While I was sitting at my desk writing this blog, I looked outside my window and saw a tiny house wren hopping through the grass and clover. He/She plucks up a plump insect and gobbles it down. This brought a smile to my lips. I witnessed the true authentic season of nature. It reminded me of a song that was retro when I was a child, the song "Turn Turn Turn (to everything there is a season)" by the Byrds, speaks of every moment in life is a season. As a child, hearing the song made me feel connected to nature and the universe. Here is a YouTube link for my favorite cover of the song. ...
This year, summer arrives on Tuesday, June 21, 2022. The summer equinox is especially poignant here on the prairie, where the sun rises early, and sets after 9PM. In modern times, our area has been known for agriculture, and a short but aggressive growing season that supports mono-cropping of corn and soybeans. I like to think of it in more historical times, where local indigenous people set their rhythms to that of the sun, enjoying the long days of summer as a balance to the short days of winter. The cycle of seasons allows us to experience our true connection to the natural world. Disconnection that comes through our modern lives leaves us feeling unsettled at best, and stressed, or...
Summer is the time for the Heart, the Fire Element. The sun reaches its peak at the Summer Solstice as our Fire element burns stronger during the Summer season. The heart processes all of our emotions, every thought and feeling that goes through your mind also travels through the heart. When we are emotionally/mentally strained, our heart feels the same stress. When we are excited and full of joy, our heart is elated and light – ready to pump blood for revitalizing the body, filling us with energy. To experience radiating heart fire is equivalent to listening to a song that just makes you want to dance. You don’t try to fight it; with no resistance your hips start...
Stress - We all encounter it Stress /stres/ noun pressure or tension exerted on a material object. a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances. We do not need to be asking “What is stress?”, what we need to ask is “How do we react to stress?”. When put under pressure, slapped in the face by something sudden, stuck in between a rock and a hard place, how do you react to the situation? Arguably, one can react to each unique situation differently, but generally, we all have our fallback reaction to stressful situations. Do you have circling thoughts with a worried mind, upset digestion, and tension in the stomach? Do...
“Tell me what you plan to do with your one wild precious life?” – Mary Oliver. I end all my emails with this thought-provoking quote. My hope is to encourage folks to contemplate how they are living out their lives. Are they doing what they love or dreamed to do? What is their story? My Octogenarian father is a gifted story teller. He is a quiet modest man but once he leans forward in his chair, eye alight we know a story is coming and wait with anticipation. My father lives his life a poem by finding joy and laughter in the most ordinary encounters in life. As a child, he was my personal alarm clock. He would pop his...
