I've been spending more time outdoors noticing nature in an suburban environment. I also have added back in creative pursuits. And I don't watch the news. I'm focusing on spirituality instead.
Seattle is in bloom and everywhere, including in the city of Edmonds, just north of the big city, fruit trees, camelias, daffodils, tulips, grape hyacinths, rhododendrons, hyacinths, hyacinthoides, heather, violets, and numerous others are part of this. In the wild areas red-flowered currents, Oregon grapes, western skunk cabbage, big leaf maple, and many others are adding to this. We have had a few very beautiful days of late (interspersed with gales and all day rains.) Just being out in the sweet spring does one a world of good.
I still watch the news too much and will have to cut down. It is way too much of a roller coaster
I have started a new mixed media painting of koi and waterlilies, based on photographs I took of a koi pond in a Chinese garden in Vancouver, BC. Also, I am finishing up the book Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, which speaks to me on a number of levels.
I also took part with Rebecca in the demonstration in Shoreline, WA. We had 3000 participants (another 2000 in a last minute one in Edmonds!) and that was very satisfactory. We got hundreds of honks of support on Aurora Ave and, as Rebecca observed, only four fingers from motorists!
David, What a wonderful description of the verdant spring there! That's nurturing all by itself, and kudos to you for starting a new painting and reading Braiding Sweetgrass, one of my all-time favorite books. Robin is just awesome. So glad you and Rebecca could join that demonstration in Shorelinem and that the support was so overwhelming. All nourishing for the spirit and good energy for continuing the work. Blessings to you and Rebecca!
I just finished Braiding Sweetgrass and is my recent practice I dropped the copy at the leave one, take one, mini library at the ferry dock. The books I leave don't last long there! It fits very well (in my mind at least) with Kimmerer's reciprocity philosophy. I hope someone will get as much out of it as I did.
That's definitely reciprocal, and very fitting, David. By sharing Braiding Sweetgrass that way, you are widening the circle of reciprocity and community. Thank you.
We absolutely have to look to our communities and see ways to support each other. The changes coming down the political pipelines will affect all of us.
Sue, thanks so much for putting together that great list. Creativity really does increase resilience, something I think we forget too easily. Re the books: David's book is a real treat, and Maria's kept me reading until way too late at night because I wanted to know what happened. :) The interview with her is fascinating, especially where she talks about wanting to see more professional Latinas like her portrayed in the mystery/thriller genre, and the similarities and differences between Boots, her main character, and herself. I'm always intrigued by what drives story and character in novels.
A few minutes ago, I started looking up butterfly webcams. While this is hardly like going outside to be in nature (which I've also been doing), it is a relaxing way to take breaks from work. It's also a sharp contrast from the news, and it's a way to see butterflies in a volume that I wouldn't be able to see otherwise.
I had no idea there even were butterfly webcams, Christina. That's fascinating! If you want to see a spectacle that is super-cool, look at the Rowe Sanctuary crane cam this evening around 8 pm central time for thousands of sandhill cranes. Or else look tomorrow morning about 6:30 am CT (7:30 your time). At last count, over 750,000 sandhill cranes were migrating through that part of the North Platte Valley in Nebraska. https://explore.org/livecams/national-audubon-society/crane-camera
Susan, Wow, thanks for the kind words about my book. Hard to believe it's been over thirty years since we first met at the CFI Desert Writer's Workshop back in 1993. You've been inspiring me ever since. Thanks for the friendship.
It is hard to believe it has been that long, and to be honest, I didn't even remember what year I taught at the Desert Writer's Workshop until you reminded me! (And thanks for inviting me to teach way back when, with Craig Lesley and Linda Hogan, heady colleagues for me.) I'm excited for your new book--I need to give a copy to my retired forester sister-in-law in Olympia for her birthday next month, don't you think?
I didn't remember until I found the brochure for it. And, yes, you do need to give the book to your sister-in-law, as should everyone else. Not to your sister in law but their sister-in-laws!
Thank you Susan. Such excellent resources. It is such a crazy time, being pulled into the abyss by the insanity of our political situation while simultaneously loving the emergence of spring and the promises it holds. I very much appreciate your posts and sentiments.
Dave, It is a crazy time, spring renewal sprouting right through the anxious chaos. Holding two opposing possibilities in mind at the same time is challenging for any brain. But that's where we are these days. Thank you for all you do! Blessings to you and Helene.
Robin Wall Kimmerer is smiling at you, Cherie, for planting that serviceberry. May you and your new native shrub have a long and satisfying reciprocal relationship!
I've begun to quarantine electronic media except for a short window of time mid-afternoon. Not letting news or social media interfere with most of my productive hours is helpful to me. And I keep the dosage and exposure low on a daily basis so it doesn't contaminate the rest of my life. After spending some time becoming informed about the current events, I now make a point of processing the "trauma" by getting outside and taking a walk. Thank you for curating so many tools and I've borrowed many of them. Staying grounded!
