A Mindful Life

True silence is the rest of the mind; it is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment. –William Penn Dawn on Kala Point, Washington

As Claire gets older and encounters the world, I find myself thinking that I need an exorcism of my past. That sounds drastic, yes? Claire displays an intensity and sensitivity that I recognize. I observe how she interacts with kids at school, and I feel painful echoes. I want so much not to project my [...]

The child is made of one hundred. The child has a hundred languages, a hundred hands, a hundred thoughts, a hundred ways of thinking, of playing, of speaking. A hundred, always a hundred, ways of listening, of marveling, of loving, a hundred joys for singing and understanding, a hundred worlds to discover, a hundred worlds [...]

Come, cuddle your head on my shoulder, dear, Your head like the golden-rod, And we will go sailing away from here To the beautiful land of Nod. –Ella Wheeler Wilcox Our nighttime routine is sweet, though not exactly simple. When Claire protests bedtime (she’s in bed no later than 7:45 p.m.), we go to the [...]

“I have always been fascinated by the ocean, to dip a limb beneath its surface and know that I’m touching eternity, that it goes on forever until it begins here again.” –Lauren DeStefano, Wither Seabright Beach, California

Email is one of the few private spaces left in this hyper-sharing age. Sam Biddle at Gizmodo says, “This isn’t about having something to hide — it’s about keeping meaningful boundaries in an era when there are verrrrry few. We all need whatever scraps of privacy we have left, and your email is just that.” [...]

The love of wilderness is more than a hunger for what is always beyond reach; it is also an expression of loyalty to the earth, the earth which bore us and sustains us, the only paradise we shall ever know, the only paradise we ever need, if only we had the eyes to see. –Edward [...]

I really wanted to quote the entire article here, but out of respect for copyright I haven’t. It’s an intelligent article about the “cherish every moment” pressure and frenzy that accompanies parenting. The author portrays mindfulness — at least, what I attempt and occasionally manage to experience — beautifully. There are two different types of [...]

Let us permit nature to have her way. She understands her business better than we do. -Michel de Montaigne

For nothing is fixed, forever and forever and forever, it is not fixed; the earth is always shifting, the light is always changing, the sea does not cease to grind down rock. Generations do not cease to be born, and we are responsible to them because we are the only witnesses they have. The sea [...]