I've written three books, each a part of my journey to elderhood. Now with this blog my intention is to give a moment to moment accounting of my life as it is now, and now, and now. I'm a leader and student of Sensory Awareness, and a practitioner of Rosen Method. I believe in the connective and collective power of Love.
When my grandson was four, he watched butterflies and a caterpillar, and then went into the house and returned with a long strand of yellow yarn which he weaved through the wires of a fence so the insects would see the fence and not be hurt.
I’m with that today as I read news I find horrifying though I continue to work with non-judgment and trust in ebb and flow, and the recurring phases of the moon.
I’m reminded of Nelson Mandela who spent 27 years in prison, but refused to carry a grudge against his captors. He later said of his release from prison, “As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.”
Thich Nhat Hanh: This, my dear, is the greatest challenge to being alive. To witness injustice in the world and not allow it to consume our light.
In reading The Mushroom at the End of the World by Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing, I learned that “When Hiroshima was destroyed by an atomic bomb in 1945, it is said, the first living thing to emerge from the blasted landscape was a matsutake mushroom.”
I’ve been at Green Gulch Zen Center and farm for four days. I parked at Muir Beach and after crossing a wooden bridge, I walked into a land of gardens, bunnies, quail, deer, and flights and songs of birds. I can’t imagine one country dropping a bomb on another but I can imagine the mycelium web of mushrooms surviving the damage. I offer photos of invitation.
From the Muir Beach Overlook on a foggy, July day.On ApproachThe Zendo Looking Up The Temple GongBeach ArtHonoring the Coast Miwok who lived and nourished on the land for more than 10,000 years.Nature heals with restorationLavender and Bees
Thursday through Sunday I’ll be in a Sensory Awareness workshop at Green Gulch Zen Center with Lee Klinger Lesser titled How does my love for life want to express itself? She suggests we bring an object or symbol that represents how our love for life wants to express itself in the midst of these times that we are living.
As I reflect on this, two poems of Naomi Shihab Nye come to mind. One is called “Kindness”. The other is “So Much Happiness”.
Thomas Jefferson said“An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people.”
Appointed by Trump, Linda E. McMahon was sworn in as the 13th United States Secretary of Education on March 3, 2025. Secretary of Education!
McMahon says it’s important for children to learn about A1. What does she think the A stands for? Asinine, Atrocious, Absolute, Absent, Allegory, Aging, Agile?
It’s AI, Artificial Intelligence, an addition to animal intelligence, natural intelligence, emotional intelligence, and so on. When asked about Trump’s statements, AI points out the lies. Perhaps that’s why she thinks of it as Aging, Absent One.
And now, perhaps we can start referring to each day as Interdependence Day, since without education we are not free, but with or without it, we are Interdependent.
Floating, tied with the tide.The hills are summer gold!
We’ve been with our five year old grandson for three days so I haven’t read the news until this morning. As I read, I try to embody the words of Thich Nhat Hanh:
What is most important is not to allow anxiety about what happens in the world to fill your heart. If your heart is filled with anxiety, you will get sick, and you will not be able to help.
Our family gathered to celebrate the Fourth of July, and we played croquet, feasted, talked, and watched fireworks from a hill walking distance from our son’s home. Grandson’s parents were backpacking in Big Sur to celebrate their 17th anniversary.
On Sunday, we went to our local library to get books on snakes. I didn’t expect it to be crowded but it happily was, especially in the children’s section where there was a table for coloring and drawing, one with puzzles, a tent with stuffed animals, and yes, a section on snakes. I don’t know why grandson’s current fascination is snakes though yes, they are beautiful and adaptable, so we returned home with the two books he chose, though we could have taken out 100 books. It’s hard to integrate a world where systems that help the people are being dismantled and eliminated, and yet, so far, we still have libraries, places to gather, share and learn lifetimes of knowledge and creativity, and feel wrapped in blankets of love, generosity, and care.
Waiting for FireworksChatting with another five year old through the fenceA fairy door invites entry when strolling along the street
As we await a vote that benefits the super-wealthy, destroys our country with debt, and leads to children starving, each of us must look at what matters.
John Lewis in Across That Bridge wrote:
Freedom is not a state; it is an act. It is not some enchanted garden perched high on a distant plateau where we can finally sit down and rest. Freedom is the continuous action we all must take, and each generation must do its part to create an even more fair, more just society.
Last night I watched a recording of an event put on by the Tergar Institute. Uvinie Lubecki, Ocean Vuong, and Ronan Harrington spoke. I’m inspired by their intelligence and commitment to the world and themselves.
