I've been finding more posts and videos than usual of women hiking, forest bathing and contemplating the sacredness of the natural world. It seems like a good antidote to all the dark chaos happening on the planet. I think many of us women and some men are choosing to unplug from the chaos and look for something magical in the nature around us.
I had an awakening in the mid-1990s that was caused by an illness and my life slowing down considerably. I took walks through a neighborhood park and that led me to write spiritual poems which I continued writing for several years. And I was inspired by other women who had already had their awakening with nature. I was an avid reader of books focusing on contemplation and reflection.
How perfect that you would share your contemplation with nature.
Thank you, Patricia. I believe that the chaos and tumult of today opens an opportunity for us to radically re-think, re-learn and re-center our lives. And so many of us are choosing to do that. I simply want to be a model for others, to help us all find our healing and our grounding to help heal each other and this numinous planet. Bless you for sharing your gifts too!
I've been waiting for this day to arrive where people are returning to nature. It's encouraging that it's people who span generations. Artists and writers have been at the forefront of this nature awakening.
I'm reading a memoir that I found in a free library box called Windswept by Annabel Abbs-Streets. She focuses on women who were drawn to the natural world via as long-distance walkers.
I've heard of it, Patricia, but not read it yet. So much to read, so little time!
You might like my first memoir, Walking Nature Home, which came out, gosh, 15 years ago, about coming back to nature via science and what I've learned from living with Lupus. I bet you could get it through your library.
Hi Susan, I need to tell you how much I enjoy your writing and this post especially. Just beautiful. Your writing truly does brighten the connections between us all♥️🙏🕊️
And you may be aware of the author, ecologist and Buddhist scholar Joanna Macy, and that at the beautiful old age of 96 she's now transitioning out of this human form... in any case, I have only recently been introduced to the Shambhala Prophecy from her work, and I wanted to share this with you, as I know you are a Shambhala Warrior too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uc42aNYo8vw
Camilla, Thank you for reading and for your thoughts--I so appreciate your newsletter! And yes, I have had Joanna Macy on my mind as she moves into whatever is next. Thank you for the link to Joanna's retelling of the Shambala Prophecy. It's such a gift to see and hear her. "To not be afraid of the suffering of this world." Plus "That insight into the mutual nature of all life...." "Even the smallest act, with clear intention, has clear repercussions thought that web...." Plus the heat of compassion. Compassion and wisdom interwoven. Yes. Blessings to you, Shambala Warrior, you.
I'm also wondering if it may serve your readers if you can add that to your menu bar at the top so that more readers may discover your Year of Spiritual Thinking. Thank you for sharing your beautiful and original medicine in the world✨💖
Thanks for this. Great essay! I'm more or less in the same boat.
A while ago my younger daughter Rebecca found that there was a Puffin Watch at a place called Cannon Beach in Oregon and suggested that she would be happy to drive us there to see the Puffins. I added that if we were going to Oregon, we might want to visit my friend and associate Billy in The Dalles and on the way locate several other birds I wanted to see. We were successful on all accounts, but the cap was visiting Haystack Rock off Cannon Beach and seeing literally hundreds of nesting birds, including Tufted Puffins. The huge rookery of Common Murres was amazing! That there are such wonders still present on this wonderful planet is amazing. We must do our best to avoid losing them!
What a wonderful trip with Rebecca, David! I'm so glad that she enjoys those kinds of journeys and experiences and is a good driver/companion for you. I think perhaps the tumult of this time is pushing us toward making fundamental changes in how we live our daily lives. That could be a huge blessings for humans, other species and the planet.
She was the one who found the Dipper at Starvation Creek State Park. As we were walking along the creek she asked me what a Dipper looked like. I said it was a dark brown bird, the only perching bird in North America that could dive. She pointed and said "Like that one?" It was the Dipper! It did not stay long enough for me to get a photo, but there was no doubt what it was!
I love that you offer peaceful ways to respond to the world. It’s helpful to direct energy in a way that does no harm and that contributes to healthy coexistence.
Thank you for this perceptive comment, Christina. I agree, and further, I think that the only way to effect real, lasting change is peacefully and collectively. (Of course, that's the Quaker in me speaking, and it's a generalization. But I do think it's largely true.) Hugs to you!
