Author: Mika A. Cohen Bertel
Is Peace Waiting Beneath Our Stress?
What is peace? And is it possible to experience real peace? I don’t have any easy answers to these questions… I don’t really know much about much. Like most 30-somethings, I’m filled with more questions and confusion than ever. Including questions about peace. Questions I know will never be answered. Questions I’ll continue to ask in the hope of getting closer to an answer, while accepting ...[Read More]
Conservation or Convenience—A Matter of Context
Summers in Northern California were truly incredible. It was always hot enough to go swimming, rarely so hot that you needed AC, and there was always something to do. You could wear shorts during the day and sweats at night. My hometown of Richmond, CA is a WWII industrial town just minutes from Berkeley, San Francisco, Oakland, and Marin County. We were on the water, in the heart of the ‘hood, an...[Read More]
Watching Our Heroes Fall from Grace
What has happened to all the role models? It seems like they’ve started dropping like flies. In light of the recent sexual assault allegations in particular, it feels like the “good” ones are being proven just as bad as anyone else. In other words, they’re not who we thought they were. Have you heard the saying, “never meet your heroes”? Meeting your heroes humanizes them—their capes come off and ...[Read More]
What Happens When I Make Rest a Priority
It seems that every time someone tries to make plans with me, I’m busy. There’s always a work project, a kid’s event, a birthday, a networking meeting, a webinar, or something else going on that keeps me from fully detaching and just relaxing, with or without friends. Doesn’t it seem that we have to work for our relaxation now? We have to prepare for it, plan it, and always...[Read More]
Finding Gratitude Between Privilege and Poverty
A few months ago I took a weekend trip to Mexico, on the Yucatan peninsula. As I drove down the highway from the airport to my hotel, I listened closely to the radio and translated as much in my head as I could. Something about “Saturday at 7,” and “huge sale on cars, call this number!” I did my best. At some point on my drive I realized that the hotel was a straight shot from where I was, so all ...[Read More]
What I Learned from Real Fair Trade Farmers
No matter where you go on the good ole’ interwebs, you’re bound to find opposing views on fair trade practices. Fair trade was implemented with the intention of protecting the little guy—the small farmer, the artisan, who didn’t have lots of money behind their craft. The point was to put a fair amount of money in the producer’s pockets. Whether or not it works is, and always has been, up for debat...[Read More]
Why do atheists pray?
What is prayer to you?? Is it a worship of a higher power? A thought of gratitude? Is it a request for a need fulfilled? And if you pray, who are you praying to? Just as religion is interpreted, each individual will interpret prayer differently. For some, it is a strict set of verses that were written long ago. For others, it’s a conversation with God. There are even those who don’t believe in a h...[Read More]
Science and Religion—Pieces of the Same Puzzle
I saw a video that a pastor made about creationism. In this video, he adamantly argued that God created the world in 6 days—point blank, period. He said scientific theories were “just theories” and therefore had no merit. That science and technology were anti-religion. He posted this video to Facebook… It was recorded using a smartphone… And he was driving a car… All pretty technologically-advance...[Read More]
You and I impact the environment—in any political climate.
Christian teachings say that God’s children are to be stewards of their environments. Some subgroups even go so far as to label themselves “Green Christians,” who practice “creation care,” which basically means caring for God’s creations. The bible repeatedly tells us to rule over the land and all living things in it, but reminds us that it is not ours to keep. Just as you are supposed to return s...[Read More]