Jill, I think you are wise to titrate your social media and news consumption, and getting outside for a walk is an excellent way to process the trauma of current events. I also love your phrase about not letting it "contaminate the rest of [your] life." That's a very apt way of expressing how too much exposure to electronic media feels to me too. Borrow all the tools you want, and keep staying grounded and doing the important work of "re-storying" the history of Lake of the Woods!
Jeanne, Thank you for your support! I want to reach a much wider audience with Practicing Terraphilia to spread the knowledge and the practices. It's hard to be patient in these times. :)
We all need to remember to take care of our hearts and spirits in these times. Especially you with your little sidekick to tend! Many blessings to you.
Thank you, Susan! A great selection of tools for us, and two new books to add to my stack. There is nothing to compare to Nature when we are unsettled and times are chaotic, like now. On the few days I do not spend time with Nature causes a deep feeling of something missing inside.
We are fortunate that nature is a refuge we all can access, even in the most crowded cities. The community of the land weaves around the buildings and into any nook and cranny, and into our hearts and spirits as well. I'm with you on needing to spend time outside just being with my wilder kin, or else I feel the loss. Blessings back to you, Jenny!
I used to paint, but writing has taken over most of time, but not all. I get migraines, so I mediate quite often, especially when I can't stay on the computer for long. I mostly avoid news these days. A two-week visit to Panama and hiking the trails in the cloud and rain forests kept me from all news of the world. It was marvelous!
Karen, I am sorry that you get migraines, and I am glad you know how to care for yourself with meditation, avoiding the news and writing. The visit to Panama sounds like a wonderful respite--good for you!
Thanks for including me in this wonderful list. Lots of inspiration here to live fully and love well. For me, nature is probably the biggest one. I love being in her temple. Very helpful and generous piece, Susan. As always, sign me a friend and a fan.
Stephanie, I appreciate your wisdom and deep understanding of how myth and spirit shape our lives. Thank you for being you, and writing from your well of knowledge! Blessings.
I've been spending more time outdoors noticing nature in an suburban environment. I also have added back in creative pursuits. And I don't watch the news. I'm focusing on spirituality instead.
Patricia, That all sounds healthy. Thank you for taking care of you, and shining your light in this world. Blessings!
Thanks for this!
Seattle is in bloom and everywhere, including in the city of Edmonds, just north of the big city, fruit trees, camelias, daffodils, tulips, grape hyacinths, rhododendrons, hyacinths, hyacinthoides, heather, violets, and numerous others are part of this. In the wild areas red-flowered currents, Oregon grapes, western skunk cabbage, big leaf maple, and many others are adding to this. We have had a few very beautiful days of late (interspersed with gales and all day rains.) Just being out in the sweet spring does one a world of good.
I still watch the news too much and will have to cut down. It is way too much of a roller coaster
I have started a new mixed media painting of koi and waterlilies, based on photographs I took of a koi pond in a Chinese garden in Vancouver, BC. Also, I am finishing up the book Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, which speaks to me on a number of levels.
I also took part with Rebecca in the demonstration in Shoreline, WA. We had 3000 participants (another 2000 in a last minute one in Edmonds!) and that was very satisfactory. We got hundreds of honks of support on Aurora Ave and, as Rebecca observed, only four fingers from motorists!
David, What a wonderful description of the verdant spring there! That's nurturing all by itself, and kudos to you for starting a new painting and reading Braiding Sweetgrass, one of my all-time favorite books. Robin is just awesome. So glad you and Rebecca could join that demonstration in Shorelinem and that the support was so overwhelming. All nourishing for the spirit and good energy for continuing the work. Blessings to you and Rebecca!
I just finished Braiding Sweetgrass and is my recent practice I dropped the copy at the leave one, take one, mini library at the ferry dock. The books I leave don't last long there! It fits very well (in my mind at least) with Kimmerer's reciprocity philosophy. I hope someone will get as much out of it as I did.
That's definitely reciprocal, and very fitting, David. By sharing Braiding Sweetgrass that way, you are widening the circle of reciprocity and community. Thank you.
Goodness garden tools.
Try them, trade them, hone them @home.
Susan sums, serves some!
As always, your poetry inspires, Marisol. Thank you and many blessings to you. :)
Looking forward to both books!
We absolutely have to look to our communities and see ways to support each other. The changes coming down the political pipelines will affect all of us.
Thanks for including my Creative Pursuits list.
Sue, thanks so much for putting together that great list. Creativity really does increase resilience, something I think we forget too easily. Re the books: David's book is a real treat, and Maria's kept me reading until way too late at night because I wanted to know what happened. :) The interview with her is fascinating, especially where she talks about wanting to see more professional Latinas like her portrayed in the mystery/thriller genre, and the similarities and differences between Boots, her main character, and herself. I'm always intrigued by what drives story and character in novels.