Thank you thank you for these wise reminders, and the invitation to remember ourselves as part of nature, part of the sacred. Not observers (though we do observe!), but participants. I love your way of life, Susan. And yes ... I join you. (P.S. Such an arresting photo of you! Those eyes!)
Jeanne, It is such a gift to have your company here and on this journey. As for the photo, a friend commented that it was the most relaxed she had ever seen my face. I believe that is because I am finally at home in a place that nurtures me. Many blessings to you!
This post rings so true for me! It makes me want to sit down and have a long conversation with you about… Everything. Intreasure your guidance and the sharing of your life and all the ways that I feel I have in common with you. I always was somewhat contemplative, but also driven. Since illness has become my daily companion, I have become more contemplative. Just yesterday, I was reflecting on the gift of that, how grateful I am to have all of this time and space. I have been home alone this week and I’ve spent many hours being contemplative. It’s a sweet gift!
And we had that rolling thunder and lightning last night too, but – oh joy! – An inch of hard blowing rain. We’re catching up from our long stretch of drought.
Kathryn, It's interesting how life offers us opportunities to be our true selves. They often don't come in a form we would choose, but if we're open to re-framing our preconceptions and wrestling with the hard stuff, we often find a door has opened where we didn't see one existing. Which is not to dismiss at all what a difficult path you're walking, just to reaffirm how much I appreciate that you are finding gifts where many of us would not be able to recognize them. May the contemplative time always nourish you!
I'm envious of your rain. This afternoon the sky is filled with smoke from half a dozen lightning-ignited wildfires in the tinder-dry forests above the valley. This drought is really apocalyptic, not a word I would usually use. Blessings on your rain.
Susan, you are always inspiring. I like, at least as I understand it, Meher Baba's description of meditation: it goes on all the time regardless of what we're doing. He also spoke of the new humanity that will know unity amidst diversity, will know true brother/sisterhood. His gift is love in sacred silent space within. Accessible always. It's what keeps me going and upbeat (not that I'm not affected by what's going on in the world) and able to connect with others. I know without doubt you will create what you need, lovingly, mindfully. And others will benefit from the light and love rays emanating from you. Love and blessings, Mary
Mary, Thank you for that thoughtful summary of some of Meher Baba's teachings. I especially appreciate the reminder that meditation is not something we make time to do; it is how we "be." I think that's a teaching of mindfulness too: being aware of our connection to all of life and to the sacred, and acknowledging that the channel to the sacred, to love and compassion, is always open. It's up to us to notice it and connect. And thank you also for the lovely benediction and compliment. Love and blessings back to you.
Ah, such a beautiful piece from Joanna Macy! Thank you, Helene. Joanna is transcendent. And you know, of course, that she is in her transition to whatever is next. May her spirit light the universe when it flies on.... Hugs to you.
Your pieces are always inspiring, informative and thought-provoking. Thank you. It appears that the lightning show you experienced over night ignited several wildfires across much of the western slope. After a very dry winter, the parched landscape plus dry thunderstorms is a perfect formula for wildfires. I believe 15 separate fires are burning, including two in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. Oh boy, here we go!
My farmer son who works the land not far from you spoke to us today about the significantly higher cost of irrigation water this year thanks to the drought. I hope folks understand that if the produce at local farmer’s markets is a bit higher in cost, the drought has a lot to do with it. I hope they still support farmers and spend a bit more for the food they grow for all of us.
Dave, Wednesday night's dry thunderstorms were what many of us in drought-parched southwestern Colorado had feared for this summer. Fortunately, we still have enough wildfire-fighting capacity left even after the budget cuts that most of those "starts" are out now. There are two still burning near Kannah Creek on Grand Mesa, but both are small, and the two on opposite rims of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP are also both burning. The one on the South Rim is the scary one, at 1,600 acres and growing. The park is closed for now, a big hit to this area and the tourist traffic that is part of our economy. And environmentally, who knows what a burn that hot and fast will do. We're going to find out though. Climate change is the experiment we should never have begun...
And irrigation water.... It's a hard year for all the farms and orchards, with our streamflow now at 20 percent of normal and still dropping. I'm glad your son still has water, expensive as it may be. Farmers I know here around Paonia are already at the end of the irrigation water for the year, a full two months before normal. It's going to hit us all hard.
I’ve spent lots of time at Black Canyon - it’s a magical place and it’s hard imagining what damage the fire might do.
I wholeheartedly agree - we never should have allowed the horrific experiment on our climate get this far. But effectively countering the powerful fossil fuel industry was and continues to be quite the challenge.
