Beyond Awful is AWE!

There’s beauty as the Sun sets in the valley and valleys of lfie ….

Be midwives to the possibility of change. Reach into the darkness of the unknown and grasp the world that is coming. Rivera Sun, The Roots of Resistance

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I'll meet you there. Rumi

The words of this clarion call from my friend, activist and novelist Rivera Sun, were the last thing that met my eyes last evening before heading into dreamland. They were with me this morning as I gazed upon the mountain and opened into exploring where The Pivot stream would flow this blog day. As the ink began to flow, Rumi joined in.

I’ve experienced a week of grief and deep reflection about this time we are living in. Questions rising from deep within at the horrors perpetrated against the most vulnerable human beings and against Life itself lead me to explore my own vulnerability and the nature of vulnerability itself. Questions rising about carrying on with and participating in daily life in a time of violent conflict (I’d call it ‘civil war’ but there is nothing civil about war!), about building and strengthening community far and wide, and about sharing authentically with others, acknowledging disagreement without being disagreeable.

To share authentically and be loving and accepting in the process. Or as Rivera would say, Be kind. Be connected. Be unafraid. (The Dandelion Insurrection). To listen deeply to one another and to our inner knowing as we attempt to grok the shock of events, and more importantly, to move beyond the awful into awe of what is possible. For to be stuck in the muck of awfulness is to dwell in the dark of hopelessness, fueling the very flames that dwelling in the spirit of awe and wonder have the power extinguish. That’s the military strategy of ‘shock and awe’ that a former U.S. President puffed up his chest and bragged about when the United States invaded Iraq, attempting to entrap people in fear and awfulness. But wisdom knows that this game of braggadocios domination is ending as we turn away from separation and fear and turn toward interconnectedness and love.

Turning toward awe is not turning away from the awfulness of violence and the fear it instills. Rather awe is an antidote to that very fear and leaning with love fully into resisting those who use the shock of domination to control.

Resistance is calling for the sun to set on the systems of dominance which do not serve Life in order to open the way for a new day and new ways to rise. Being midwives to the possibility of change, we grasp the new world that is coming by stepping into co-creative partnerships with one another and with Source, creating for ourselves and one another what Charles Eisenstein called the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible.

Let’s meet in the field of Rumi’s vision, the field of awe beyond wrong and right, the field of creating a new world together. YES! We can. We are. We will!

With gratitude to the community of light-infused explorers for the genesis of this week’s Pivot. You know who you BE!

… And beauty and the promise of new as the Sun rises in the mountains.

Revisiting Living True to Our Roots

Good Morning Mountain!

Every celestial body has definitive root characteristics. The root characteristic of this particular planet is that it is a receptive womb. Planet Earth is female and produces a mothering, nurturing base. Gregge Tiffen (Learning Without Experience Is A Bell Without A Clapper – September 2008)

Eight years ago (seems like lifetimes in these times of rapid, intense change!) when The Pivot was still The Zone and Thursdays were ‘blog days’, I wrote a post reflecting on our roots, the very nature of our planet home, and who we be in the matter of living here. It’s a theme I return to often in this chaotic time.

This week on a journey of exploring vulnerability, my relationship with being vulnerable (and my willingness to own my vulnerability), I was guided back to that post to revisit and remember my deepest knowing about Mother Earth, the root of who She BE and the opportunity before us to return to living true to our roots. Today, I revisit and bring forward my sense of who and how we are called to BE in this time.

The visual beauty of the earth here in the southern Rocky Mountains where I’m blessed to live lies in stark contrast to the visual appearance of the devastation over these years. Forest and urban fires, hurricanes, floods, drought, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions have ravaged the earth, impacting millions around the globe. We humans have fomented heart wrenching, deadly, ecocidal conflicts around the globe, and we continue to wave the false banner of ‘might makes right’, ignoring the very root character of Mother Earth.

It’s all too easy in this time to be overwhelmed, to feel hopeless, and to conclude that there is nothing we can do to turn the madness around. That is the very thinking and feeling that it is imperative we turn around, individually and collectively. Living true to our roots, nurturing the Mother and her magic within is key to making our way through the chaos and dissolution of this time and of returning to our senses.

Here in these sacred mountains, it’s easy to experience the nurturing touch of the Planet through my senses. Some days the smell of the pines is so strong that I can taste it. To touch a tree is to feel its strength and at the same time its vulnerability. The gentle flow of a mountain stream has been one of my favorite sounds for decades – long before I moved to these mountains. And the landscape – from the valley floor to the top of the soaring 14,000 foot peaks – is a visual feast every day, every season. Here, even on the coldest, windiest days, I feel the receptivity and nurturing that is the way of Earth.

