Out on the beach, I found these two remembrances of lives gone by: a Gulf fritillary butterfly, short-stopped on its fall migration, and a fragment of very old pottery (most likely made of the red clay in my bioregion). Barnacles had built a home on what once had been an ancient pot. I placed these beautiful remnants side by side, considering their messages of impermanence and beauty. Today, in many spiritual traditions, we honor our ancestors, and perhaps we feel their presence more closely in … Continue
Tag Archives: mindfulness
Last weekend, a series of impressive king tides, swelled by the full moon, rose our Gulf waters a foot or more higher above normal. In south Florida, sea water ran deep in the streets. But along our lightly populated coast, I noticed only submerged docks, from Lanark to Eastpoint. On St. Vincent Island, the king tides carved two long swales and filled them with salt Gulf water. The pool closer to the dunes was deeper, and had apparently entrapped an … Continue
The beautiful urgency of the garden has brought me to my knees. Spring harvest and spring planting require that I turn away from the concerns of our suffering world for the hours it takes to grow our family’s food. Rows of Garden of Eden pole beans shake free from their brown seed jackets so they can climb. The tomatoes are still orderly, restrained by the cool of these nights. I keep pace with their growth by pinching off side shoots and tying … Continue
Just when I can’t take the thievery of our Florida politicians, monetizing and robbing our public lands, fresh water, oil, black bears….spring comes! And reminds me of the true value and proper scale of Earth’s gifts. From our garden, I harvest my lunch every day: carrots more golden than the brightest coin, butter crunch lettuce, greener than any dollar. I watch the cedar waxwings do the same, swarming the … Continue
Today, I offer you a guest post from Rev. Candace McKibben, my beloved friend and partner in all things ritual. The photos are by the always amazing David Moynahan. There’s more to come on bears, and restoring them to their deserved sacred status, but we feel satisfied with this start. This column appeared in the Tallahassee Democrat, Saturday, November 28, page 1C. The Sacredness of Life November 26, 2015 Rev. Candace McKibben About a month ago now, I was … Continue
When worldly events are too hard, or sad–especially then–we need to take time to realign ourselves with life rebuilding the world all around us. Life and death happen all the time, everywhere, in the natural world, and never is one creature cruel to another, even as they must eat. I saw a ruddy turnstone down the beach, stamping around in an intriguing fashion, so I quietly sat nearby, interested in what she was up to. Here in the sand is … Continue
On a Friday night in early August, Jeff, our eldest son Casey, and I pitched our tents on the meadow-y shore of Becker Lake in Wyoming’s Beartooth Range. A low pressure system had delayed our seven-day hike by 24 hours, but now the weather had broken, and we’d decided to go for it. At 5 a.m. the next morning, we woke to the sound of drizzle stinging against our tarp. It might have been sleet: too dark to see. By … Continue
One evening in June, I launched down the Munson Hills trail on my old green bike, hoping to out-ride the fury and the helplessness that had settled in my soul. Usually when I’m riding or walking in the woods, I’m moving towards things I love. Wildflowers. Gopher tortoises. Solitude. But that night, my mind was all tangled up with the evils unleashed by people with too much power and no good manners. A plan to hunt and kill black bears … Continue