The Black Canyon is a magical place, and it also includes Gambel Oak and juniper woodlands that have become much denser than is healthy in the longer term, because we have so successfully prevented the kind of small fires that might have thinned them out a bit. Which of course, sets the stage for a drought year and a bigger, more traumatic fire like the one now burning there. Whether it will damaging or not remains to be seen.
I think the fossil fuel industry is already on the way out, but the change is going to take more time than any of us wish it would, given the retrograde administration now in power. I still think the switch to renewables is inevitable, given the economics of fossil fuels as a finite supply of energy. I just wish we had started on this path sooner. But we didn't, in part, because as you point out, the industry supporting fossil fuels is still powerful.
I have so many thoughts, but getting them out and into writing today does not feel as easy so I will see what I can do.
I followed along with and loved your Year of Spiritual Thinking as I had started thinking more and more about my own spirituality at that same time. Since then I have become more interested in some sort of more formal path or role in spirituality. To that end, I have taken an open course in Global Spiritual Traditions that is part of an interfaith chaplaincy program, participated in part of a Way of Spiritual Living workshop through a local faith organization and been reading various things. I have also been exploring my spirituality as well as possible paths with a VA chaplain for the last several months.
Part of this is driven by my own interests and needs. However, part of exploring a more formal path comes from conversations with friends, acquaintances, reading posts on Substack and in the news. I see, hear, and feel that there is a growing hunger to connect to the spiritual part of ourselves. For some that may involve a formal religion, going to church. For others, there are other paths.
What is my path? I don’t know. I am still exploring and YOU have been and will continue to be part of that. Blessings!
Morgan, I think you expressed yourself beautifully here, and I am glad you are exploring your spirituality and listening to your own needs/desires for a more formal role or path. I can imagine you finding great satisfaction in some sort of role like a chaplain, or another type of gentle guidance/comfort/advising on spiritual direction. And I agree, many of us are searching. Studies show that around 30 percent of Americans identify as "nones," that is people who are spiritual but not affiliated with any formal religion. Also, after a long period of attrition in mainstream Christian churches at least, there seems to be a gradual shift toward membership in organized religion growing again, or at least no longer declining. In troubling or traumatic times, we tend to turn toward the big questions--what is life about? why am I here? what is the point of this existence?--and those questions often send us on a deeper spiritual quest, or into organized religion. May your seeking bring you sustenance and new opportunities for whatever enriches you spiritually, and the satisfaction of being on a path toward greater spiritual fulfillment. I'm glad to be on the path with you! Many blessings.
Like you Susan, I tend toward a green spirituality. As I was reading your essay, I was taken by your descriptions of contemplation. May I walk through the world this day with a heart filled with kindness and gratitude, is my morning prayer and practice, a daily intention -- and one where I fall short. But then, that's why it's called "a practice."
The world needs writers, such as you, to remind and educate us about our interconnectedness to all living things. To that end, I cannot wait for your next book, something I will gift to several people in my life.
Dear Stephanie, Thank you for your thoughtful words and your humble description of your lovely daily practice. We all fall short on our aims to be better humans--as you say, that's why it's called a "practice"! I believe that the world needs all of our voices and our actions to increase the ocean of light and love over the ocean of darkness and fear. I feel so fortunate to be walking this journey alongside you. Hugs and blessings to you.
I've been finding more posts and videos than usual of women hiking, forest bathing and contemplating the sacredness of the natural world. It seems like a good antidote to all the dark chaos happening on the planet. I think many of us women and some men are choosing to unplug from the chaos and look for something magical in the nature around us.
I had an awakening in the mid-1990s that was caused by an illness and my life slowing down considerably. I took walks through a neighborhood park and that led me to write spiritual poems which I continued writing for several years. And I was inspired by other women who had already had their awakening with nature. I was an avid reader of books focusing on contemplation and reflection.
How perfect that you would share your contemplation with nature.
Thank you, Patricia. I believe that the chaos and tumult of today opens an opportunity for us to radically re-think, re-learn and re-center our lives. And so many of us are choosing to do that. I simply want to be a model for others, to help us all find our healing and our grounding to help heal each other and this numinous planet. Bless you for sharing your gifts too!
I've been waiting for this day to arrive where people are returning to nature. It's encouraging that it's people who span generations. Artists and writers have been at the forefront of this nature awakening.
