This quote from Marc Hamer comes from his lovely little memoir, How to Catch a Mole—Wisdom from a Life Lived in Nature. This book was one of those serendipitous finds that comes about only in a brick and mortar store. It caught my eye as I wandered around in Booksweet, set on a table of ‘staff picks.’ Hamer comes across as a sweet, wise man.
We have a dear, nearly 93-year-old cousin, like a sister to hubby, who is dying. She is indeed tender.
Photo (heavily cropped) by Natalie Breeze on Unsplash
I couldn’t look at stars as a child; the enormity of their numbers and distances crushed me into realization of my own insignificance in the cosmos. Now, I can’t get enough of them and I’m at peace with my place in the grand scheme.
Sarah Williams (1837-1868) was an English poet and novelist, most famous as the author of the poem "The Old Astronomer" from which this quote comes.
Photo by Thomas Ciszewski on Unsplash.
I have been weeding and planting this week—such a joy! And stimulating the economy, buying plants, potting soil, and composted manure. Anyone having any luck finding peat-free potting soil in the states? Now that I know about the environmental impact of peat harvesting, I’m trying to eliminate my use of it but it is a prevalent ingredient.
William Kent (1685-1748) was an English architect, landscape architect, painter and furniture designer of the early 18th century.
Photo from my front yard (couldn’t resist using a picture with the sedum, commonly known as ‘live forever.’) We got pieces from my mother-in-law’s, planted them at our first house, moved them to our second house where we divided and spread them, then moved them here to our third house.
Through books, I’ve lived hundreds of other lives. I’ve suffered in the jungle, walked in space, solved crimes, and white-washed a picket fence. I’ve climbed mountains and sailed the seas. I’m ever so grateful our species developed written language, paper, and the printing press, but even more thankful that it developed the desire to share stories.
Anne Lamott (1954) is an American writer, political activist, public speaker, and writing teacher.
Photo by Jackson Films on Unsplash
I love spring and Monty Don!
Monty Don is a British gardener, author, and dog lover. He is one of the hosts of the BBC’s Gardener’s World TV series.
Photo from my garden.
And yet so tempting to do...
Thomas Merton (1915 – 1968) was an American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, mystic, poet, social activist and scholar of comparative religion.
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The reality of this quote struck me long before I’d heard it or knew of Rita Dove. In the late ‘70s, I watched a TV miniseries about Japanese Americans interned in camps during World War II. The first three episodes, I thought it was a “what if Americans were this bad” alternate history story. Until I saw interviews with several folks who had lived there. I had had history classes, civics classes! I read voraciously. I felt outraged and betrayed that the truth had been kept from me.
Rita Dove (born August 28, 1952) is an American poet and essayist born in Akron, Ohio.
Photo from the Central Photographic File of the War Relocation Authority.
This is a great seasonal motto. I will add it to my calendar, to consider at the beginning of each month, lest I forget it.
Oliver (1935-2019) was an American poet and author from a Cleveland, Ohio suburb who spent most of her live in Provincetown, Massachusetts with her partner of over 40 years, Molly Malone Cook.
Photo by Gabriel McCallin on Unsplash
Just being. That is something I’ve been trying to do more (easier now that porch-sitting weather has finally arrived). Are you good at just being?
Katharine Hepburn (1907 – 2003) was an American actress whose career spanned over six decades. I loved her movies, independence, and style.
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The realities of motherhood…and they don’t end when the babies grow up. We worry for, sometime work for, sometimes rescue our adult children. A salute to mothers and the children who endured them—Happy Mother’s Day!
Élisabeth Badinter (1944) is a French philosopher, author and historian best known for her philosophical treatises on feminism and women's role in society.
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I can’t remember when I first encountered Chödrön, but her writings and oral teachings have guided me through many periods of depression through the decades. She is not only wise, she is funny!
Pema Chödrön (1936) is an American Tibetan-Buddhist. Before becoming a nun and author, she was called Deirdre Blomfield-Brown and was employed as an elementary school teacher. She was married and divorced twice, has two children and three grandchildren.