Some notes:
Uvinie: I saw no other way. Purpose is a way of being. It’s how we drink a cup of tea. Awareness, Love and Compassion, lead to connection and wisdom.
Ocean: Develop the voice you already have. Re-read a book like Moby Dick. Understand why it’s a classic. Live the Buddha’s final words: Go forth with earnestness. Try with all your heart. Our youth are afraid of being “cringy”, of shame. Give ourselves permission to fail so there is no shame.
Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche: Failure is the mother of success.
Ronan: Speak truth to power. Resilience requires balance. Know when to open and close so you don’t ruin your health as he did trying to save the world, and now he recovers from pain and addiction. Resilience requires boundaries.
Awaiting the VoteMay our flag represent freedom, not oligarchyMay we live in connection and honor, respect, and celebrate diversity.
We’re at Nick’s Cove in Point Reyes. We made our usual stop at the bookstore in Pt. Reyes Station, and I bought Brooke Williams book, Encountering Dragonfly: Notes on the Practice of Re-Enchantment. It’s a meditation on nature and connecting our inner and outer worlds through observing and being in the natural environment.It advocates a planetary and individual need to re-enchant.
Meanwhile, we’re savoring our current abode on the north side of Tomales Bay as the tide comes in and the tide goes out. It’s June and almost the new moon, so the change is dramatic. When the tide is high, the waves pound underneath our deck and lodging. Looking out, it’s like being in a boat. At low tide the eye is stretched and the other side seems closer. An egret feeds, and I, too, am nourished and fed.
Egret Fishing as the tide comes in. Looking across Tomales BaySunset last nightLooking west in morning lightThrough the trees
The following poem comes from Stefan Laeng who read it at his meditation class on Tuesday. It is by the late great German comedian Hanns Dieter Hüsch (who was born not far from the birthplace of Charlotte Selver, our teacher of Sensory Awareness,). It’s his translation with the German original below.
When the soldiers come
Lure them onto the roof of the dove
Lure them into the nest of the swallow
Lure them into the cave of the lioness
Lure them into the forest of the deer.
Approach them with open hands
Full of bread, and salt, and fruit, and wine
So that they loose their way in the brushwood of your virtues;
So that they get lost in the maze of your friendliness.
Let them be amazed.
Let their generals and presidents be ashamed.
Let their henchmen run aground.
Be a lowland of courtesy
Intelligence be your weapon
Patience be your strength
Love be your narrative
Your silence be your victory
So that the governors marvel greatly.*
* Some of you may recognize this as a biblical reference. Matthew 27:14
In German:
Wenn die Krieger kommen Look sie auf’s Dach der Taube Lock sie in’s Nest der Schwalbe Lock sie in die Höhle der Löwin Lock sie in den Wald der Rehe.
Geh ihnen entgegen mit offenen Händen
Voll Brot und Salz und Obst und Wein. Dass sie sich verlaufen im Knüppelholz deiner Tugenden Dass sie sich verirren im Labyrinth deiner Freundlichkeit.
Mach sie staunen. Beschäme ihre Generäle und Präsidenten Lass ihre Handlanger in’s Leere laufen Sei eine Tiefebene voll Höflichkeit.
Dein Gewehr sei die Klugheit Deine Kraft sei die Geduld Deine Geschichte sei die Liebe Dein Sieg sei dein Schweigen So dass sich die Landpfleger sehr verwundern.
Western Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly
A garter snake slides in for safetyClimb like mossGolden Slippers stirs the mud
I went with a friend to Tam Junction near my home. There were 450-500 of us standing at the freeway exit, so we were seeing people close-up in their cars, coming from north and south. It was an amazing experience, a cacophony of horns honking and people waving and smiling. Traffic was slow so there were literal thank you’s as windows rolled down and children and adults smiled and cheered. Dogs were very interested and supportive. Tears come now as I contemplate the feeling of a unity that unintentionally, and in greed, Trump and his cronies have created.
My friend and I both took naps when we returned to our homes. It was a great deal to absorb, so beautiful and freeing to stand with a group of people and sing, “This land is your land, this land is my land.” Yes, this land is our land.No Kings since 1776.
Now, rested, I open a book, The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin.
“The universe is only as large as our perception of it. When we cultivate our awareness, we are expanding the universe.
This expands the scope, not just of the material at our disposal to create form, but of the life we get to live.”
The nature we are, and of which we are a part. We are a network, connected like mushrooms in the soil from which we rise.
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