“Tell all the truth but tell it slant.” Emily Dickenson For I was hungry, and you cut my food stamps. I was a stranger and you deported me. I was sick and you denied my healthcare. I was a child afraid to go to school and you voted with NRA. I needed a prescription for […]
The Language of Animals
Animals are nothing but the forms of our virtues and vices, wandering before our eyes, the visible phantoms of our souls. ~ Victor Hugo Men used to listen attentively to the messages of the animals; our lives, our souls, depended on it. The appearances and absences of certain animals at certain times were full of […]
Returning the Earth
“We have conquered the environment, and in our obsession for control, we no longer allow the environment to live in us.” ~ Valerie Andrews Humankind has “tamed” the wilderness, bought and sold land for profit and loss. For too long we have mortgaged the earth and bankrupted its resources, pouring fumes into the skies and […]
The False Self
Ring out the false, ring in the true. ~ Alfred, Lord Tennyson As boys we learned that we had to find out who others wanted us to be. Then we were taught we had to become that person in order to get acceptance, appreciation, and love – things we should have gotten just for being […]
Centering
For one human being to love another: that is perhaps the most difficult of all tasks, and the ultimate, the last test and proof, the work for which all other work is but preparation. ~ Rainer Maria Rilke As men we were often taught that the center of our universe is work, that we are […]
A Wordless Language
Nature is one of the languages God speaks. ~ Robert Bly Many men have dabbled in, even mastered, languages. We speak fluent English, manage German “ein bischen,” use a peso’s worth of Spanish, murmur French when we feel amorous. We understand well the language of commerce, of industry. We’re plainspoken about stocks and bonds. We […]
Passivity – Part II
Identifying Passivity Passivity is a compulsion or learned tendency to live at half-speed regarding certain segments of their life. Almost no-one reading this is “purely” passive but rather exhibiting passive tendencies which ultimately leaves people feeling their life or career glass is half-empty and thus halfheartedly committing to projects, plans and goals. Passive people are […]
Unbecoming: From Despair to Love-Part 5
I can’t tell you all that I have hoped for here on this mountain this year. Somewhere along the way, perhaps walking my three animal companions through the woods on a winter afternoon I began filling the hole in my soul with Faith. I’ve learned a few important things perhaps six but still remember this one and that is by letting go of hoping and holding the hands of faith and resting in the palm of process it will cure some of the sores of Despair.