I'm reading a memoir that I found in a free library box called Windswept by Annabel Abbs-Streets. She focuses on women who were drawn to the natural world via as long-distance walkers.
Have you already read this book?
I've heard of it, Patricia, but not read it yet. So much to read, so little time!
You might like my first memoir, Walking Nature Home, which came out, gosh, 15 years ago, about coming back to nature via science and what I've learned from living with Lupus. I bet you could get it through your library.
Thank you for this thoughtful reflection, Susan. I join you on that contemplative path.
How lovely to have your company, Linda! Blessings to you up North on the beautiful and expansive prairie.
Yes, of course, I have already joined you.
Thank you, Phyllis. Good to have your company. :)
Hi Susan, I need to tell you how much I enjoy your writing and this post especially. Just beautiful. Your writing truly does brighten the connections between us all♥️🙏🕊️
And you may be aware of the author, ecologist and Buddhist scholar Joanna Macy, and that at the beautiful old age of 96 she's now transitioning out of this human form... in any case, I have only recently been introduced to the Shambhala Prophecy from her work, and I wanted to share this with you, as I know you are a Shambhala Warrior too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uc42aNYo8vw
Camilla, Thank you for reading and for your thoughts--I so appreciate your newsletter! And yes, I have had Joanna Macy on my mind as she moves into whatever is next. Thank you for the link to Joanna's retelling of the Shambala Prophecy. It's such a gift to see and hear her. "To not be afraid of the suffering of this world." Plus "That insight into the mutual nature of all life...." "Even the smallest act, with clear intention, has clear repercussions thought that web...." Plus the heat of compassion. Compassion and wisdom interwoven. Yes. Blessings to you, Shambala Warrior, you.
Susan, Thank you for your appreciation too - we're a mutual admiration society🥰Blessings bouncing back to you too♥️🙏🕊️😘
I'm also thrilled you shared this link https://practicingterraphilia.substack.com/t/year-of-spiritual-thinking - I didn't know it existed and I shall enjoy reading through.
I'm also wondering if it may serve your readers if you can add that to your menu bar at the top so that more readers may discover your Year of Spiritual Thinking. Thank you for sharing your beautiful and original medicine in the world✨💖
It's good to have mutual admiration! And thank you for the suggestion. I'll do that if I have time before I hit the road. :)
Thanks for this. Great essay! I'm more or less in the same boat.
A while ago my younger daughter Rebecca found that there was a Puffin Watch at a place called Cannon Beach in Oregon and suggested that she would be happy to drive us there to see the Puffins. I added that if we were going to Oregon, we might want to visit my friend and associate Billy in The Dalles and on the way locate several other birds I wanted to see. We were successful on all accounts, but the cap was visiting Haystack Rock off Cannon Beach and seeing literally hundreds of nesting birds, including Tufted Puffins. The huge rookery of Common Murres was amazing! That there are such wonders still present on this wonderful planet is amazing. We must do our best to avoid losing them!
What a wonderful trip with Rebecca, David! I'm so glad that she enjoys those kinds of journeys and experiences and is a good driver/companion for you. I think perhaps the tumult of this time is pushing us toward making fundamental changes in how we live our daily lives. That could be a huge blessings for humans, other species and the planet.
She was the one who found the Dipper at Starvation Creek State Park. As we were walking along the creek she asked me what a Dipper looked like. I said it was a dark brown bird, the only perching bird in North America that could dive. She pointed and said "Like that one?" It was the Dipper! It did not stay long enough for me to get a photo, but there was no doubt what it was!
How fun! I love seeing dippers, and hearing that wonderful warbling song. Rebecca is the dipper whisperer!
I love that you offer peaceful ways to respond to the world. It’s helpful to direct energy in a way that does no harm and that contributes to healthy coexistence.
Thank you for this perceptive comment, Christina. I agree, and further, I think that the only way to effect real, lasting change is peacefully and collectively. (Of course, that's the Quaker in me speaking, and it's a generalization. But I do think it's largely true.) Hugs to you!
Thank you thank you for these wise reminders, and the invitation to remember ourselves as part of nature, part of the sacred. Not observers (though we do observe!), but participants. I love your way of life, Susan. And yes ... I join you. (P.S. Such an arresting photo of you! Those eyes!)
