I started using the phrase ‘offensively defensive’ to describe some of my interactions with other people. I’m describing the times where I feel like I may be under scrutiny for not living up to societal expectations. I have fallen into the trap of trying to be defensive of my choices and the state of my […]
I was having a conversation with a friend last weekend about how to get our children to help us with chores. We were questioning how to balance the workload of mothering with giving the children all they need besides a tidy home. I wish I could accomplish everything myself with ease, then this would not […]
How the plants make it look so effortless. They push with ease thought thick soil and rocks, heavy and compacted from winter’s weighty presence. Foliage pronounces itself just by being. There are no grand ceremonies for their change. They come and fill their full potential just by awakening to the world above the earth. Not […]
We have had a few frames from a friend’s hive from last year sitting on our back deck for a few weeks now. They have been awaiting our attention to process their wax to be used for sealing in the spawn during our mushroom cultivating efforts. This passive act of silently awaiting its purpose, or […]
“The healthy social life is found, when in the mirror of each human soul, the whole community finds its reflection, and when in the community, the virtue of each one is living.” ~Rudolf Steiner As I was writing my post yesterday about parenting from the heart, I recalled the piece I wrote at my first […]
“The purpose of life is to unlearn what has been learned and to remember what has been forgotten.” ~Sufi Saying This week, a friend of mine said that she has been finding ‘living simply’ to be really stressful. Perhaps it was the five children whirling around us, or lack of sleep, but whatever it was, […]
It is my tendency to want to fix things. Broken things. But also things which cannot be broken, like uncomfortable situations, heavy emotions and people. My two year old tests me on this issue multiple times a day. He is a sensitive soul, feeling everything to its deepest possible level. I have the deepest admirations for […]
Reductionism. Rob and I have been commenting a lot during discussions in our home about this phenomenon. It is one we come up against again and again. One which permaculture seeks to override with its tenet of ‘integrate don’t segregate.’ Our culture often tries to reduce things to their very essences in an attempt to […]
I have been struggling lately with the idea of ‘speaking my truth.’ I have come to many conclusions about the way I am choosing to live my life that differ greatly from what conventional culture is doing. Venturing out into the world has become increasingly difficult, as avoiding discussion of my life choices in is next […]
I often feel like a pendulum. One day feeling like I’ve got things pulsing at a nice rhythm, and the next feeling like I’m wildly swinging out of control. It is at the extremities of my swing, at the edge of it, where I feel the most potential for growth. Perhaps this is because these […]
