The Good Life

Today our children begin gathering their things (ipods, laptops, cozy socks. bocce sets, chess boards, etc.) and make their way to the farm where amazingly all of our children and partners will be able to gather at the same time around the same table. It’s our first family gathering at the farmhouse and the table we’ll share was purchased in 1953…the year before I was born. This is the first Thanksgiving that the table of my childhood becomes my family table. I am delighted and look forward to the laughter and stories of the nine folks who’ll sit around it for much longer than the time it takes to eat the turkey. I know I am blessed, fortunate, and also privileged. This Thanksgiving I am particularly aware of my privilege. I’ve been reading a wonderfully written book by Sallie McFague titled Life Abundant: Rethinking Theology and Economy for a Planet in Peril. Don’t let the long title scare you off. She does an amazing job of unpacking theology and economics in a totally accessible way and makes a clear case for the necessity of our “re-imagining the good life” in order to radically alter the ways we share the household called Earth. To consciously choose planetary economics rather than consumer economics is an awesome task. She writes, “For the household called Earth to survive and flourish, certain “house rules” must be obeyed. These house rules are ecological, economic ones, having to do with the just division of basic resources among all the members of the family of life.” Today, I am grateful for many things that speak of the good life…health, family, beauty, abundance in many forms. And I am grateful for people like this author who call me to consider deeply my connection to all of life. Tomorrow when we sit around the family table …before we pass the plates…before we tell our stories…we’ll pause to remember the larger family and consider how to continue the work of creating a new, sustainable vision of a good life for all who share the household of Mother Earth.