This book brings together the letters David Wood has written over the past eighteen years to the Community of the Three Hours, a network of people who have committed themselves to the hidden task of silent prayer for the peace of the world for some or all of the hours between twelve and three each Friday.To engage in this kind of prayer is to enter dark territory where indeed all words fail, where all one can do it to watch and wait. It is a call to be faithful to the commitment and not to expect to see tangible results.As David Scott writes in his Foreword: 'Believers experience an entry into darkness, a cloud of unknowing which is a test of faith... References to this tradition of prayer are taken from The Cloud of Unknowing, Henry Vaughan's poems, and Meister Eckhart's writings.' But the most powerful references are to contemporary experiences of darkness: Nelson Mandela's, Bosnia, the Shoah, the Twin Towers, and the film Trainspotting. Complementing the letters are contributions from Robert Gallagher, Anna Briggs, Doug Constable, and Stephen Brown.
The new geological epoch we call the Anthropocene is not just a scientific classification. It marks a radical transformation in the background conditions of life on Earth, one taken for granted by much of who we are and what we hope for. Never before has a species possessed both a geological-scale grasp of the history of the Earth and a sober understanding of its own likely fate. Our situation forces us to confront questions both philosophical and of real practical urgency. We need to rethink who “we” are, what agency means today, how to deal with the passions stirred by our circumstances, whether our manner of dwelling on Earth is open to change, and, ultimately, “What is to be done?” Our future, that of our species, and of all the fellow travelers on the planet depend on it. The real-world consequences of climate change bring new significance to some very traditional philosophical questions about reason, agency, responsibility, community, and man’s place in nature. The focus is shifting from imagining and promoting the “good life” to the survival of the species. Deep Time, Dark Times challenges us to reimagine ourselves as a species, taking on a geological consciousness. Drawing promiscuously on the work of Nietzsche, Heidegger, Foucault, Derrida, Deleuze, and other contemporary French thinkers, as well as the science of climate change, David Wood reflects on the historical series of displacements and de-centerings of both the privilege of the Earth, and of the human, from Copernicus through Darwin and Freud to the declaration of the age of the Anthropocene. He argues for the need to develop a new temporal phronesis and to radically rethink who “we” are in respect to solidarity with other humans, and responsibility for the nonhuman stakeholders with which we share the planet. In these brief, lively chapters, Wood poses a range of questions centered on our individual and collective political agency. Might not human exceptionalism be reborn as a sort of hyperbolic responsibility rather than privilege?
The person you love most, your soul mate, is dying from a vile, rare, painful, incurable cancer. You have to watch on, helplessly, as she struggles with the mental and physical pain, knowing you can do nothing to fix it, or take it away from her. She never complains, or wears her illness like a badge. History is repeating itself, bringing back similar, painful memories from years ago. What do you do? Well in reality there is nothing you can do, except care and love. Do you ask your God for help? Why do bad things happen to good people? David writes about his feelings of loss, desolation, and impending loss, sometimes using explicit language. But also injects humour, because it helps him survive. His thoughts lead from places and things which inspire, to real heroes, then to others, some of whom are in positions of authority, and would never match up, because they bulge with self importance. His thoughts, sometimes bizarre and banal, through unpretentious verse, short stories, and biographical episodes, provide an insight as to what drives him on, taking the lead from his lover and best friend, to never give up, and to survive.
A crocodile in the bath tub! A camel in the living room! A penguin in the basement! Add some crazy bugs and these are only a few of the creatures you will meet as an adventure-seeking 5 year old and his fun loving parents recreate the seven continents right in their house. This charming book is a wonderful teaching tool to introduce your children to the seven Continents. Accompanied by beautiful, appealing and fun illustrations, There's a World in My House will quickly become your child's favorite ?want to read? book. The spirit and humor of a master story-teller is apparent on every page. A fun-filled learning adventure you can explore with your children again and again! .
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