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 One of my favorite memories comes from my parents playing canasta with their friends Sybil and Leon.  I loved the sound of their almost continual laughter as they played.  My parents lived with stressors of medical bills and my mother’s health difficulties that brought about those bills, as well as health issues I had.  I recall as an adult asking my brother what life had been like when I was so ill.  With no rancor he said “I just remember we never had any money.”  But when my parents were with their friends playing cards they seemed totally stress free, which research has shown as one of the benefits.

 This holiday season I keep seeing advertisements for Ousi and for Ransom Notes. Curious, I googled them both.  One reviewer wrote:
“OuiSi (a pun on We See as well as two words meaning Yes) is a set of 210 photos that are close-ups of details of things you might find in a city, like a key, part of a guitar, a coin in the mud, a fork, a box of colored pencils, a bunch of green onions, a doorknob, etc. They are much more beautiful than this description might lead you to believe.

“In addition to this basic set, there are two other sets you can get, one with similar close-up photos of things from nature, like flowers, leaves, trees, water, bug faces, animal faces, etc. and one with similar close-up photos of parts of artworks from the Getty Art Museum.

“Each set has a rule book with several “games” you can play with the cards. Most of them are more like activities than actual games, though there are two competitive games with rules a bit like Dixit. Despite that, the activities are enjoyable and worthwhile, if you don’t expect something with formal rules.”

. One of the benefits touted is that even preschoolers are able to participate.  Another is that Ousi is very useful with folks who are living with dementia.  Ransom Notes likely doesn’t have those benefits but sounds like a lot of fun.  With whatever words you have in your possession, you must write a ransom note. However it is described as easy to learn in less than a minute. A review on Amazon offers this analysis:

“ While the game is made for 3-6 players, it’s equally hilarious when larger groups team up together, 30-90 min play time. Is it appropriate for everyone? Not really. While a majority of prompt cards are certainly suitable for all audiences, there are quite a few that are definitely not. BUT, if you do want to make it family friendly, pulling about 15-30% of the cards should make the game totally PG and playable for all!”

  An article from the BBC decries that as adults we tend to give up games and quotes René Proyer, professor of psychology at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany. Professor Proyer encourages playfulness, describing it as a skill that can be developed, harnessed and used for mindfulness. Playing games is one way to develop that but she has a very basic suggestion:

“A good place to start is by simply observing moments at the end of every day where something spontaneous happened. It could be a funny interaction with a stranger while getting your coffee or a joke shared with your colleague. This will help you to begin to feel confident in being playful and make you more aware of joy in your everyday life.” (Why Playing Games is Good for You, February 3, 2022, BBC).

Let the games begin! 😊

The invitation is open to share “two cups of tea” anytime at Hope’s Café, or anywhere you share companionship and conversation.

May we be bearers of hope, the “wait staff” of Hope’s Café for each other and all those we encounter.  Shalom, Kate

      Two Cups of Tea at Hope’s Cafe

Before we moved to Montana we lived near a Food City grocery store. Having moved back we find ourselves living near that same store again.  Before we moved, that grocery was “run of the mill,” nothing fancy or out of the ordinary.  It has since been drastically remodeled.  The array of goods is stunning.  And, of course, as  any really top notch grocery would, a Starbucks graces the entry. 

Perhaps as you read this, you sense some feeling of discomfort I have.  When I walk into that Food City, or any similar grocery, I am struck by the variety and abundance of food.   How can a nation with so much food have so many hungry people? In 2022, 44.2 million people lived in households where there was insufficient food.  That was up from 33.8 million in 2021.  In 2022, those households included 13 million children experiencing food insecurity, a 45% increase from the previous year, statistics from the Department of Agriculture demonstrate.

As we enter the holidays, we are reminded to consider our blessings, to increase our awareness of how much we have to be thankful for, and to share our bounty.   Since 2012 when Giving Tuesday was established, we have had an additional avenue to do just that.  Henry Timms and Asha Curran of the 92^nd street Y in New York, initiated Giving Tuesday while both were employed by the Y’s Belfer Center for Innovation and Social Impact.  Giving Tuesday follows Black Friday and Cyber Monday in an effort to counteract so much consumerism.  The event is now promoted in many other countries.

Wikipedia site reports that as an organization, “Giving Tuesday promotes the concept of ‘generosity not as a benevolence that the haves show to the have-nots but rather an expression of mutuality, solidarity, and reciprocity.’

