18
in other words
september13
2011
THE
yearnings, not our material ones. This is often
uncomfortable but not unhappy. Carol Sawyer, local
resident and published poet, uses a series of stark,
evocative images and a powerful visual format in
her poem, “Gross National Happiness” to raise the
question to the reader--what should we be using to
measure our happiness? Her title makes allusion to
the GNP or Gross National Product, which is used to
measure the financial strength of a country based on
By Lynn Berry
its gross wealth. From this title, Sawyer suggests that
Guest Contributor Chris Sedlmeyer a nation’s strength or success should be measured not
by the merely material GNP but by a more intimate
In the aftermath (afterglow?) of the arrival
measurement in the human heart—in the love and
of Lynn’s Twins, she has found herself in the midst
compassion its citizens have for each other:
of the ancient ritual of the newborn: the half-sleep-
walking 2:00 AM feedings, a tsunami of diapers, and
at the end the quiet breathing on your chest as a tiny
Couldn’t the Official Policy of
hand closes on your shirt in sleep before it starts all
that high
over again. As Lynn adjusts to her new ones, she
Himalayan kingdom
has asked me to step in and act as an interim for the
Teach us
Inkwell. As soon as she is able, she will return with
Quietly
her familiar style, no doubt babies on hip, to share her
insights on her new life.
about
As I look over Lynn’s shoulder and watch
the overwhelming range of obligations and emotions
Trusting
that come with newborns, I am struck by the fact
in that
that although the work and the stress involved is
spark of
immense, Lynn is happy. Tired, taxed, maybe even
Heart
mildly traumatized (she jumps at each squeak on the
in our
monitor, not knowing which one will become a roar),
Simple
Lynn is nevertheless content and happy in her life.
Temporary
However, by every standard we usually use to measure
Sacks of
happiness, Lynn should be miserable. For the most
Flesh?
part, our society measures happiness in leisure time,
money, possessions, food, entertainment or, at least,
Look into my eyes, my brother (1-15).
the lack of anything unpleasant, uncomfortable, or
challenging.
-------Carol Sawyer
Happiness (like love) is a choice more than
a feeling. We choose what makes us happy and
that choice makes all the difference in who we are
For Sawyer, the alternative to this “Trusting/ in that/
and what we make of this world. True happiness
Spark of/ Heart” is the continuing isolation, fear, and
comes from using our freedom to fulfill our spiritual
INKWELL
repression that keeps us struggling to find happiness
in things and searching for our personal meaning
and purpose in the empty and unfulfilling images of
leisure, wealth, and excitement that come to us each
night on the millions of TV screens she powerfully
describes as the “flickering/ Blue/ Indoortwilight”
(24).
Realizing that our happiness comes not from
what we have or do but from how we live and what
we do for others, it becomes critical for us to examine
how our lives are being narrowed by the isolating
fantasy of materialism and entertainment and how
we can broaden our lives to include compassion for
others and the striving for our own deepest purpose.
In pursuing our own meaning, we may not always be
comfortable but we certainly will be happy, and those
we touch and the world we shape will be the better for
it.
---Writer’s Idea: Write a piece that describes your
values--what makes you happy, what gives your life
purpose.
---Writer’s Tip: Try to change the look of your
poem and emphasize critical images or statements by
changing how the lines or words are arranged on the
page. No one said a poem has to rhyme or be written
in blocks of lines, so experiment.
---Please send your original submissions to, (or if
you would like a copy of any of the published poems
in their entirety), InkwellVernonia@gmail.com or
by mail: PO Box 333 Vernonia, OR 97064. Please
include your name and contact information.
Write—Express—Expand.
Chris Sedlmeyer holds an M.A. in English, specializing
in archetypal criticism and medieval spirituality. He has
published an article in the American Benedictine Review
and is currently at work on a new article examining the
practice of lectio divina in light of Carl Jung’s structure of
the psyche.
CAT Builds Energy Efficient Home in Vernonia continued from page 9
Earth Advantage works with Energy
Trust of Oregon in order to determine
the energy performance of the home.
The home received energy star certifica-
tion from Earth Advantage which means
that the home will be at a minimum 15%
more efficient than a home built to Or-
egon building code. This home exceeds
the minimum energy star rating with an
energy performance score of 32.
Ryan Shanahan, a Builder Out-
reach Specialist from Earth advantage,
explained what this rating means is that
this home will use 32 million BTU of
energy per year yet without the improve-
ments this exact house would have used
50 million BTU of energy per year. This
totals a 36% reduction in energy use for
the homeowner. At the open house, Ryan
also explained the first thing you want to
do is conserve energy and the first step
toward energy conservation is with the
shell of the home.
The home was built with ad-
vanced framing on two foot centers us-
ing less lumber but equaling more insu-
lation. The shell of the Fifth Ave. home
has 2 inch poly-iso insulation; the best
Subscription Form
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rigid insulation you can get on the ex-
terior. The poly-iso forms a continuous
layer which interrupts thermal bridging
that happens through wall studs. More
insulation lowers the heat load of the
house. This allows you to use products
such as mini split heaters that run super
quiet and super efficiently providing
both heating and cooling year round by
exchanging energy molecules in the air.
The house has an energy recov-
ery ventilator that continuously brings
in fresh air while extracting some of the
heat energy from air inside the house
before it exchanges. It is also equipped
with a tank-less water heater which re-
moves the need to spend energy keep-
ing tank water hot. Other features of
the home are an insulated front door; a
kitchen equipped with energy star appli-
ances, and LED canned lights that use
1/13th of the energy that a normal light
would use.
To learn more about Communi-
ty Action Team go to www.cat-team.org
and to learn more about Earth Advantage
Institute go to www.earthadvantage.org.
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