Jeanne, It is such a gift to have your company here and on this journey. As for the photo, a friend commented that it was the most relaxed she had ever seen my face. I believe that is because I am finally at home in a place that nurtures me. Many blessings to you!
This post rings so true for me! It makes me want to sit down and have a long conversation with you about… Everything. Intreasure your guidance and the sharing of your life and all the ways that I feel I have in common with you. I always was somewhat contemplative, but also driven. Since illness has become my daily companion, I have become more contemplative. Just yesterday, I was reflecting on the gift of that, how grateful I am to have all of this time and space. I have been home alone this week and I’ve spent many hours being contemplative. It’s a sweet gift!
And we had that rolling thunder and lightning last night too, but – oh joy! – An inch of hard blowing rain. We’re catching up from our long stretch of drought.
Kathryn, It's interesting how life offers us opportunities to be our true selves. They often don't come in a form we would choose, but if we're open to re-framing our preconceptions and wrestling with the hard stuff, we often find a door has opened where we didn't see one existing. Which is not to dismiss at all what a difficult path you're walking, just to reaffirm how much I appreciate that you are finding gifts where many of us would not be able to recognize them. May the contemplative time always nourish you!
I'm envious of your rain. This afternoon the sky is filled with smoke from half a dozen lightning-ignited wildfires in the tinder-dry forests above the valley. This drought is really apocalyptic, not a word I would usually use. Blessings on your rain.
Susan, you are always inspiring. I like, at least as I understand it, Meher Baba's description of meditation: it goes on all the time regardless of what we're doing. He also spoke of the new humanity that will know unity amidst diversity, will know true brother/sisterhood. His gift is love in sacred silent space within. Accessible always. It's what keeps me going and upbeat (not that I'm not affected by what's going on in the world) and able to connect with others. I know without doubt you will create what you need, lovingly, mindfully. And others will benefit from the light and love rays emanating from you. Love and blessings, Mary
Mary, Thank you for that thoughtful summary of some of Meher Baba's teachings. I especially appreciate the reminder that meditation is not something we make time to do; it is how we "be." I think that's a teaching of mindfulness too: being aware of our connection to all of life and to the sacred, and acknowledging that the channel to the sacred, to love and compassion, is always open. It's up to us to notice it and connect. And thank you also for the lovely benediction and compliment. Love and blessings back to you.
Have a beautiful journey. I love postcards.
And your thoughts on contemplative life brought to mind this quote by a beloved Teacher of mine, Joanna Macy:
The people I admire most are those who have turned away
from the cluttered materialism and returned to the beauty
of the natural world and objects made by human hands,
the texture of wood,
the woven basket,
the mixing of compost into soil in the back garden,
a good soup cooking on the stove,
an evening around the table with family and friends.
Rediscovering this kind of beauty
involves a slowing down, doesn't it?
And it certainly involves listening
to the priorities of the heart. - Joanna Macy
Ah, such a beautiful piece from Joanna Macy! Thank you, Helene. Joanna is transcendent. And you know, of course, that she is in her transition to whatever is next. May her spirit light the universe when it flies on.... Hugs to you.
Yes I am holding vigil with her.
Thank you for that gift to her, and to us all. I'm sending open-hearted blessings your way.
Your pieces are always inspiring, informative and thought-provoking. Thank you. It appears that the lightning show you experienced over night ignited several wildfires across much of the western slope. After a very dry winter, the parched landscape plus dry thunderstorms is a perfect formula for wildfires. I believe 15 separate fires are burning, including two in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. Oh boy, here we go!
My farmer son who works the land not far from you spoke to us today about the significantly higher cost of irrigation water this year thanks to the drought. I hope folks understand that if the produce at local farmer’s markets is a bit higher in cost, the drought has a lot to do with it. I hope they still support farmers and spend a bit more for the food they grow for all of us.
Dave, Wednesday night's dry thunderstorms were what many of us in drought-parched southwestern Colorado had feared for this summer. Fortunately, we still have enough wildfire-fighting capacity left even after the budget cuts that most of those "starts" are out now. There are two still burning near Kannah Creek on Grand Mesa, but both are small, and the two on opposite rims of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP are also both burning. The one on the South Rim is the scary one, at 1,600 acres and growing. The park is closed for now, a big hit to this area and the tourist traffic that is part of our economy. And environmentally, who knows what a burn that hot and fast will do. We're going to find out though. Climate change is the experiment we should never have begun...