“GivingTuesday has a global presence through 75 country movements spanning the world, each representing their own cultures and needs, while remaining united in their determination to mobilize their countries around generosity and shared humanity.”

Donations have increased yearly from 28 million in 2013 to 2.7 billion in 2021. Monetary gifts are not the only way to honor the day though.  Volunteering and simply offering acts of kindness are encouraged as well.

Giving Tuesday this year is December 3. Let this serve as a reminder to us, in a world that can be so discouraging, that good still exists and that we have opportunities to be agents of that good.

“Kind words and good deeds are eternal.  You never know where their influence will end.” H. Jackson Brown Jr.

 The invitation is open to share “two cups of tea” anytime at Hope’s Café, or anywhere you share companionship and conversation.

May we be bearers of hope, the “wait staff” of Hope’s Café for each other and all those we encounter.  Shalom, Kate

Two Cups of Tea at Hope’s Cafe

In 2007 Terry and I were in Washington D.C. to attend The Evolution of Psychotherapy Conference.  Whatever I may have learned in those few days is overshadowed by my experience of a program the conference directors had arranged for the night before the conference opened. The speaker was John O’Donohue, an Irish Catholic who had left the priesthood for a different path.  A poet, author, and speaker, he is perhaps best known for popularizing Celtic spirituality. 

In this era of extreme polarization and in the wake of a divisive election, I thought of John O’Donohue.  In the jam-packed room where he spoke that night in D. C., there was not so much as a cough or a whisper.  We sat mesmerized, his lilting Irish brogue enhancing the depth of his words, both comforting and challenging. I wished this week I could feel that same sense of peace and comfort I felt that night.

I share with you two quotes of his that seemed especially pertinent this week.

“Keep something beautiful in your soul to survive difficult times and enjoy good times.”

And:

“Part of understanding the notion of Justice is to recognize the disproportions among which we live…it takes an awful lot of living with the powerless to really understand what it is like to be powerless, to have your voice, thoughts, ideas and concerns count for very little. We, who have been given much, whose voices can be heard, have a great duty and responsibility to make our voices heard with absolute integrity for those who are powerless.”

This would seem to indicate two priorities:  self-care amid difficult times and the ongoing and persistent call to the care of others for whom self-care would be an impossible luxury.  And a lesson we need to heed:  the second priority can be the most effective by adhering to the first.  I encourage us all to take care of ourselves, to immerse ourselves in the gratitude that grounds us, and to experience the challenge of care for others as an invitation to increase community, a partnership which unites us. 

I offer this blessing first invoked by O’Donohue: May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder.

Thank you, John O’Donohue.  May you rest in peace.    January 1, 1956 –  January 4 ,2008

The invitation is open to share “two cups of tea” anytime at Hope’s Café, or anywhere you share companionship and conversation.

May we be bearers of hope, the “wait staff” of Hope’s Café for each other and all those we encounter.  Shalom, Kate

Two Cups of Tea at Hope’s Café

The last two weeks have been fraught with more obstacles than I ever expected to encounter.  We were going back to home turf, right? What could go wrong?  And yet there has been one obstacle after another.  It has been a challenge to keep myself any semblance of centered.  Mary Oliver to the rescue!  She never fails to grace me with her wisdom.  I came across her words about worry:

I saw that worrying had come to nothing. / And I gave it up./And I took my old body and went out into the morning and sang.

This afternoon, as I drove to make yet another attempt to transfer our phones from our carrier in Montana, after repeated and frustrating efforts, I was stopped at a stoplight by Harrison Bay.  I had the sun roof open and I looked up and stared at the clouds and was just overwhelmed with gratitude.  It was such a gift to me in the midst of a period that has just been exhausting, to suddenly feel uplifted, grateful despite everything. Mary Oliver has penetrating poetry that is a poignant reminder to me of the importance of gratitude.

It is a serious thing just to be alive in this fresh morning in this broken world.

Yes! I echo. Yes!  There may be days; no, there will be days when nothing seems right, when we are inclined to feel victimized by forces beyond our understanding.  Yet it is a gift “to be alive in this fresh morning” despite the brokenness of the world or of our spirits.  Thanks be!

The invitation is open to share “two cups of tea” anytime at Hope’s Café, or anywhere you share companionship and conversation.

