Guests on my blog

I’m going to take a blogging vacation during the Christmas holidays while I work on my living-room floors. They need to be stained and sealed and I need to do that while kids are out of the house.

If anyone would like to guest on my blog during that week, please submit a 100-500 word essay or post on a topic (it could be promoting yourself if you like) before Dec. 23.

In the meantime, I’ll be scheduling automatic blog posts for that week. I might pop in from time to time, but since I’ve done very well at posting every day for almost two whole months, I think I’ll give myself a little break

That’s why I love it here near the wilds

So often I am awed by the beauty of nature. And then by the capacity of humans to experience that beauty, by the impulse to ponder. I feel most human, most in communion with the Divine, when I am witness to the extraordinary normalcy of Nature’s glory.

Maybe not effortlessly, but without thought and pre-planning, the cycle of life continues. One phase leads to the next without fail. The Great Mother marches onward without a glance back to see who’s lagging behind, who’s keeping up.

Life and death happens and nothing flinches, still the world turns without a hitch. Everything in nature carries on without questioning whether what they say, think, or do is wrong or right, or whether it will make someone smile or frown.

It is not existence without consequence. Some might say selfish. But that’s not true. In nature, everything plays a role, everything works together. She directs the entire orchestra, not individuals. Only then will the symphony be harmonic.

That’s why I love it here near the wilds. Everything *is* or *isn’t*. No pretense, no propriety.

How can such a black and white existence be so inspiring?