"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 Quote of the Month (JUN)
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 Quote of the Month (MAY)
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 Quote of the Month (APR)
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." 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 so cogently accurate … Continue reading
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
The yoga we practice in the Western world is, overall, primarily focused on postures. However, before its introduction to the West, yoga was something much broader—more a philosophy than an activity. Patanjali was an Indian sage responsible for compiling the Yoga Sutras sometime prior to 400 CE. Within the Sutras, Patanjali detailed the Eight Limbs … Continue reading Yoga Beyond the Mat: The Yamas
"The longest journey sometimes is between your mind and your heart." These words, belonging to Native American activist Tom B.K. Goldtooth, speak to what can sometimes be a great divide, a deep and wide valley to cross as we seek to balance and reconcile two essential elements of our being as humans. On the surface … Continue reading