May we be bearers of hope, the “wait staff” of Hope’s Café for each other and all those we encounter.  Shalom, Kate

Two Cups of Tea at Hope’s Café

My mother used to say “Once you have made a decision, murder the alternative.” I don’t know if that was original to her but I don’t find another source for that quote.  Wise as that is, Terry and I have found it hard to live by with this move.  There were all sorts of practical reasons to move back to Tennessee.  But we had already established some pretty deep roots in Montana.  Periodically prior to the move  we had the discussion: “Do we really have to do this?”  This hellacious move has in someways contributed to: “Why again was it we decided to do this?”

So how does one keep from “re-litigating” a decision?   I often search for other folks’ perspective to offer their suggestions for circumstances where one struggles to come to terms with a situation or the consequences of a decision. In this case, I share what means I have used for my own peace of mind.

I seek to begin when I wake to consider how I will approach the day.  What attitude will frame these hours ahead?  I ask myself “For what am I grateful today?” That is rarely an effort as there are always so many things I am aware of.  When I am really “on top of my game” though, I am paying attention to my breathing, staying centered throughout the day, so that I don’t allow any molehills to become mountains.  Admittedly, I have had several experiences recently that I did just that! But we aren’t shooting for perfection, folks.  The intention is simply to cultivate peace within as best we can, knowing we won’t always succeed and giving ourselves (and others) plenty of grace on our daily journeys through life.

The invitation is open to share “two cups of tea” anytime at Hope’s Café, or anywhere you share companionship and conversation.

May we be bearers of hope, the “wait staff” of Hope’s Café for each other and all those we encounter.  Shalom, Kate

Two Cups of Tea at Hope’s Café

In my recent discovery of some particular words unfamiliar to me, I came across dendrophile, one who loves trees.

When we moved from Montana, we had lived in the midst of the woods for thirty years. My husband loved the trees.  Despite there were hundreds, he seemed to have special kinship with each and every one.  He astounded me once when he said “This is my favorite tree.”  Among hundreds, he could pick a favorite?? I always suspected he told all the trees that! He especially loved oak trees.  When we built our house he was very clear with the builder that the only trees to be cut down were those that absolutely had to be in order to clear space for the house.  Those that had to be taken down, he had cut into slabs with pieces of wood in between to air dry.  This began a year of “curing” the planks.   Thus began his furniture making phase.  Our house contains much of his work, to include a china cabinet, of which I am especially fond. 

When we moved to Montana, the landscape seemed so barren to us!  Where were the trees?  When we first moved, one of the church members said “Well, I’ve been to Tennessee and it’s beautiful.  But I got kind of claustrophobic with all those trees.”  We couldn’t imagine.  Now, after three years, we wonder how it will be to go back to Tennessee.  I am aware how much I have come to love the “Big Sky” country.  I seek to drink in this scenery, to imprint it into my memory.  My husband is excited that our new home is a half mile from the oldest state park in Tennessee filled with—take a wild guess—huge oaks! 

“Humans have a long-standing connection to trees, from our earliest ancestral dwellings in wooded areas to our modern-day urban parks and gardens,” as reported in an article in The Encyclopedia of Psychology. “ The human-tree bond has been studied from an evolutionary, cultural, and psychological perspective, with new evidence suggesting that humans can develop an emotional relationship with trees, known as dendrophilia…

“The term ‘dendrophilia’ was coined by anthropologist Wolf D. Storl in 2002 to describe the emotional connection between humans and trees (Storl, 2002). Storl suggested that trees can be seen as ‘living beings’ who can be loved and appreciated, and argued that humans are ‘energetically connected’ to trees and other plants in our environment,” the report states further.

I would say my husband definitely qualifies as a dendrophile!

The invitation is open to share “two cups of tea” anytime at Hope’s Café, or anywhere you share companionship and conversation.

May we be bearers of hope, the “wait staff” of Hope’s Café for each other and all those we encounter.  Shalom, Kate

P.S. I expect to be on hiatus for awhile to get this move accomplished. Hope to see you in a few weeks!

Two Cups of Tea at Hope’s Café

I love discovering new words.  What a bonus when I recognize they apply to me!  I stumbled onto “novalunosis” this week, “the state of relaxation and wonderment experienced while gazing upon the stars. “

My first experience of a planetarium was in Denver, Colorado when I was about 10.  I had no idea there was such a thing.  Every opportunity I have had since then to view a planetarium program I have made sure I attended.  More recently I have experienced Big Bend Observatory in Texas, located between two International Dark Sky Preserves, and the Southern Africa Large Telescope (SALT).  It is the largest single optical telescope in the Southern Hemisphere.  It can detect stars one billion times dimmer than the faintest star which can be seen with the naked eye. 

