"When admiring the painting, don't examine the paint. When meeting the artist, don't look at the brush."~ TAOIST SAYING ~ Since early spring I have been spending a bit of dedicated time each day with a daily reader, 365 Tao by Deng Ming-Dao. Each day, a different saying accompanied by some notes, interpretation and perspective. … Continue reading A forest, or many trees?
"Large fires start small."~ SMOKEY THE BEAR ~ A well-known adage about forest fires, and commonly seen on materials promoting outdoor fire safety, it is simple, concise and true. The vast majority of raging bush fires got their start as a stray campfire ember, a spark from machinery, or a carelessly discarded cigarette butt. Forest … Continue reading Building your fire of motivation
"Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards."~ SØREN KIERKEGAARD ~ I was recalling this quote--though had forgotten its exact wording--while I was writing the previous blog post Letting go without losing control, during this COVID time. At first I was thinking sure we can only live life forwards but, even … Continue reading It all makes sense in hindsight
What with being fairly recently retired (though I like to call it repurposement not retirement), living off-grid on a woodland property, always hands-on tasks to be done… plus being an introverty kinda guy anyhow… my daughter jokes that life since mid-March hasn’t looked all that different from normal for me. It’s not that I’m oblivious … Continue reading Letting go without losing control
"In the rush to return to normal, use this time to consider which parts of normal are worth rushing back to."~ DAVE HOLLIS ~ As governments, leaders, and the broad population, begin looking ahead to the COVID world past the hump of "the curve" it might also be worthwhile to look back at the past … Continue reading Do we want to go “back” to normal?
During this COVID time here in Ontario most publicly-owned natural areas, as well as those owned or managed by pseudo-public agencies like conservation authorities, are closed—some (as seen in the GTA) even signed “no trespassing” to make the point. In contrast, elsewhere a number of countries, provinces, and jurisdictions are keeping some natural spaces open … Continue reading Can’t hug a person? Hug a tree!
"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe."~ JOHN MUIR ~ It's probably not a big surprise to learn those words are attributed to John Muir, naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, and early advocate for the preservation of wilderness in the United States. Many of … Continue reading Nothing lives in isolation
Back in January a good friend put me on to an author named Margaret Wheatley, who had recently been a guest on the CBC radio programme Tapestry. What hooked me in was the author asking, “the real question now is: as things get worse and worse, what is right action? What do we do? … Continue reading At this time, who will you choose to be?
"Expectation is premeditated disappointment."~ MARGARET WHEATLEY ~ The adjective “pithy” is defined as: precisely meaningful; forceful and brief. And the quote above, from Margaret Wheatley’s book So Far From Home: Lost and Found in Our Brave New World, is a primo example of a pithy observation if there ever was one. Just four words, yet … Continue reading Dangerous Expectations
In the last blog I mentioned how, closer to its origins, yoga is more a “philosophy” than the “activity” it has generally become in the Western world. Also in contrast to its Eastern origins, we may be more likely to see our yoga practice as a segmented, part of our day yet somehow separate from … Continue reading Yoga Beyond the Mat: The Niyamas
