Nick Offerman often gets conflated with Ron Swanson, the character he portrayed in Parks and Recreation on NBC for 7 years. In the show he is a brusque and committed libertarian who loves the out of doors and woodworking. In real life he is a kindly, giggling progressive who loves the out of doors and woodworking.

More recently, his comedic work has ebbed into some elements of self-expression we could call a naturalistic spirituality. He is deeply connected to the work and point of view of Wendell Berry and has become good friends in recent years with the author George Saunders and Jeff Tweedy from the band Wilco. He also helps foster a woodworking and craft collective in Los Angeles organized by women woodworkers. Altogether, he is living the kind of life that expresses values that resonate deeply with UU principles.

Recently he was able to talk about all of this and more in a conversation with Krista Tippett on her On Being podcast. It’s well worth a listen if you care about nature, craft, spirituality and the intersection of the three. If you’ve never watched Parks and Recreation, it is well worth your time. He appeared in perhaps one of the most beautiful and poignant episodes of television recently in the HBO show The Last of Us. And if you maybe just want to spend some quiet time in some quiet company, there’s an eight hour video of Offerman drinking whiskey. So, something for everyone really!

Sometimes it is hard to tap into our spiritual selves or find time to nurture our creativity and intellectual curiosity. Here is a section that reflects on some nourishing materials from around the web and related media channels in order to get us thinking, get us feeling, and get us reflecting on the lives we are living in this big world. **Some Adult/Mature Themes May Appear in Links and Other Attached Material**

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Allan T. Georgia, MDiv, MTS, PhD