Likewise, that same root – receptivity, mothering, nurturing – is present in the midst and wake of disasters. Beyond the sense that something old is making way for something new, we witness some of the best in ourselves. Neighbors help neighbors. Strangers help those in need, both up close and personal as well as from afar. The planet herself begins her own regenerative processes. These expressions represent the best of living true to the root characteristics of our planet.

And that - living true to our roots - is a requirement. It is necessary if we are to ever have a chance at creating lasting peace among all peoples of the planet. It is necessary if we as a species are to continue to inhabit Mother Earth. Returning to our roots, our very nature offers all Life the opportunity to regenerate as Mother Nature is designed to.

A sturdy pine does not grow from roots of tender grass. Only grass grows from those roots. Here are the root characteristics that I believe we are meant to live from and embody:

• We are meant to have dominion – loving, nurturing, receptive dominion – over the planet. We are not meant to dominate the planet or one another.

• We are meant to be fed from the abundance that the Earth provides. We are not meant to be gluttonous or to attempt to nourish ourselves with fake food or man’s laws disguised as laws of the Universe.

• We are meant to manifest and to understand that everything we think, say and do manifests. From that understanding we can align ourselves with the true nature of the planet. We are not meant to suffer, rather we are meant to learn.

• We are meant to adapt, to embrace change as a natural characteristic of the planet. We are meant to evolve. We are not meant to keep things, including ourselves, as they are or to try to return them to something that we or they were in the past.

As you go about your week, consider the nurturing roots that Mother Earth gifted you with when you came to the Planet. Are you aligned and living true to your roots?

Good Night Mountain …

Snow on the Mountain!

Snow on the Mountain!

Hint: there is no journey so challenging that Spirit cannot heal or guide you through.  Your resilience is located at the very center of your heart, try to let fear turn into motivation and momentum. Dr. Michael Lennox -(astrology forecast for 24 September 2025)

To be in a state of reverie is to inhabit multiple layers of our consciousness all at once, to be fully aware of every bodily internal feeling while hazily hearing and seeing every ambient sound and sight: to be present in the time now while inhabiting the timeless, employing the mind to re-interpret the future and even re-imagine the past.  … Reverie is always despised by those who do not like the broad freedom it grants us from other people’s wishes and other people’s control. David Whyte (Consolations II: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words)

Surely you must feel the intensity and immensity of change that is upon us both individually and collectively. Whether with or without awareness we are each a part of the ending of one age and the beginning of another. Fractals in the evolution of our communities, our countries, our planet, and the Cosmos itself.

This time that we have chosen to be here (Yes, we did choose!) is one of tremendous opportunity, potent with possibility for creating our world anew.

Our choices moment to moment are co-creating that world. Are we making them from a state of reverie and with reverence for Life? Am I? What new world are we co-creating?

Autumnal Equinox Mandala 9-22-25

These are among the questions I humbly asked in the balance of light and dark offered up on Monday’s Equinox and the powerful New Moon the day before as I unplugged from the world to simply be with the Land and this sacred Mountain that I am blessed to greet each day. To the best of my sometimes all- too-human ability, I set aside expectations and hopes and even the countless questions that tickle my curiosity. I walked the Land. I observed the Mountain. I asked nothing of the Land or the Mountain or of myself other than to simply BE.

With no expectation of any fulfillment or of receiving answers, I was gifted with a sense of quiet reverence for this place, for all its Life forms (and the formless ones). A moving in and out of states of reverie – timelessness in time and spaciousness in space where neither space nor time exist. Yet feet planted firmly on the ground, step by step.

Today as the dawn breaks a few days after my time with the Land and Mountain, the light of this new day reveals snow on the Mountain reminding me that the changes upon us are but a reflection of the natural flow of one season to the next, of one age to the age that follows. And that the entire Cosmos is in this evolutionary impulse.

A bit later as the Sun’s first rays greet the woods out back, I’m reminded of this same flow in me: one thought that leads to another, each co-creating the world we share. In this season, on this new day with snow on the Mountain are my thoughts of the reverent world sustaining and maintaining Life that I wish to see emerge in this time of change? Am I inviting my heart to lead, touching the resilience that lies within? What about you? 

First Light in the Woods Outback

A New ERA - Regenerating All Life

Stewarding the Regeneration of All Life by 2044!

The ways that we are treating humans and Life and the planet are incredibly destructive … And, that’s not who we are. Mandy Magill, Co-Steward Earth Regeneration Alliance

We each have three votes every day. Nick Chambers, Co-founder Valley Roots Food Hub

Five decades ago, I was marching and working on behalf of ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment to the US Constitution. Although some would argue that it did, ratification sadly didn’t succeed in adding this language to our founding document.

