Recent Posts

Muse in Brief

Web of Green: Ecology, Economics and the U.S. Political Climate » No Unsacred Place

Alison Leigh Lilly

In my latest post over on No Unsacred Place, I weave a web of green, headline-hopping through this past week's important news stories about environmentalism in the United States and the growing protests of economic inequality as part of the #OccupyWallSt movement: "Environmentalism has been making headlines recently in the United States as the political climate in the run-up to the Republican primaries continues to heat up like, well, the actual climate. From government censorship of climate scientists, to House Republicans voting to disempower the EPA, to environmentalist protest in solidarity with the #OccupyWallSt movement in New York and across the country, the common theme is the clash between two vastly different stories about the role that protections and regulations play in helping or hurting Americans. ..."

Contemplation & Meditation, Holy Wild

Into Desert, Into Mist

Alison Leigh Lilly

What struck me was the absence, how it stretched out in all directions. Indistinguishable. The trees were stunted and small, scraggly things, as flimsy as old paper dried up and twisted and left to the dust of the endless desert landscape. From the ridge, they spotted the ravine's slope here and there all the way down to where it met the empty, mud-cracked stream bed. Out here, they called that a river. They had the nerve to mark it on a map. When I looked down into the ravine from the top of the ridge where I was standing, a sense of vertigo swept through me. The unfamiliar shrunken size of the trees tricked the eye, so that even shrubs which I knew were only a few feet down seemed to stretch the landscape into an odd but persistent sensation of distance. A gradual slope dropped away in an optical illusion of dizzying depth. I blinked. I thought, this was what the Discworld Witches called "gnarly ground."

Muse in Brief

Water on Water’s the Way » No Unsacred Place

Alison Leigh Lilly

In my latest post over on No Unsacred Place, I explore the relationship between the Druidic element gwyar and the classic elements more familiar to most modern Pagans, as part of a larger discussion about the tragedy of water pollution and the inaccessibility to clean drinking water for millions of people living in poverty all over the world: "It’s no surprise that the general numbness and disconnection of our modern culture — our alienation from gwyar as the expression of sacred connection and exchange with the planet and its many beings and gods — can be poignantly seen in our damaged and dangerous relationship to the element of water. ..."

Holy Wild, Muse in Brief

Saturday Surfing: Protest, Physics and Aesthetics, Oh My!

Alison Leigh Lilly

My gods, where did September go?! Oh that's right, I got married. Woot! Then we had a fantastic honeymoon. Double woot! (More pictures soon to come of both.) And now we're home again, our days laced with the scent of falling leaves and lengthening autumn nights. It's good to be home. As promised, I'm starting a new feature on the blog where I recap some of the most interesting links and articles I've come across during the course of the week, for your perusing pleasure. I'm going to call this "Saturday Surfing" because I am, as you know, a huge fan of alliteration. So check these out!

Holy Wild, Science & Civilization

The Legacy of Steve Jobs

Alison Leigh Lilly

The outpouring of warm sentiments and fond memories on the internet today about the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs is a reminder that what we accomplish in this life is deeply colored by who we are. We are flawed, imperfect human beings. As T Thorn Coyle says, "You try to do good work in the world, and die when you die." This iMac computer that I write on is just a gadget, hardly better or worse than any other in the grand scheme of things. Many ethical and environmental compromises went into its making and marketing. Yet it has also opened up opportunities for conversation and community that wouldn't have been possible otherwise.

Holy Wild, Theology

This Is What “Ex-Postmodernism” Looks Like

Alison Leigh Lilly

From "Postmodernism is dead," in Prospect Magazine: For a while, as communism began to collapse, the supremacy of western capitalism seemed best challenged by deploying the ironic tactics of postmodernism. Over time, though, a new difficulty was created: because postmodernism attacks everything, a mood of confusion and uncertainty began to grow and flourish until, in… Continue reading This Is What “Ex-Postmodernism” Looks Like

Holy Wild, Nature Photography

Zion Moments

Alison Leigh Lilly

Out here in the rust and russet landscape of Utah, I'm taking a break from the afternoon heat by escaping with my husband into a tiny local café. Cold drink, lots of ice, wobbly ceiling fan — and in the distance, the rippling, pine-studded ribbons of sandstone cliffs beneath a hazy-brilliant, unbrokenly blue sky. Best. Honeymoon. Ever.

Holy Wild, Nature Photography

Early Autumn Garden Wildflowers

Alison Leigh Lilly

Wildflowers in the garden, a riot of purples, pinks and golden orange among the feathery green in early morning sunlight. Gorgeous skies cresting to a deep sapphire blue, a smooth, unblemished arch above the subtle scents of autumn, crisp and rotting, wafting on a breeze that all summer moved sluggish and hot but now finally dips into cool. Click for more photographs.