Mercy is the bloom that still can offend though its intention is to attract more beauty. Thank you for this beautiful reflection, Beth! I can’t live without knowing mercy exists in the world.
Beautiful as always, Beth. Thanks for the reminder that we have to maintain sharp senses to discern mercy and recognize opportunities to pass it out like candy. Now, more than ever, the vital work you and Sarah do every day feeds the response of this community we all love to the conditions around us.
I love this so much, Beth! I forwarded the newsletter to my son that collects carniverous and exotic plants, and to my PhD biologist husband. It was such a thoughtfully written piece! And as a Baptist turned Episcopalian, I was so grateful for Bishop Budde's voice. Mercy is a foundation of our faith. I'm sad that she's gotten so much criticism from other Christians.
I remember in my youthful naivete that I thought I might be called on at some point to take some kind of courageous stand, & when it happened it would be so clear that I was choosing the good & right & true against that which was clearly evil. (Did I mention naivete?) Yes, Beth, mercy against the backdrop of pain & ugliness. Maybe a kindness is mistrusted & rejected. Maybe grace is depicted as no accountability. Even love can be twisted & used to bring harm. No doubt the Bishop has had an overabundance of hate mail since Tuesday because she advocated for mercy. So messy. And yet... I still choose mercy and kindness and grace and love. Even now. Especially now.
Beth, your writing style really speaks to my heart. I absolutely adore how you open your MTS and letters with a beautiful story about something seemingly unrelated. It reminds me of poetry in a way.
I had never heard of the corpse flower until I read World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil in the fall. It's not the type of book I usually read (part Memoir, part nature study) but it was so good and talked about such fascinating plants and animals!
This is only slightly related to your post, but I have to recommend this book when I can.
The corpse flower at the Brooklyn Botanical garden started blooming today! Thanks for the interesting details about it - I’m sorry I won’t be able to go see in person this weekend, but am constantly amazed by nature’s ingenuity.
Mercy is the bloom that still can offend though its intention is to attract more beauty. Thank you for this beautiful reflection, Beth! I can’t live without knowing mercy exists in the world.
Thank you, Beth.
Beautiful as always, Beth. Thanks for the reminder that we have to maintain sharp senses to discern mercy and recognize opportunities to pass it out like candy. Now, more than ever, the vital work you and Sarah do every day feeds the response of this community we all love to the conditions around us.
I love this so much, Beth! I forwarded the newsletter to my son that collects carniverous and exotic plants, and to my PhD biologist husband. It was such a thoughtfully written piece! And as a Baptist turned Episcopalian, I was so grateful for Bishop Budde's voice. Mercy is a foundation of our faith. I'm sad that she's gotten so much criticism from other Christians.
I remember in my youthful naivete that I thought I might be called on at some point to take some kind of courageous stand, & when it happened it would be so clear that I was choosing the good & right & true against that which was clearly evil. (Did I mention naivete?) Yes, Beth, mercy against the backdrop of pain & ugliness. Maybe a kindness is mistrusted & rejected. Maybe grace is depicted as no accountability. Even love can be twisted & used to bring harm. No doubt the Bishop has had an overabundance of hate mail since Tuesday because she advocated for mercy. So messy. And yet... I still choose mercy and kindness and grace and love. Even now. Especially now.
Beth, your writing style really speaks to my heart. I absolutely adore how you open your MTS and letters with a beautiful story about something seemingly unrelated. It reminds me of poetry in a way.
Yay!!! The happy Senator Booker face made my week 💗
Senator Booker's face radiates his joy when he smiles. Thank you for sharing this video clip!
This is so powerful and so beautiful. Thank you so very much for this. (I’ll also plug The Bitter Southerner’s new “Have Mercy” t-shirts.)
We have a corpse flower blooming here right now.
Thank you, Beth.
This is precisely what I needed; a beautiful reminder and balm for my soul.
This is so beautiful. I need an Uncle Jesse meme though.
🤣 really a missed opportunity there
❤️❤️
Thank you so much Beth. I will carry this with me.
I had never heard of the corpse flower until I read World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil in the fall. It's not the type of book I usually read (part Memoir, part nature study) but it was so good and talked about such fascinating plants and animals!
This is only slightly related to your post, but I have to recommend this book when I can.
https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/world-of-wonders_aimee-nezhukumatathil/26891107/item/56319729/
The corpse flower at the Brooklyn Botanical garden started blooming today! Thanks for the interesting details about it - I’m sorry I won’t be able to go see in person this weekend, but am constantly amazed by nature’s ingenuity.
I have heard from people who have visited when it bloomed that it truly smells awful.