But that was a different era. Today I’m engaged in nurturing a new ERA into being – the regeneration of All Life. Earth Regeneration Alliance has made its way through the birth canal in the form of a Dynasty Purpose Trust and a team of visionary of co-stewards dedicated to stewarding our collective migration from degenerative ways to regenerative ones.

As the world we’ve known, unable to bear the weight of the separation our ways have imposed, explodes and dissolves, it’s up to us, individually and collectively, to build this new, regenerative world. A world of systems grounded in the sacred interconnectedness of All Life. Earth Regeneration Alliance is bringing forward new systems we need as we pivot our thinking to supporting Life.

For us to pivot toward those systems, we’ll need to release the illusions of security that current systems would have us believe. And, in that release, we will discover for ourselves where true security is sourced. This is our leap, our collective pivot on behalf of Life.

The nature of Life IS regenerative. Remember Nature’s response to the Covid pause? Waters ran clear. Mountains once hidden by smog became visible. And so much more.

We can avoid the necessity of such drastic events, IF with every choice we make, we sincerely ask, Is this choice aligned with Life? And IF we stop and listen for the answer. (Hint: Step 2 is the hard one.) It’s a simple, and not easy, pivot in our over-consumptive world.

This question invites us on an adventure to both consume less and to carefully source that which we consume. Asking such questions as:

·        Were the greens in my fridge picked weeks ago, put in a plastic container and shipped thousands of miles OR were they picked yesterday with loving care by a local regenerative farmer, making a journey of 20-30 miles and supporting my local economy?

·        Are the packaged products I consume sustainably sourced and ‘clean’ (organic, regenerative, environmentally friendly, and economically and socially just)? [I’m about to dive into this review of my nutritional products. Want to join me?]

·        Do I really need this? [This may be the most difficult of all. What do I really need?]

I’m committed to raising my awareness so that I begin to ask these questions about all my choices. Does the ‘100% Recycled Toilet Paper’ truly use 100% recycled materials? And are its production processes regenerative? Is there a better choice?

If this sounds daunting, consider how daunting our degenerative ways are to Mother Earth. Ask her what she needs so that she can bring forward the best of her naturally regenerative ways.

The questions aren’t new, but they’ve been rekindled and deepened in me over the past five months since I first heard the visionary ERA co-steward, Mandy Magill, speak. On what became a magical journey of synchronous connections, Mandy and her co-stewards were presenters at the 36th Annual Crestone Energy Fair this past weekend, sharing their vision of ‘Stewarding the Regeneration of All Life by 2044’ right here in my community.

I’m riding a wave of joy and hope from the event and looking forward to continuing the magic of the journey with them. You’ll hear more as I discover where I need to pivot and what I’m learning along the way. Meanwhile, I invite (heck no – I encourage!) you to visit the ERA website and watch their Crestone Energy Fair Presentation on Day 3 of the Crestone Energy Fair (the edited versions aren’t up yet … their presentation begins about 41 minutes in).

Be inspired to serve Life today!

Passionate Co-Stewards on Behalf of All Life!

The Silent Roar of the Mountain

Angel Wings on the Mountain

…place becomes a companion to us in difficult times. Ruth Allen (Weathering: How the earth’s deep wisdom can help us endure life’s storms)

Words, especially ones that might be pivotal, have difficulty finding their way to the page this morning. The moon is Void of Course, an inward call; and many planetary aspects bring an intensity to this eclipse season. Context for which I am grateful – not as cause or excuse, but as deeper understanding and acceptance of what is both out there and in me.

Even the silent stillness of the Mountain seems challenged to keep the cacophony of this noisy, chaotic, disruptive world at bay. That’s a story that I imagine could be so, yet there the Mountain stands, a more likely story is that it is watching over me, my community, and this sacred valley that is my home. It roars silence and stillness that ground me if I look and listen, see and hear.

I’ve looked at the Mountain from this place daily for over a decade. I greet it each morning with a smile and give it my gratitude each night.

The Mountain always and never looks the same. Sunlight changes its appearance throughout each day, and that light changes with the seasons. The Mountain’s outline can often be seen in moonglow. Now the aspens at tree line are beginning to turn, and patches of gold catch my eye as my gaze goes up the Mountain.

Clouds move in, out, and around sometimes shrouding, other times highlighting a particular feature. A week or so ago the peak was hidden and the ridge on each side of a low point in the ridge gave the appearance of angel wings. The beauty gave rise to a new depth of awareness that the Mountain is much more than the peak that is usually the focal point of my vision, and seemed to say, “Not all the Mountain’s messages come from the peak.”

The Mountain: always and never looking the same, yet always there.