A few minutes ago, I started looking up butterfly webcams. While this is hardly like going outside to be in nature (which I've also been doing), it is a relaxing way to take breaks from work. It's also a sharp contrast from the news, and it's a way to see butterflies in a volume that I wouldn't be able to see otherwise.
I had no idea there even were butterfly webcams, Christina. That's fascinating! If you want to see a spectacle that is super-cool, look at the Rowe Sanctuary crane cam this evening around 8 pm central time for thousands of sandhill cranes. Or else look tomorrow morning about 6:30 am CT (7:30 your time). At last count, over 750,000 sandhill cranes were migrating through that part of the North Platte Valley in Nebraska. https://explore.org/livecams/national-audubon-society/crane-camera
Susan, Wow, thanks for the kind words about my book. Hard to believe it's been over thirty years since we first met at the CFI Desert Writer's Workshop back in 1993. You've been inspiring me ever since. Thanks for the friendship.
It is hard to believe it has been that long, and to be honest, I didn't even remember what year I taught at the Desert Writer's Workshop until you reminded me! (And thanks for inviting me to teach way back when, with Craig Lesley and Linda Hogan, heady colleagues for me.) I'm excited for your new book--I need to give a copy to my retired forester sister-in-law in Olympia for her birthday next month, don't you think?
I didn't remember until I found the brochure for it. And, yes, you do need to give the book to your sister-in-law, as should everyone else. Not to your sister in law but their sister-in-laws!
Hah! I kind of like the idea of everyone giving my SIL books!
Thank you Susan. Such excellent resources. It is such a crazy time, being pulled into the abyss by the insanity of our political situation while simultaneously loving the emergence of spring and the promises it holds. I very much appreciate your posts and sentiments.
Dave, It is a crazy time, spring renewal sprouting right through the anxious chaos. Holding two opposing possibilities in mind at the same time is challenging for any brain. But that's where we are these days. Thank you for all you do! Blessings to you and Helene.
Hands in the soil. Planted a Serviceberry this afternoon. Felt really wonderful!
Robin Wall Kimmerer is smiling at you, Cherie, for planting that serviceberry. May you and your new native shrub have a long and satisfying reciprocal relationship!
She’s speaker at School of Mines next week!
Wonderful! If I lived closer, I'd make the drive. As it is, six hours across the state is a little long for me. Are you going?
Yes I am going. Very excited to hear her in person. I live much closer than you.
I'm so glad you can go. It'll be worth the trip, I know!
I've begun to quarantine electronic media except for a short window of time mid-afternoon. Not letting news or social media interfere with most of my productive hours is helpful to me. And I keep the dosage and exposure low on a daily basis so it doesn't contaminate the rest of my life. After spending some time becoming informed about the current events, I now make a point of processing the "trauma" by getting outside and taking a walk. Thank you for curating so many tools and I've borrowed many of them. Staying grounded!
Jill, I think you are wise to titrate your social media and news consumption, and getting outside for a walk is an excellent way to process the trauma of current events. I also love your phrase about not letting it "contaminate the rest of [your] life." That's a very apt way of expressing how too much exposure to electronic media feels to me too. Borrow all the tools you want, and keep staying grounded and doing the important work of "re-storying" the history of Lake of the Woods!
Thank you for more tools, more caring, more connection. You're a shining light in these times, Susan!
Jeanne, Thank you for your support! I want to reach a much wider audience with Practicing Terraphilia to spread the knowledge and the practices. It's hard to be patient in these times. :)
Thank you for this awesome compendium, much needed.
We all need to remember to take care of our hearts and spirits in these times. Especially you with your little sidekick to tend! Many blessings to you.
Thank you, Susan! A great selection of tools for us, and two new books to add to my stack. There is nothing to compare to Nature when we are unsettled and times are chaotic, like now. On the few days I do not spend time with Nature causes a deep feeling of something missing inside.
Blessings to you💚
We are fortunate that nature is a refuge we all can access, even in the most crowded cities. The community of the land weaves around the buildings and into any nook and cranny, and into our hearts and spirits as well. I'm with you on needing to spend time outside just being with my wilder kin, or else I feel the loss. Blessings back to you, Jenny!
I used to paint, but writing has taken over most of time, but not all. I get migraines, so I mediate quite often, especially when I can't stay on the computer for long. I mostly avoid news these days. A two-week visit to Panama and hiking the trails in the cloud and rain forests kept me from all news of the world. It was marvelous!
Karen, I am sorry that you get migraines, and I am glad you know how to care for yourself with meditation, avoiding the news and writing. The visit to Panama sounds like a wonderful respite--good for you!
Thanks for including me in this wonderful list. Lots of inspiration here to live fully and love well. For me, nature is probably the biggest one. I love being in her temple. Very helpful and generous piece, Susan. As always, sign me a friend and a fan.
Stephanie, I appreciate your wisdom and deep understanding of how myth and spirit shape our lives. Thank you for being you, and writing from your well of knowledge! Blessings.
I can easily repeat that back to you: Thank you for being you! All goodwill.