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From the youngest age, this notion has amazed me. I remember reading Jack and Jill by Louisa May Alcott (my first favorite childhood book) and feeling awestruck when I realized I was inside the mind of someone who’d been dead almost a hundred years.
Carl Sagan (1934-1996) was a scientist, author, professor, and father. His book, Cosmos, changed my life by creating a passion in me for science and non-fiction.
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I awoke thinking of Jimmy Carter—no idea why. While I don’t consider him as having been a highly effective president, he is my favorite president because he is caring, kind, honest, and intelligent. He holds important values and acted on them. He was a greater leader after leaving the White House than while in it, teaching us how to make the world a better place.
Photo from the CDC.
She was one of my role models for aging with flare! I wish her light had not left the world but her glow still shines. When feeling down, remember to consider, what would Betty White do (WWBWD).
Betty White (1922 – 2021) was an American actress and comedian.
I’ve heard the complaint that the notion of “living in the present moment” means not preparing for the future or caring about the past. Hahn’s words counter that complaint in a beautiful way that creates wonder.
Hahn (1926-2022) was a Vietnamese Thiền Buddhist monk, peace activist, prolific author, poet and teacher.
Photo by Denis Degioanni on Unsplash
Don’t you love it when you find words written by another human that exactly reflect your own thoughts? I find this so often in Mary Oliver’s work, though she says it all so much more eloquently and poetically than the stirrings in my mind. Today’s quote is from Long Life (which received both a Pulitzer Prize and The National Book Award).
Oliver (1935-2019) was an American poet and author from a Cleveland, Ohio suburb who spent most of her live in Provincetown, Massachusetts with her partner of over 40 years, Molly Malone Cook.
Photo by Evgeni Tcherkasski on Unsplash
Sherlock could be quite dramatic, but I agree with him on this point. Jeremy Brett is my favorite old-fashioned Sherlock. Benedict Cumberbatch my favorite modernized one. Do you have a fav?
Doyle (1859-1930) was a British writer and physician.
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Excerpt from a new poem, “Last Night.”
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I love Goldberg’s books on writing, especially the audio versions. She’s so fun to listen to. She inspires me to grab a notebook and get the words to the paper!
Natalie Goldberg (1948) is the author of 15 books, most on the Zen of writing. I see she’s also offering some expensive Haiku writing workshops in Santa Fe.
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I’m not sure how to unravel the first part of that sentence given that every present moment will become a past one. I think, in the context of the essay from which it comes (“The Ethics of Ambiguity”), she is exhorting her comrades to get to work! What say you?
Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986) was a French writer and feminist activist. She didn’t consider herself a philosopher but became known as one after her death. Many of her views are controversial; I disagree with many of them, but I appreciate the questions they raise. I have her book, Old Age, in my TBR pile but its intimidating length has stopped me from opening it the two years it’s been there!
Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
Nature is my green cathedral, where I find calm, God, the whispers of the Universe. I need to get out there more and should be able to now that it is warming up. Of course, I’m unlikely to see anything as spectacular as what’s in this picture. But an earthworm, butterfly, and a sunset over water will do the trick.
Patti Smith is an activist, singer/songwriter, poet, and award-winning author. This quote is from her 2017 book, Devotion.
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Even though I am in my “harvest days,” this quote resonated with me. It sent me down a rabbit hole, considering how it applies at this stage in life. In his essay, “Creating and maintaining purpose in life in old age: A meta-analysis” Martin Pinquart writes, “[P]reserving human values and preserving culture and traditions are stronger sources of meaning of life in older than in younger age groups…. Finding purpose in life may also depend on personal attributes, such as creativity, flexibility, adaptiveness, openness, intelligence, responsibility, and the individual's belief system….the quality of social relationships was the strongest predictor of purpose in life, strengthening social ties is an important intervention that promotes purpose in life.”
