Nature CAN Nurture

I recently had the chance to speak with Hudson Valley photographer Portia Munson for an article I wrote for Medium.com. As the uncertainty of a world in turmoil continues, we can take solace in nature’s cycle of renewal. And even when we can’t be in nature, whether we are dashing through the airport or spending a day on the computer, Portia Munson’s images transport us to that restorative moment where we feel the chaos of our lives stop and let the natural order begin.

Snowbound

What else to do with a snowy day?

September's Summer Sunday

As I soaked in the last Sunday of summer 2010 by weeding my scandalously overgrown meditation garden, I felt an unfamiliar sense of calm. Not feeling particularly reflective or anticipatory, my mind became quiet for the first time in many months. I wondered, Am I actually living in the moment? It was a fleeting thought, but there nevertheless.

Sail Away

Took this pic the other night off the shores of Eaton's Neck, Northport, Long Island, where we found ourselves in the midst of a sailboat regatta at sunset on the Long Island Sound. A pefect way to send off the blog for a few days while we head upstate.

While You Were Away

If you've ever seen the Japanese animated movie Spirited Away, you know the girl falls into a parallel universe of dreamlike spirits, and when she emerges, she discovers her family's car covered in leaves to suggest the passing of time. It was like that for me last night. When did the cherries come in on the cherry tree? Hadn't I just planted the herbs in the meditation garden which are now going to seed? And don't even ask about the window boxes.
The family returned to the backyard last night-- its sanctuary and its chores. Cherries were picked, plants were watered, the bird feeder fortified against squirrel attack. It was a lovely moment of calm reminding us to literally stop and smell the roses.

Easter

As I drove through budding trees sprouting new growth, I wanted to say something about Easter, something profound without being preachy. I didn't want the day to go unnoticed. Although this is the holiest day of the Liturgical calendar, it has a more universal meaning to me this year.

The ancient Greeks believed the cycle of nature-- birth, growth, reproduction, death-- proved the existence of a higher being. The Taoist turn to nature for centeredness, as do the Transcendentalists. Jesus went into the desert for forty days before Easter to become more purely spiritually connected , and today's holiday represents a new addition to the life cycle, one that includes an afterlife. Today, to me, is about the shared experience of life-- of being human, not divided by religion or politics, but one human organism connected to the cycle of nature manifested within us. I hope your day was wonderful.

Chop Wood, Carry Water

Here's a photo essay of the 'Before and After' of the meditation garden clean up.

Every year I swear I'm going to clean it out in the fall to prevent unwanted mold and blight, yet when early autumn rolls around, I can only savor the last moments of greenery. By the time the leaves are down and blanket the garden, I seem to lack the spare afternoon or energy to put the garden to bed properly. Instead I tell myself the ground will stay warm and cozy until spring's clean up.

Yesterday's clean up was especially grand with its warm sunshine after a long winter. I turned on the last of a great audiobook-- Hunting Unicorns by Bella Pollen-- and savored the afternoon preparing for this year's herbs and flowers, celebrating its completion with Clara, James, and a bottle of prosecco.

Springtime Sketches

Yesterday afternoon I reversed my usual order of doing business. All too often I begin with the list of chores and work my way toward the fun-- studio time, reading, relaxing. And just as often, I never get to the fun because by the time the chores are done, it's time to start them again. So yesterday I ignored the messy garden around me, choosing instead to play with brush and ink. No real ideas yet, just keeping the images loosely framed around the balance of nature and man. I'm thinking of adding some pastel to the last one-- pushing the color into a more abstract field. Clearly, the world didn't fall apart because I did everything a half hour later than usual. That's a life lesson, isn't it?

March, First

There are some people who understand the symbolic nature of a new month and a new season. My lovely friend Charu helped me shake February's bad energy and series of life's malfunctions by greeting me this morning with a gift to ring in a new month: a candle, incense, an assortment of teas, and a Frieda Kahlo postcard.

The sunny day reminded me of warmer days in the garden, of watching the earth come alive again, of dreams and dreamers, which leads me to share this passage from F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby:

As the moon rose higher the inessential houses began to melt away until gradually I became aware of the old island here that flowered once for Dutch sailors’ eyes—a fresh, green breast of the new world. Its vanished trees, the trees that had made way for Gatsby’s house, had once pandered in whispers to the last and greatest of all human dreans; for a transitory enchanted moment man must have held his breath in the presence of this continent, compelled into an aesthetic contemplation he neither understood nor desired, face to face for the last time in history with something commensurate to his capacity for wonder.

Key West: Butterflies

As a slush storm hurls itself towards the Northeast yet again, I had to share the beauty of Key West's Butterfly and Nature Conservatory as a hopeful sign that spring might actually return again. It was incredibly serene to wander the sunlit paths inside the glass structure, with butterflies and songbirds floating around us, turtles and Chinese button quails underfoot. Jane even found one hitching a ride on her hat. In the hatching center, you can stand and watch a butterfly emerge from his cocoon. When I walked out of there with lower blood pressure and ready for a nap, I couldn't help but think how fantastic it would be to set one of these up at home.