In researching for this blog I discovered Stellarium Web Online Star Map, a planetarium which you can run in your web browser. It is based on the open source Stellarium Web Engine project.  The web version of the project is a collaboration between Fabien Chereau, the original creator, and his brother Guillaume. Chereau is a French research engineer and computer programmer best known for authoring the planetarium software Stellarium, a free, open source astronomy software package which renders 3D phot-realistic skies in real time. (Wikipedia)  I am intrigued!

I further learned that this French man graduated with majors in math, physics, chemistry and industrial technology. He studied in Finland as an exchange student at the Tempere University of Technology and went on to receive his master’s degree in computer science at the National Institute of Applied Sciences of Lyon, France.  (Perhaps he is a “polymath” as discussed in my previous blog?)

 This software is available on Google Play or by download on the App Store.  The brothers request that if you like it, to please consider donating to the Stellarium Project or buying their mobile version.  They report the money will be used to pay the server costs and hopefully also the development costs.

From ancient civilizations until now, people have been drawn by the stars.  One of my favorite memories is sitting with our grandsons on the balcony of a townhouse their parents were renting at the time and watching the stars come out, one, then two, then a sky full.  In that moment the world seemed full of peace.  Later when we visited, their bedroom was decorated with the planets and even the toddler could name them. 

It has been said “The sky is the ultimate art gallery.”  What an apt description!

The invitation is open to share “two cups of tea” anytime at Hope’s Café, or anywhere you share companionship and conversation.

May we be bearers of hope, the “wait staff” of Hope’s Café for each other and all those we encounter.  Shalom, Kate

Two Cups of Tea at Hope’s Cafe

Having never come across this term before, I was intrigued. Like some of the best discoveries, I stumbled onto it when I couldn’t find where I had stored an article that I wanted to draw from for this blog.  I could only remember that the article seemed to have been something from a Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Facebook post.  When I googled Neil deGrasse Tyson, I saw the term polymath applied to him. 

A polymath is someone of vast knowledge across many different areas.  Typically they average an IQ of 196.  deGrasse Tyson has an IQ of 123, but his vast knowledge across disciplines qualifies him.

In a post from the BBC entitled “Why Some People are Impossibly Talented,” the author referred to a fellow named Waqas Ahmed who published a book The Polymath in 2019. 

One of the most detailed examinations of the subject comes from Waqas Ahmed in his book The Polymath, published in 2019.

A highly talented man himself, though he modestly says it is too esteemed a designation to consider himself a polymath, he has “an undergraduate degree in economics and post-graduate degrees in international relations and neuroscience, Ahmed has worked as a diplomatic journalist and personal trainer (which he learnt through the British Armed Forces). Today, he is pursuing his love of visual art as the artistic director of one of the world’s largest private art collections, while also working as a professional artist himself.”

Ahmed’s research led him to only consider “those who had made significant contributions to at least three fields, such as Leonardo da Vinci (the artist, inventor and anatomist), Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (the great writer who also studied botany, physics and mineralogy) and Florence Nightingale (who, besides founding modern nursing, was also an accomplished statistician and theologian).”

Other information I gleaned related to a post I recall seeing on Facebook about Hedy LaMarr, the actress from 1930’s and early 40’s, known for “femme fatale” roles.  Few knew she had a great passion for inventing. She had even designed airplanes for her lover Howard Hughes, the aviation tycoon. 

Later she paired up with George Anthiel, pianist, composer, novelist, who had an interest in engineering.  Learning that enemy forces were jamming the Allied radio signals, the two devised a method called “frequency-hopping spread spectrum,” still in use today in much of the wireless technology.

Back to my original interest in deGrasse Tyson: his most remarkable quality in my estimation is his desire to foster  “scientific curiosity in others. Especially for young people, Tyson aims ‘not just to teach them science, but to teach them to love science.’” (History Tools, November 19,2023).

“A good teacher can inspire hope, imagination, and a love of learning,”wrote Brad Henry, governor of Oklahoma 2003-2011, who heralded raising teachers’ salaries, and funding for higher education in the state by granting approval for  a lottery to raise money.

The good news is we don’t have to be polymaths to cultivate hope, imagination, and love of learning in ourselves and, by example, perhaps inspire such in others.

The invitation is open to share “two cups of tea” anytime at Hope’s Café, or anywhere you share companionship and conversation.

