Eden Revisited

Need some common sense? Seattle tree and plant specialist Arthur Lee Jacobson believes life's fundamental lessons can be learned simply by tuning into nature. With decades of experience, Arthur is a locally and internationally known garden expert, writer, speaker, and consultant. In this episode, we tap into his plant wisdom and also the intersection with topics as diverse as globalism, aging, sustainability, classic literature, and religion. Learn more about Arthur and his work in the links below.
Have a question, topic idea, gardening tip, anything? Email us at [email protected]. We'd love to give you a sprout out!
LINKS

• Arthur's personal website (www.arthurleej.com)
• Wild Plants of Greater Seattle by Arthur Lee Jacobson
• Seattle Times spotlight piece on Arthur
• Essays by Arthur Lee Jacobson

Tempus fugit, memento mori! Time flies, remember death! In this especially joyful episode, Tyler and Nick discuss how we've become a culture of death deniers and why we should instead train our gaze on the Infinite.
Using a sermon C.S. Lewis gave at Oxford in 1939 as World War II raged on, we look at the connection between wartime and the Covid pandemic. C.S. Lewis firmly believed that "Human life has always been lived on the edge of a precipice... If men had postponed the search for knowledge and beauty until they were secure, the search would never have begun." It sure feels like a precipice right now, but maybe the beautiful things will (and should) always be worth doing. This isn't a matter of being reckless. It's a matter of getting our priorities straight and accepting the fact that *gasp* we're gonna die whether we like it or not. It's time to remember and not deny basic facts of existence. Cheers!
Have a question, topic idea, gardening tip, anything? Email us at [email protected]. We'd love to give you a sprout out!
LINKS

• America Magazine article by Thomas Harmon - "Reading C.S. Lewis in the Time of Covid"
• C.S. Lewis's sermon “Learning in War-Time.” Delivered in the fall of 1939 to the congregation at the Oxford University church of St. Mary the Virgin.
• Capuchin Crypt in Rome where skulls, bones, and other skeletal remains serve as a reminder that tempus fugit, memento mori!

Let's get the pump! Join Nick and Austin as they compare the Christian idea of exercise to getting swole. We all like a good burn, but what's it for? And maybe an even better question, who's it for? Nick also tries to sell Austin on his new favorite workout style, MovNat. Championed by barefoot dudes with long hair and a penchant for park bench-hopping, MovNat is about recovering the natural movements (balancing, swinging, climbing, throwing, rolling, etc.) that we've lost in our modern lives. The primary goal is to be strong to be useful. Austin thinks it's a cult; Nick thinks it aligns with the Christian mandate to lay down one's life for a neighbor. Maybe it's kinda both. You can't knock it until you've tried it. Check out the links below for more background and how to get started. Don't be zoo human!
Have a question, topic idea, gardening tip, anything? Email us at [email protected]. We'd love to give you a sprout out!
LINKS

• Video - "The Workout the World Forgot"
• Video - "The Workout Nick Didn't Forget" (spoof or for real?)
• "The History of Physical Fitness" by Erwan LeCorre, founder of Movnat
• MovNat website with exercises for home and anywhere
• A great restoration routine with MovNat movements
• MovNat workshop in Seattle on Jan. 31. Sign up with Nick!
• "The Logical Song" by Supertramp. Dare to be "illogical" as a MovNat'er (and a Christian).
• Natural Born Heroes: Mastering the Lost Secrets of Strength and Endurance by Christopher McDougall. Great read by the author of Born to Run. See how the ordinary shepherds on the island of Crete were able to resist Nazi occupation using natural movement and traditional sustenance and endurance.

Javelinas and tarantulas and bees, oh my! Nick invites on Kelden Formosa, the podcast's first guest, to discuss what it means to "rewild" nature. Kelden is an amateur botanist, long distance trekker, tree lover, and Canada's best 5th grade teacher. He argues that we humans spend a lot of time denuding the natural world of its original biodiversity, and it's time to let those forlorn tarantulas and complex fungal networks work without our (un)heroic attempts to tame nature according to our own image and preference. Rewilding is a radical openness to the beauty, and sometimes bizarreness, of God's plan for creation.
Have a question, topic idea, gardening tip, anything? Email us at [email protected]. We'd love to give you a sprout out!
LINKS

• Psalm 19: "The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork..."
• The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate – Discoveries from a Secret World by Peter Wohlleben. [He] shares his deep love of woods and forests and explains the amazing processes of life, death, and regeneration he has observed in the woodland and the amazing scientific processes behind the wonders of which we are blissfully unaware.
• Laudato Si' by Pope Francis: "Although it is true that we Christians have at times incorrectly interpreted the Scriptures, nowadays we must forcefully reject the notion that our being created in God’s image and given dominion over the Earth justifies absolute domination over other creatures. The biblical texts are to be read in their context, with an appropriate hermeneutic, recognizing that they tell us to ‘till and keep’ the garden of the world (cf. Gen 2:15). ‘Tilling’ refers to cultivating, ploughing or working, while ‘keeping’ means caring, protecting, overseeing and preserving. This implies a relationship of mutual responsibility between human beings and nature."
• Humans as hybrids in Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis.
• And what's a javelina, anyway?
• On the Eden Revisited podcast, we talk a lot about our experiences in the University of Notre Dame's Alliance for Catholic Education program. Click here to learn more.

The crew wonders aloud whether they should have 401(k)s. (Full disclosure: They all have one or some variation thereof!) They wrestle with the principle of saving, profiting off of suspect companies, and how to invest in real relationships rather than just a healthy return. Are 401(k)s a legitimate way to make money, or is it some form of (black) magic that's too good to be true? The Edenic armchair philosopher-economists might just be left scratching their heads.
SHOW HIGHLIGHTS

• What is a 401(k) and how does it work?
• What does it mean to "save for your vocation"?
• Are there any virtues to investing locally?
• Do the U.S. Bishops think we should invest and expect a return?
• If I don't invest in Amazon, do I also have to give up my Prime membership?
• What does JPII have to say about profit?
• And how did Noah get fresh and saltwater fish on the ark???

LINKS

• What is a 401(k) and How Does it Work?
• The Ant and the Grasshopper - Aesop's Fables
• USCCB Socially Responsible Investment Guidelines
• Centesimus Annus by Pope St. John Paul II
• New Polity: Money
• Music credit: Boys are Back in Town by Thin Lizzy

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Have a question, topic idea, gardening tip, anything? Email us at [email protected]. We'd love to give you a sprout out.