Cheers and Peace!

Resolutions: Some people love them, others abhor them. I fall into the former category, hoping to control the universe, or at least my own behavior, through my resolve. In that light, I reread last year’s resolution entry—discovering the unexpected drawback of accountability.

Some years I need an excel spreadsheet to organize the ‘new me’, but this year I’m keeping it simple, which may be the hardest task of all. I woke up to 2010 to read this wonderful thought sent by my friend, choreographer Ann Robideaux--

Forget the Ten or Twelve Commandments. There is one commandment and that is LOVE.

It’s a great sentiment to start the year, so I’m going to make that my number one resolution—to love life wholeheartedly, to love others, even those I’d like to strangle, especially those I’d like to strangle, to love the challenges and see them as opportunities.

As the late Harold E. Carter used to end his every letter to me, I shall end today’s entry in kind, Cheers and Peace.

Hibernation

Heading upstate for a couple of days of hibernation and reflection. Packed with food, books, journals, sketchbooks, meditation cd, and a case of wine, I think we're set. See you when we get back. And if you are in the Catskill area, please do stop by.

Christmas Zen

A good morning and Merry Christmas! Celebrating Christmas with children in the house of course means that we've been up for a couple of hours already, the kids enjoying the excitement and anticipation of Santa's arrival. Before we dove into the gift-giving, we sent up a prayer of gratitude-- for our health, our family, our friends.

The other day on Diane Rehm's show on NPR, Harvard chaplain and Humanist Greg Epstein discussed the secularization of Christmas, which he argues has moved from a religious holiday to a cultural holiday, where giving and acts of kindness give light to the darkest and coldest time of year. Certainly spending time with one's family and sharing what one has is truly a wonderful way to celebrate, as long as the focus remains on the giving and not the getting.

My best wishes to everyone who reads this blog, even if Christmas isn't your holiday.

Seven on Sunday

Bing on the stereo,

Flipping through Dwell,

Black sharpie and sketchbook,

A fire and a cup of tea

Multi-colored lights twinkle on tree

Transformation

When I look back on the books I've written and the images I've painted, it's clear to me that I love transformations. Heck, I don't even think I've had the same haircut twice. OK that's an exaggeration, but I don't think I'm alone here with my appreciation of a good makeover. How many television shows feature an overhaul of either a home or of someone's appearance? We all wait for the big reveal, and voila, you've got a new and improved decor or a better-looking version of a person. Maybe that's why I'm in education. I like to be a part of a young person's transformation. As a teacher, I never know if I'm going to say something which will resonate with someone, allowing him or her to see the world in a new light. I'm sure many lessons go by without that 'ah-ha' moment; however sometimes the effects we have on one another may not be realized in the initial moment.

The Mind's Eye

"When was the last time you had 40 minutes of unbroken bliss?" This line from the radio was so good I had to write it down with a purple marker. Perhaps a sign of the hectic times in which we live, most people zip through life without those blissful moments. Hopefully this weekend remedied that for many. It did for me.

I have been listening to the book Rapt by Winifred Gallagher about one's abilty to pay attention. From the start, I loved the premise: We choose our life experience based upon our mind's focus. Gallagher's neuropsychological approach to the brain's ability to focus on many levels, as well as our ability to direct our thoughts, has inspired me to consider how I occupy my mind. The holiday season is a prime example of this. In trying to create the 'perfect' holiday moment, many people destroy their holiday cheer by focusing on the small details instead of the big picture. It reminds me of what a very busy friend of mine sagely said, "I may be busy, but I don't have to be unhappy about being busy."

Hurry Up and Relax

It was the perfect night to steal ten minutes to sit in the meditation garden. Actually, it was on my to-do list. Life gets so crowded that I sometimes leave quiet reflection somewhere on the bottom of the pile. But tonight was different: it was a homework assignment. As I watched my students dutifully write "meditate for ten minutes in nature" in their agenda books, I knew I had to make the time to do so as well.

Elizabeth Gilbert has a great account of trying to calm her thoughts during meditation in her memoir Eat, Pray, Love. Cluttered and random, her thoughts stream wildly until she learns how to stop the tide. I'm no different. It's hard for me to stop and sit still without generating another list or replaying the days events. It was even a challenge to sit for ten minutes just now and prevent myself from composing this entry when I was supposed to be silencing my thoughts. What did I do? I began to listen, trying to focus all of my attention on what I was hearing. A lawn mower, passing cars, wind in the leaves, crickets, playing in a yard. Then I began to see. Fading sunlight, flowing clouds, a spider in a web. Am I calmer for it? Definitely. In fact, I may take the next ten minutes and do it again.