Looking in a mirror and recognizing our own humanity is hard enough. We ask ourselves, “Who am I? What am I? What is the purpose of me, of this world?”

At the beginning of last spring, Ryan Adams, found himself belly up on an operating table at Camden Clark Medical Center in Parkersburg, West Virginia.

These days I am jogging in East Wheeling. I take the steps, all the steps I can find. I thought I knew all the staircases on Vineyard Hill from years rambling as a kid, but I find more every jog.

The forward-looking event was hosted by local environmental group Concerned Ohio River Residents (CORR) and featured speakers on energy efficient economics, sustainable development, and regenerative agriculture.

Just as this article kicks off the Peace Column of Mustard Seed Mountain’s first issue, our country is talking about, perhaps planning, and hopefully committing to ending our longest war: The War in Afghanistan.

Poetry by Melinda Greathouse

Poetry by Ben Casteel