Arthur C. Brooks, in “The Seven Habits That Lead to Happiness in Old Age”,says “Happiness tends to decline throughout young adulthood and middle age, bottoming out at about age 50. After that, it heads back up again into one’s mid-60s. Then something strange happens. Older people split into two groups as they get old: those getting much happier, and those getting much unhappier…. Keep learning. More education leads to a more active mind in old age, and that means a longer, happier life. … Everyone loves a happy ending, especially in the story of their own life. Start writing that ending today.”
My “best work” these days includes creating through words and art and doing what I can to make the world a better place. How about you?
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Thích Nhất Hạnh has been one of my life’s teachers, helping me through decades of depression. I admire his kindness and compassion, his work to make the world a better place. I recommend all of his books. Also, Melvin McLeod compiled short passages of Hanh’s wisdom into a book of daily devotions, Your True Home—the Everyday Wisdom of Thich Nhat Hanh; I love starting my day with it.
Hahn (1926-2022) was a Vietnamese Thiền Buddhist monk, peace activist, prolific author, poet and teacher.
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Cherish your friends. Tend to your friendships. They enhance our paths.
Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BC –43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic. This is a tiny scrap from his work, “On Friendship.”
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Something silly for Saturday. I hope you have a great weekend. May the force be with you!
From Wikipedia: Lowell Thomas (1892 –1981) was an American writer, actor, broadcaster, and traveler, best remembered for publicizing T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia).
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We know how Atwood seizes her space. How do you seize yours? I’m finding there are not enough hours in the day to do all I want to do. I’m learning to be content with what I do enjoy and accomplish in my new role of curious elder.
Photo by my nephew, Ian Cameron. We visited the Lakeview Cemetery in Cleveland, in 2017 when the hair dye was still flowing. It’s a great among graveyards. President Garfield is entombed there, in the company of many of the rich and famous. All dead.
I am one who needs lots of alone time. Hubby is not fond of alone time. He, mostly, tolerates my need to tuck myself away in my studio or the garden. Even though we are both retired and living in the same home, we spend only an hour or two more together on a daily basis than we did when were both working. It’s not that I don’t enjoy time with him; I cherish it. It’s just that I need solitude.
Curtis Sittenfeld ( (born 1975)) is an American author of several novels and short story collections. I am on the library’s waiting list for her book, Rodham, a reimagining of the life of Hillary Rodham Clinton. I haven’t yet read any of her other work.
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I'd like David Byrne to be at the table when I sit down to that imagined dinner with the ten famous people, living or dead, that you'd like to have attend. I'd put Madeleine Albright across the table from him, Abraham Lincoln and Gloria Steinem on either side.
I'd have to put Wittgenstein and Van Gogh at the other end of the table so the boys didn't get too wrapped up in their own little side conversation. Have to keep Marie Curie and Richard Feynman separated for the same reasons. Where to put Jane Austen? One seat left--whom should I get to fill it? Thích Nhất Hạnh? Albert Einstein or his wife? Siddhartha? Hypathia?
Who would be at your table?
I'd need to have more than one dinner party.
Photo by Steffen Petermann on Unsplash
I've been thinking about this idea, not in the sense of a painting like this one I did of my son, but in my writing. If I write a memoir, I want the people not to be flat, one dimensional, but as fleshed out and three dimensional as I can make them.
Paul Caponigro is one of America’s foremost landscape photographers. You can see his work at the International Center for Photography.
I don’t know why, but I haven’t felt the stigmatization of ageing that many of my peers have, maybe because I worked in academia for so long, where retiring wasn’t something that many-a-scientist planned to do. Nonetheless, I agree with Nussbaum’s take.
Nussbaum is an American philosopher, known for developing “an augmented form of liberal philosophical feminism based on the universal values of human dignity, equal worth, and autonomy, understood as the freedom and capacity of every person to conceive and pursue a life of human flourishing.” (See the Encyclopedia Britannica for more details.) I defended her earlier ideas in Professor Baumgarten’s ethics classes back in the day!