And irrigation water.... It's a hard year for all the farms and orchards, with our streamflow now at 20 percent of normal and still dropping. I'm glad your son still has water, expensive as it may be. Farmers I know here around Paonia are already at the end of the irrigation water for the year, a full two months before normal. It's going to hit us all hard.
I’ve spent lots of time at Black Canyon - it’s a magical place and it’s hard imagining what damage the fire might do.
I wholeheartedly agree - we never should have allowed the horrific experiment on our climate get this far. But effectively countering the powerful fossil fuel industry was and continues to be quite the challenge.
The Black Canyon is a magical place, and it also includes Gambel Oak and juniper woodlands that have become much denser than is healthy in the longer term, because we have so successfully prevented the kind of small fires that might have thinned them out a bit. Which of course, sets the stage for a drought year and a bigger, more traumatic fire like the one now burning there. Whether it will damaging or not remains to be seen.
I think the fossil fuel industry is already on the way out, but the change is going to take more time than any of us wish it would, given the retrograde administration now in power. I still think the switch to renewables is inevitable, given the economics of fossil fuels as a finite supply of energy. I just wish we had started on this path sooner. But we didn't, in part, because as you point out, the industry supporting fossil fuels is still powerful.
Amen.
Yes. And thank you for reading and commenting. I want to explore your Substack after I return from this road trip. Blessings!
You are building not just your world, but ours. To rain. To rainbows. To postcards.
Oh, Beth. You are a wonder and an inspiration! Thank you. To creative friends who resurface just when you need them. (That's you, of course.) xoxo
Love this, Susan!
I have so many thoughts, but getting them out and into writing today does not feel as easy so I will see what I can do.
I followed along with and loved your Year of Spiritual Thinking as I had started thinking more and more about my own spirituality at that same time. Since then I have become more interested in some sort of more formal path or role in spirituality. To that end, I have taken an open course in Global Spiritual Traditions that is part of an interfaith chaplaincy program, participated in part of a Way of Spiritual Living workshop through a local faith organization and been reading various things. I have also been exploring my spirituality as well as possible paths with a VA chaplain for the last several months.
Part of this is driven by my own interests and needs. However, part of exploring a more formal path comes from conversations with friends, acquaintances, reading posts on Substack and in the news. I see, hear, and feel that there is a growing hunger to connect to the spiritual part of ourselves. For some that may involve a formal religion, going to church. For others, there are other paths.
What is my path? I don’t know. I am still exploring and YOU have been and will continue to be part of that. Blessings!
Morgan, I think you expressed yourself beautifully here, and I am glad you are exploring your spirituality and listening to your own needs/desires for a more formal role or path. I can imagine you finding great satisfaction in some sort of role like a chaplain, or another type of gentle guidance/comfort/advising on spiritual direction. And I agree, many of us are searching. Studies show that around 30 percent of Americans identify as "nones," that is people who are spiritual but not affiliated with any formal religion. Also, after a long period of attrition in mainstream Christian churches at least, there seems to be a gradual shift toward membership in organized religion growing again, or at least no longer declining. In troubling or traumatic times, we tend to turn toward the big questions--what is life about? why am I here? what is the point of this existence?--and those questions often send us on a deeper spiritual quest, or into organized religion. May your seeking bring you sustenance and new opportunities for whatever enriches you spiritually, and the satisfaction of being on a path toward greater spiritual fulfillment. I'm glad to be on the path with you! Many blessings.
Thank you !!!!
You are so welcome, Cynthia! Blessings to you as you follow your path, whatever it may be.
Like you Susan, I tend toward a green spirituality. As I was reading your essay, I was taken by your descriptions of contemplation. May I walk through the world this day with a heart filled with kindness and gratitude, is my morning prayer and practice, a daily intention -- and one where I fall short. But then, that's why it's called "a practice."
The world needs writers, such as you, to remind and educate us about our interconnectedness to all living things. To that end, I cannot wait for your next book, something I will gift to several people in my life.
Thanks for a beautiful post . . .
Dear Stephanie, Thank you for your thoughtful words and your humble description of your lovely daily practice. We all fall short on our aims to be better humans--as you say, that's why it's called a "practice"! I believe that the world needs all of our voices and our actions to increase the ocean of light and love over the ocean of darkness and fear. I feel so fortunate to be walking this journey alongside you. Hugs and blessings to you.