May we be bearers of hope, the “wait staff” of Hope’s Café for each other and all those we encounter.  Shalom, Kate

Two Cups of Tea at Hope’s Café

When we came from Tennessee for my “candidate weekend” at the church here in Montana, one of the church members took us on a drive to familiarize us with the area.  He pointed out Tippet Rise Art Center, a working ranch which hosts classical chamber music and recitals and exhibits large-scale, outdoor sculptures on a vast 12,000 acres.

The next summer, having now been employed as pastor for nearly a year, I started seeing Tippet Rise concerts advertised and remembered having seen Tippet Rise on that drive the summer before.  However, I discovered that they have a lottery system.  In March they advertise the lottery is open and you have an opportunity to put your name in for a drawing.  The next year when we put our name in we didn’t get an opportunity for concert tickets but we did get the opportunity for a tour.  We had friends coming to visit on the date of the tour and we were able to take them on the tour with us.  It was delightful.  Still, I hoped we would have the opportunity to see a concert there. 

At long last, this year we were chosen in the lottery.  Last week weekend we were able to enjoy a program “Iron Tree—Daydreams and Cursive Takes a Holiday” composed of a flute, an oboe, a clarinet, a bassoon and a French horn.  I was torn between closing my eyes to listen and keeping my eyes open to watch musicians, who seemed to become one with their instruments while staying keenly aware of one another, such that their music was perfectly blended.

What a great lesson!  What if we both stayed in tune with ourselves while keeping aware of others so that we could work together in harmony?  Would that not be the ultimate way to function in society? Some philosophers have captured this idea centuries ago.  Plato said:

              “Music is a moral law.  It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.”

Much later, Kahlil Gibran would write:

              “Music is the language of the spirit.  It opens the secret of life, bringing peace and abolishing strife.”

Enjoy some music today!

The invitation is open to share “two cups of tea” anytime at Hope’s Café, or anywhere you share companionship and conversation.

May we be bearers of hope, the “wait staff” of Hope’s Café for each other and all those we encounter.  Shalom, Kate

Two Cups of Tea at Hope’s Café

The Smithsonian magazine recently detailed a piece of history I had heard nothing about in my years in Montana.*  In 1935, when the United States was composed of 48 states, there was a movement to create a 49^th state carved from northern Wyoming, southeastern Montana and western South Dakota.  People in the area were discouraged by factors such as dry soil, crashed banks and a dearth of available jobs.  In Sheridan, WY., the discontent flared, led by frustrated farmers and ranchers and other Sheridan residents who were feeling sorely neglected by their state government. They fueled the idea of secession, forming a new state they would call Absaroka. Sheridan would be its capital.

The plan for this 49th state encompassed 27 counties across Wyoming, Montana and South Dakota. Northern Wyoming folks felt disenfranchised because the transcontinental railroad was routed through southern Wyoming and state resources were directed there. Folks in eastern Montana had similar feelings about the focus on western Montana. The dust bowl had dried out the agricultural portion of South Dakota. Folks there were likewise disgusted that their legislature ignored their pleas for a decent highway system. The people in the agricultural area hoped by that means to increase income by bringing in tourists to enjoy the mountains, fishing and hunting.

Doomed from the beginning, this plan would have taken the approval of all three state legislatures as well as the United States Congress. In 1820 Maine had separated from Massachusetts and inad  1702 and 1863 respectively, Virginia had lost Kentucky and West Virginia.  But making one state carved from three others had never been considered.  However, the state of Absaroka became news nationwide, which eventually led to those areas getting some of the changes they desired from their states. 

 Just as people who have been abused are at risk of becoming abusers themselves, disregarded people are capable of disregarding others.  The plan for Absaroka encompassed what had been ancestral lands of the Crow (also known as Absaroka, “children of the long beaked bird,” as described in the Smithsonian article) before they were forced onto reservations after the Plains War of 1870.  This new state would have involved both Crow and Northern Cheyenne reservations, but no indigenous tribes were part of the discussions for this unusual effort. 

The people promoting Absaroka as a state were understandably frustrated. And while this lack of thought toward the tribes was typical of the time (and not unusual in our own time), there is a noteworthy saying that “Until you treat everyone as equal, don’t complain about the treatment you receive from anyone.” (graciousquotes.com) We are at our best when we consider the impacts on all involved in our decisions and actions.

 The invitation is open to share “two cups of tea” anytime at Hope’s Café, or anywhere you share companionship and conversation.

May we be bearers of hope, the “wait staff” of Hope’s Café for each other and all those we encounter.  Shalom, Kate

*“How the Great Depression Fueled a Grassroots Movement to Create a New State Called Absaroka,” August 14, 2024