Photo by Durmuş Kavcıoğlu on Unsplash
Happy Earth Day!! Rachel Carson (1907-1964) wrote Silent Spring, a book credited for launching the environmental movement. And she did it while caring for her aging mother AND her orphaned grand-nephew.
Photo by Adriana Lorena Benavides Estrada on Unsplash
I'm not feeling sad, but I thought this was an important statement from a passage about exploring sadness rather than just hurrying to get over it, from the book Wintering.
Photo by British Library on Unsplash
Françoise Gilot (1921) is a painter and writer born in France, now an American citizen. At her 100th birthday, she said she would keep creating. As far as I can tell she is still living. She also happened to have relationships with two famous men—Pablo Picasso from 1943-53 (they had two children), and Jonas Salk, to whom she was wed 1970 until his death in 1995.
Photo by Yannick Pulver on Unsplash
The explosion and fire at the dairy farm in Texas that killed more than 18,000 cows and critically injured a farm worker admonished me to keep looking for humane food sources. It's one thing for 18,000 humans to choose to be in one structure together (e.g., the Empire State Building). But 18,000 cows?
I've been on the hunt for a new local farmer to get milk from since the one who I was getting it from decided to let her cows go dry while she is in the end of her pregnancy and caring for a newborn.
Inflation has made it even harder to pay the higher prices of organic food. The farmers' markets will be open soon and that will help.
When I clean out the fridge today, I'll push myself to make sure the compostables get to the compost pile rather than the garbage can. I'll wash any nasty recyclable containers I'm tempted to throw away.
Little actions matter. (My long-windedness today must be me trying to talk myself into a mindful cleaning of the fridge. Thanks, Jane.)
Photo by Justinian Herzog Photography (Instagram, @a2photopunk).
This is the end of a lovely poem. You can hear the complete work read aloud at Awaken.org
Photo by Khadeeja Yasser on Unsplash
Our daffodils have been dancing with snowflakes, as our weather took a chilly turn.
Dorothy Wordsworth is the sister of Romantic poet William Wordsworth. This is from her diary entry April 15, 1802, which I received via email from Diaries of Note.
Photo by Andréas BRUN on Unsplash
This is an excerpt from a long poem entitled Spring, translated by Coleman Barks. Barks introduced me to Rumi. I love his passion for this Muslim poet. If you've not heard him reading Rumi, search for him on YouTube.
Background is a cut from a painting by Alfredo Helsby, Chilean, born Santiago de Chile
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Chilean Embassy, Washington, D.C.
How many times have you thought, “I’m so ready to be home”? I remember feeling that longing after a long day at work and at the end of even the best vacation (and even though there would be all that unpacking and laundry to do when we got home).
Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash
What is "food and fire" for the mind in your home? Here? Books, art supplies, the garden, and the doggies. What am I taking for granted and not thinking of? Oh—music!!!
Photo by Rafael Leão on Unsplash
My husband makes me laugh all the time. He laughs when I can’t stop laughing. It is one of the greatest joys of my life.
Agnes Repplier (1855–1950) was an American essayist.
Photo by Gabriela Monalisa on Unsplash
Tucker is not the first to express this idea, though he says it well. But I don’t wholeheartedly agree. Maybe the shadows forge us, but the joys polish our metal and make us shiny.
Photo by Tom Barrett on Unsplash
Harriet Jacobs (~1815 – 1897) was an African-American abolitionist and writer whose autobiography, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, was published in 1861. She spent seven years living in a crawl space until finally escaping to the north.
If her soul could be revived by spring, surely ours can too!
Photo of Ms. Jacobs by Gilbert Studios, Washington, D.C. (C. M. Gilbert); restored by Adam Cuerden
Gina Torres is an American actress. I know her best as Zoe from one of my all time favorite shows, Firefly. I took a chance with my last blog post and now I’m trying not to have regrets for making myself too vulnerable. This quote is encouraging at times like this.
