dead.

Unhinged (a seasonal poem)
Wind Makes Crazy (a timely poem)

photos, The Atheist's Pulpit

Mom

mjh0030 My Mom hated having pictures taken of her. Despite that, she gave cameras to people who would inevitably train them on her from time to time.

I don’t believe in an immortal soul – when you’re dead, you’re dead. (If I’m wrong, I owe you a coke.) Still, I marvel at the immortality in photographs. Yes, she lives in my memory, her voice in my head and, sometimes, coming out of my mouth, but here she is caught once so lively.

A remembrance on the 25th anniversary of her death.

My Mom
12 photos
The Atheist's Pulpit

Introverts unite! But not all at once, mind you.

I am sitting home alone on Saturday night, under the light of one lamp, the only sound the whoosh of a humidifier. Not quite alone: the dog sleeps in my chair. Not quite alone: I’m reaching out to untold numbers of others (at least 3, to tell). I used to think I was shy, but I had trouble reconciling that with my pleasure in teaching a classroom of students. (Not too many, though I have lectured to 200.) Merri and I are both introverts, although that probably surprises more people about her than about me. And, some of my best friends are introverts. (We should have a big party. Kidding!) peace, mjh

Leonard Pitts: For introverts, working alone works best – Leonard Pitts Jr. – MiamiHerald.com

[W]here shyness is an outsized fear of other people’s disapproval or of social embarrassment, to be an introvert is to be inward turning, more at home in small, intimate groups than large, boisterous ones. It is to prefer the quiet to the loud, reflection to exhortation, solitude to socializing. …

[I]t is not that the introvert doesn’t enjoy the company of others. Rather, it’s that after a certain point, it leaves [one] feeling physically drained. That’s who I am — less Bill Clinton than Al Gore — and I’ve given myself permission to stop fighting it.

Leonard Pitts: For introverts, working alone works best – Leonard Pitts Jr. – MiamiHerald.com

Has anyone read Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain. (I have not.)  peace, mjh

The Atheist's Pulpit

Sam, Roady, and Hot Lips say we are not alone.

We knew others feed roadrunners. A neighbor feeds Spam or Vienna wieners to his pair, who could be Spike’s parents. They nest as close to his door as they can get and don’t roam far. Another neighbor fed “her” roadrunners raw chicken. But, we assumed we were the only ones foolish enough to pay for mice to feed to roadrunners — until we met Sam at Hawks Aloft. She has been feeding roadrunners for over 15 years. She believes Hot Lips, the crossbilled roadrunner, was over 20 years old. Roady lost a big part of his upper bill over 5 years ago, but with Sam’s help, Roady has raised several broods. Sam says she has hundreds of roadrunner grandbabies. Thankfully, she doesn’t have to feed them all store-bought mice. Even so, our rough guestimate of Sam’s running tab has us thinking twice. If Spike outlives us, do we have to provide for her? Maybe she’ll like Spam now and then. She gobbled up the mealworms we bought today.

All of Spike’s posts on Ah, Wilderness!

photos, The Atheist's Pulpit

Birding near Alameda, New Mexico

note the shadow and the reflectionmute swanAlbuquerque’s bosque is a true gem, an authentic treasure to be worshipped and cared for. One can walk in the bosque and scarcely believe that over 600,000 people occupy the surrounding county. Most recently, a pair of mute swans drew us to Alameda, one of our favorite hiking destinations close to home. Some of these photos are also from the area near the Rio Grande Nature Center.