© Rodney Smith Your innermost sense of self, of who you are, is inseparable from stillness. This is the I Am that is deeper than name and form. — Eckhart Tolle As we gently release and heal our addiction to busyness, author Leo Babauta makes these additional suggestions about Doing Less: “Do Less complaining and … Read more
One’s action ought to come out of an achieved stillness:not to be mere rushing on. — D.H. Lawrence The days are definitely getting longer. A new era is dawning for our country and our new President has hit the ground running. So am I wrong to want to linger a while yet in stillness? With … Read more
Three rules of work: Out of clutter find simplicity; from discord find harmony; in the middle of difficulty lies opportunity. — Albert Einstein With Mercury in retrograde, pushing forward with business as usual can be difficult, if not problematic. And now, in the in the deep of Winter, I am suggesting that we adjust accordingly … Read more
Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you. — Lao Tzu As the powerful perigee Moon of January wanes, we are invited to simplify and attune to the Winter’s quiet around us. Of course, if you are in … Read more
Except during the Great Depression, women and children have never been on our nation’s streets in significant numbers. During the 1980’s, cutbacks in benefits coupled with rapidly increasing rents and a dearth of low-income housing jeopardized the stability of all people with reduced or fixed incomes. At the same time, the number of female-headed households … Read more
Mockingbirdsby Mary Oliver This morningtwo mockingbirdsin the green fieldwere spinning and tossing the white ribbonsof their songsinto the air.I had nothing better to dothan listen.I mean thisseriously. In Greece,a long time ago,an old coupleopened their door to two strangerswho were,it soon appeared,not men at all, but gods.It is my favorite story–how the old couplehad almost … Read more
Faerie Guardians © Howard David JohnsonWhen I sound the fairy call, gather here in silent meeting,Chin to knee on the orchard wall, cooled with dew and cherries eating.Merry, merry, take a cherry, mine are sounder, mine are rounder,Mine are sweeter for the eater, when the dews fall, and you’ll be fairies all. — Emily Dickinson … Read more
Fairy Under the Flowers © by James Christensen Within thine eyes are dreams of mystic things, Within thy voice a subtler music rings Than ever mortal from the keen reeds drew; Thou weav’st a web which men have callèd Death But Life is in the magic of thy breath. — from Madonna Natura, by Fiona … Read more
Cold Mountain(After Han Shan)by Colin Oliver When I came to Cold MountainI made my home among pinesat the foot of a green cliff.Yet who is here? Cold Mountain:a vacant house. Jagged peaks,white clouds and crying monkeys. 2After a shower rocks gleamand Cold Mountain from high peakdown to green border shimmers.I wander by a clear stream,watch … Read more
Manifest plainness,Embrace simplicity,Reduce selfishness,Have few desires. — Lao-Tzu, Tao Te Ching Today is Fat Tuesday, Mardis Gras, sometimes called Shrove Tuesday. On this day, Christians prepare for a season of purification and deprivation, in alignment with their God’s vision quest. I love what author and Wise One of Time Waverly Fitzgerald has written about how … Read more