Photo by Natalie Pedigo on Unsplash
Spring is a great time to ponder these words. One of the places in my life I’m working on this—when I get caught up in a project and a sentient being interrupts, be it canine or human, my tendency is to be annoyed. I remind myself that the project can wait; that interaction is where the real value is to be found.
Photo by Monika Grabkowska on Unsplash
This is a special week but I hope it is just a morale boost, a revival, a reminder to strive for peace and kindness everyday.
Photo by Roland Lösslein on Unsplash
A thoughtful quote for Good Friday from a comedian. Of course, Colbert is a thoughtful guy. And a devout Catholic. This statement is from an interview/discussion he had with Anderson Cooper. You can see the entire conversation on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB46h1koicQ&t=18s
Photo by Manos Kolovouris on Unsplash
I wonder if Austen would ever have uttered these words as her own. I’m guessing that, even if she would not say it aloud, she agreed with her character. As a novel writer, how could she have not?
Photo—Lady Gore Onsley, Library of Congress
I don’t think Salinger meant for me to focus on Zoey’s obsession with the notion of ‘to pray without ceasing’ to the extent that I did. It became my obsession. For more than forty years now.
Photo—Library of Congress
I've always kept a journal but never developed the habit of writing everyday. I keep wanting to do so. Kleon offers good reasons to do so. Are you a diarist?
Austin Kleon is an artist and author who lives in Austin, Texas. I wonder if Austin is a pen name. Hmmm.
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Friendships need time, attention, occasional maintenance to flourish, to be there when we need a helping hand, a listening ear, on our journey through the Milky Way.
Photo by Dario Valenzuela on Unsplash
Ah, the optimism of spring. I'm eager for the warmer temps coming this week. The crocuses are blooming! Soon the daffs will put on their show!
Doug Larson (1926-2017) was a Wisconsin Press-Gazette columnist known for his zany one-liners.
Photo by Mark Olsen on Unsplash
I'm eager to see butterflies returning to the garden. Hurry spring!
Photo by Alfred Schrock on Unsplash
This lyric is stuck in my head this morning. Maybe it's there because I've been spending so much time trying to decide if I want to write a memoir, what the purpose of it would be, and if I have time enough left to fit it in with all the other stuff demanding attention.
Remember when "the rest of my life" was a long time?
Picture credit: Mcilvaine, William, Artist, and Marian S. Carson Collection. White House - Pamunkey River /
There's much in the world that has been appalling this week so a reminder to focus on making things beautiful comes at a good time.
If you don’t grow flowers, you can always plant a smile.
Monty Don is a British gardener, author, and dog lover. He is one of the hosts of the BBC’s Gardener’s World TV series.
I agree with Gustav, even though it is a chilly 18 degrees this morning. I've never been so ready for warm weather!
Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) was a composer. Per Wikipedia, “was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation.”
Photo by Biegun Wschodni on Unsplash
Maybe that "something" is an encouraging Instagram or Facebook post; you never know who you'll touch.
Sean Tucker is a Photographer, Filmmaker, Author, and Speaker based in the UK (@seantuck). This quote is from his book, The Meaning in the Making.
I like that, “to even ONE.”
Picture credit: Bencke & Scott. (ca. 1874) Morning walk / Geo. C. Lambdin ; Bencke & Scott. , ca. 1874. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress.
This is great advice, though not always easy to follow. That's when a few deep breaths can come in handy!
Professor Baumgarten used to say that William, the philosopher, was a better writer, than his brother Henry the novelist, who was a better philosopher. I've not read enough of Henry's work to know.
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
This sounds wise, but I'm pondering what the first sentence means.
I first came to know of Joseph Campbell in the series of interviews Bill Moyers conducted way back when. Campbell's ideas seemed so new and exciting to me then. I'm going to rewatch the first interview to see if it has the same impact now.
I'll try to make mine a difference for good today. I will wash that plastic I can't reuse and then I'll recycle it. I will start some seedlings. I'll lower the thermostat. Bit by bit.
