Baby Earth

I feel really bad that I haven't posted the short talk I gave at Abe's funeral. I can't explain why, I just haven't done it yet. Many family members asked me for it after that day, and I told all of them that I'd get it to em. Alas, I have not.
I'm posting it now so that anyone can copy it, or just read it, whatever. I honestly have not revisited these words for almost 6 months, although they're memorized in my head. It's interesting to read now. It's bizarre to me that I equated nature to love, or rather, my love for my son. But I think about it and it's true...this is our home away from home.
Jamie and I have been called "tree huggers" for as long as I have known her. It's never bothered us. We do love trees, but we don't hug them. I don't if anyone out there has ever tried to hug a giant redwood, but it would take ten of you! Trees to us are majesty. Just as the oceans, the mountains, our rivers, deserts and biodiversity are. If you resign yourself to believing in any sort of GOD that had any sort of role in the creation of this world we call home...YOU SHOULD BE HUGGING TREES!!!
Society has given environmentalism a very bad name (boo!). Caring about the planet that is your home should be considered a virtue, not a hopeless fantasy. People that think it's funny to "tease" someone lamenting the destruction of our world, to me, seem quite misguided.
Abram would have loved Oregon. He would have loved the trees and ocean sooo much! The sand, the birds, the waves, the rocks, sea life, the wind, the rain, the sun...our world.
So, if you ever happen to find yourself in this beautiful and natural world, don't be afraid to remark upon it. She is loving you, you should love her. He is loving you, you should love him...

Abram's Funeral Talk

Anyone who knows me & Jamie well knows we love the Oregon coast. We go there year after year on our vacation and it has become a second home to us. We fell in love in Oregon and we were married in secret in Oregon. It is a place of most importance to us, for it reveals to us so many things.

We see in the crashing waves the epic journey a burst of energy can take. We see in the redwoods an ancient time emerging from the earth. We see in the crystal waters of the Chetco River a cooperation of balance so delicate and fragile. We watch in wonder as nature dances and unfolds before us. We have grown to crave these wonders like a drug. We are addicted.

I have never known how to express the feelings I have when I’m in this magical place. Time stands still. Worries are obsolete. Peace is in abundance. Suffering gone. Everything that’s good and true in this world explodes into our souls like shrapnel from the heavens. We are humbled by humility. And so we set forth, year after year, seeking out that spiritual experience we have grown to love... Then we had our son.

We saw in Abram’s eyes the depths of the oceans. We saw in his eyes the old growth forests. We saw in his eyes the delicate ecosystem that cradled an ancient man. We saw in his eyes the universe, the cosmos, and the heavens. In his eyes we saw god.

Abram is a design of love. Abram is a product, a creation of love. Abram is a manifestation of the perfect things in the world. A tiny, little package of all the good wrapped up into one. Abram is love. And love is nature. Love is music. Love is human. Love is God. Love is real! Untouchable. Unbreakable. Undeniable.