A friend who offers occasional guided meditations begins each one by asking us to imagine ourselves in a nurturing place in nature. I am invariably sitting on a forest floor. Trees reach high above me, leafy branches arching overhead, sunlight glinting through the openings between the leaves. That is peaceful enough, but the most important […]
Ferns: the deep consolations of survival Read More »
After my brother’s death in June, 2020, words were hard to come by, for writing, speaking, even reading. Poetry was a companion; so much meaning in so few words. And on those bright, blooming California days, the tender mercies of beauty were deeply consoling. Perry had started his landscaping business in college, spending his life
It became an instant cliche as the 2020 pandemic revealed the threadbare fabric of our culture. The essential people who make day-to-day life possible are often the ones in the most precarious and low-paid jobs. I am grateful to have professional people in my life But I depend completely on the people who grow, harvest,
It couldn’t be clearer: the power of interrelatedness Read More »
I am sent to heal the brokenhearted….To comfort all who mourn….To give them beauty for ashes. ~Isaiah, 61~ I am blessed, in this time of forced absence and fearful presence, to live with beauty. As long as I’m willing to climb some steep hills, I can walk among embracing trees, with unfurling ferns and delicate spring
During the impeachment hearings in 2020, I was as miserable as I’d been in a long time. Not because any of it was news to me, but because institutions are failing in ways we never imagined. We’ve never seen them tested this much before. That same week, the Trump EPA added to its boundless failures
Weathering the storm: living with the power of cataclysm Read More »
In a world increasingly governed by Western notions of progress, people can find the emergence of the rights of nature an alien concept. Since the founding of ancient Rome, we have safeguarded property rights: the ownership of land, people, capital, and resources. Even when such rights work against the common good. Or even, as with
Becoming: the power of emergence Read More »
I’ve never thought of rain as life-changing, but this year it was. 2019 started with the wettest winter the San Francisco Bay area has known since recording began. First, that meant I had plenty of indoor time to explore projects that excite me. I fell under the wonderfully radical and optimistic spell of E.O. Wilson’s
Songlines 2019: a year of change and commitment Read More »
Imagine a river taking her case for the legal rights of rivers to court. Arriving in her smooth, flowing robes, reflecting the blue of the sky, a shimmering train brushing the floor as she walks. Everywhere light is glinting, from her silver hair to her silver shoes. Her skin is sometimes the color of the
When rivers go to court Read More »
At the end of the day, it’s because there are people who are deeply committed and are fearless. And are not going to be stopped. That’s how history happens. ~ Ted Howard ~ It was seeing the black curving lines of the fading flower above that made me think occasional Halloween posts might be fun.
Wild times, spooky beauty: happy halloween Read More »
Until man duplicates a blade of grass, nature can laugh at his so-called scientific knowledge. ~Thomas Edison~ Such a tiny word — poa, Greek for grass — to encompass one of the great life forces on earth. One of the most adaptive plant families, they’re the basis of human civilization. Every one of us is alive
The most powerful family on Earth Read More »