Photo by Zoe Schaeffer on Unsplash
I don't know if this is Jane speaking of herself or if this is a character's line. I wish it was true of myself. I'd have to substitute the "most attempts" for her "every attempt." Given that I can be scared of many things, there are certain occasions where my spirit rises as if I were a warrior.
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I have found this to be true but never gave it much thought as, it seems to me, being puzzled is a basic human condition. Babies are always trying to figure things out (why did that fall? did mom go away when her face disappeared behind her hands?). The danger is in losing that capacity.
Eric Fromm, March 23, 1900 – March 18, 1980, was a psychologist and scholar. Born in Germany, he left when the Nazi’s came to power. For a short time, he taught at Michigan State University (where I went to grad school).
From Wikipedia, “Fromm's writings were notable as much for their social and political commentary as for their philosophical and psychological underpinnings. Indeed, Escape from Freedom is viewed as one of the founding works of political psychology."
Photo by Mel Poole on Unsplash
At first glance, this quote might seem to say the full human experience would include being a grandparent. It's actually talking about the range of ages of people to include in your life. Young to old. I've been blessed with nieces, nephews, and now the grands. While working, I interacted with scientists, from those in Med school to the matriarchs and patriarchs of the research community. Now I'm one of the old ones!
Pic from my grandson’s first-grade concert.
Hanh’s caution is timely. I’ve been thinking about the past a great deal lately as I consider writing a memoir.
Hahn, (11 October 1926 – 22 January 2022) was a Vietnamese Thiền Buddhist monk, peace activist, prolific author, poet and teacher. His writings, more than any other author, helped me find some peace during the years I suffered from depression. I was blessed to find him when I needed him.
Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash
Some sunrises demand being captured somehow, via a photo, a painting, or a note in the journal. This is from November 2021.
I could use some solitude right now. I agree with the first sentence, but not the second. I think there are legitimate reasons to fear solitude that don't necessarily mean one is superficial.
Ms. Rice is a Kentucky author, born in 1870. Per Wikipedia:
Rice had a relatively privileged upbringing, but her views on life changed when she went to a mission for Sunday School that was in a slum in Louisville called the “Cabbage Patch”.…This experience introduced her to the world of poverty and the underprivileged.She later became a part of a social movement that would help improve the working and living conditions of the poor, which would bring her to helping found the Cabbage Patch Settlement House in Louisville in 1910
Photo by Jeremy Vessey on Unsplash
I wonder where our understanding of the animal world would be today if Robert Leakey had not hired the young Jane Goodall as his secretary and noticed her skills, if she'd not been so determined to stand by her way of doing things.
For more information about how these two great minds came together, see the article “LEAKEY AND GOODALL: SCIENTISTS WHO CHANGED HOW WE DEFINE ‘HUMAN’”
Nadine Gordimer, a South African writer and political activist, received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991. This quote reminds me of the line from Wilfred Owen, “All a poet can do today is warn.”
Photo by Alex McCarthy on Unsplash
This is my mom, circa 1962. Our porch was small but provided some of my best childhood memories. We listened to Ernie Harwell calling out the plays during Tiger Baseball games, gossiped, told stories. It was our gathering place, day and night.
This is a poem I wrote in 1997. A larger version of the pic is in the blog post, Stillness and Poetry
A day in bed reading, drinking coffee--a dream. Not happening with a new puppy!
Besides getting professional help, this is important for the depressed person to remember.
I recounted my journey with depression in my second blog post, Depression.
Uncle Joe was Joseph Gurney Cannon, speaker of the house from 1903-1911. Per Wikipedia, "His antic speaking style, diminutive stature and pugnacious manner were his trademarks. The newspapers frequently lampooned him as a colorful rube. 'Uncle Joe"' as he was known, often clashed with fellow Republican Theodore Roosevelt, asserting that Roosevelt 'has no more use for the Constitution than a tomcat has for a marriage license'."
I'm sort of content. My son reads a lot, but prefers e-books so no bookcases, except for my grandson's which is overflowing.
I concur. I don’t know what my life would be like without books.