“As an enigma among other enigmas, the human way of being alive only makes sense if it’s woven into the countless other ways of being alive that the animals, plants, bacteria and ecosystems all around us demand.” ~~ Baptiste Morizot, Ways of Being Alive ~~ A curious thing has happened in the woods where I…
Stories upon Stories
” So tell me, since it makes no factual difference to you and you can’t prove the question either way, which story do you prefer? Which is the better story, the story with animals or the story without animals?” ” The story with animals is the better story.”” Thank you. And so it goes with…
Companion the Earth
“If you have come to help me you are wasting your time. If you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” ~~ Dr. Lilla Watson ~~ After a battery of tests to rule out other illnesses, my very close friend was diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis;…
Deep Peace
“My task is to simplify and then go deeper, making a commitment to what remains. To care and polish what remains till it glows and comes alive from loving care.“ ~~ Sue Bender, Plain and Simple ~~ On Mother’s Day this year my husband and I attended the open house of a master gardener whose…
Maple Teacher
At the heart of the forest stands the grandest Maple tree I’ve ever met. I address Maple by name: “At some point, Maple, before we even met some 25 years ago, you lost a huge limb-arm that now sits on the ground, one end piercing the base of your trunk-body as the other rests above…
The Banks of Interbeing
In the Great Bear Rainforest of British Columbia, heavy autumn rains swell the rivers to capacity. Everything drips. Fulsome black slug-bodies glisten with moisture. Impossibly long swaths of pale green beard lichen drape in sheets from old growth cedars, testament to the deeply oxygenated air. The time is ripe for grizzly bears to gorge…
A Confluence of All Beings
“The universe is a communion of subjects, not a collection of objects.” ~~ Father Thomas Berry ~~ My senses are welcomed to an atmosphere of hushed tones. In a small vestibule, my fee is paid and I’m quietly ushered into the large sanctuary filled with soft music. Hung floor to ceiling, are 100+ gossamer thin…
Gracious Unfurlings 