Over the next several days as I looked to the Mountain, my gaze landed on that low point in the ridge, and in that ‘V’ I began to see the upper part of a heart, and I sensed the Mountain inviting me to look more deeply within. I carried the heart and the invitation with me as I walked a favorite path in the valley. Looking up to the Mountain, I began to see many ‘V’s and many hearts.

My own heart filled with joy and gratitude at the sight and that reminder to look to the stillness within. An apropos message for this noisy time. Quiet my mind and look to peace in my heart. Quiet our minds and look to peace in our hearts. Still our minds to keep that peace. And invite the world to join us.

This experience deepened by appreciation of the Mountain as companion in this time of disruption, dissolution, intensity, and seemingly endless opportunities to release that which no longer serves Life. The Mountain’s silent, still roar is my rock. Solid. True. Standing tall. And inviting me home to the heart of my being.

What place can you embrace as companion to anchor and still you in the truth of who you be? Find it. See it (if even in your mind’s eye). Hear it with the ears of your heart.  

Hearts on the Mountain - Crestone Peak 2025

Reawakening the Sacredness of Life

Sacred Mountain Rises Above

We are living in a profoundly exciting and challenging time. Humanity as a whole, and each of us as individuals, are confronted with the fact that the ways we have been accustomed to living no longer work for us, or our planet. As we wake up to this, many of us realize that we are involved in a difficult, yet fascinating learning process – our own personal evolution and the evolution of human consciousness. Shakti Gawain (The Four Levels of Healing)

So many thoughts, words, and feelings are present in me this early morning. I’m humbled by the planets and star beings in the clear pre-dawn sky, by the sacred mountain that rises above me, and the music of the creek flowing nearby. I’m humbled by the trees that live in these woods and by those whose lives are complete, transitioning some of them to service as the firewood I’m stacking each day. As I stack, I wonder what land they once thrived on and whether and how they were cared for.

Indeed, I’m humbled and blessed by the presence of all Life – the Life in these woods, these mountains, this valley that was once an ocean floor. I’m humbled by these cycles of life, and by all Life beyond this place. Sacred Life that at its core knows its sacredness and its unity, its uniqueness and its interconnectedness. Life that easily gives its gifts in reciprocity for that which it receives, all in support of Life. Life that knows without knowing that it knows and trusts without knowing that it trusts. Life that I imagine is the very essence of universal intelligence, wisdom, truth.

Sacred Life that we humans have separated ourselves from under the illusion that we, rather than Life itself, are the masters of the universe.

And as Gawain suggested way back in 1997, our ‘masters of the universe’ story and the systems it’s created don’t seem to be working out so well for anyone. I imagine that even the rich and powerful, consciously or not, recognize this and perhaps feel just as entrapped in and entrained by these systems that are crumbling under the weight of our illusions and false premises of control and power over as many of us are feeling. Even as they seek more wealth and more control. And we may cling to what is, comforted in some small measure by its familiarity.

This is the world that we find ourselves navigating. A world of systems that no longer work for humanity, if indeed they ever truly did. A world of systems we were led to believe in and that we depend upon is failing us as it has always failed Life, because it has failed to honor Life and to recognize Life’s sacredness.

I’m sensing that honoring Life, awakening its sacredness is the work and the promise of our time. It is the work, the promise and the quest that engages me as I walk this chapter of life.

Questions arise on my quest like those learned decades ago in journalism class: Who? What? When? Where? Why? And, perhaps most importantly – How? They rise not as a test (though, yes, this time is a test for us all), but to kindle curiosity and remind me that while I don’t know the answers, the way is being shown and I’m invited to lean more deeply into trust. To practice greater awareness of Life’s sacredness in the choices I make each day, and to honestly grapple with those choices that seem ‘necessary’ and yet aren’t aligned with Life.

I find myself questioning where I need to pivot while not judging those who don’t see the pivotal need or myself when I assess that I fall short. I long to build stronger community of care and share as we make collective pivots. And holding both the horrors of this time and the promising possibilities that rise as we reckon with our past and open to new and ancient pathways on behalf of Life.

I write not because I know ‘the way’ (as if there is such thing as The Way) but to explore. I write to remember that my life is a journey not a destination and that when I open to its sacredness, Life shows me its way each and every day.

Wood Stacking Delights!

Present to the Offerings of the Day

Hidden Mountains

… Feelings may be penetrating and transformative, with Pluto demanding deep release work where attachments are lodged in the psyche, and many relationship dynamics are changing through this week into eclipse season. … By honoring discipline (Saturn), embracing sudden pivots (Uranus), and trusting Spirit’s guidance (Neptune), you can find your way out of the current morass. Stay open to new ideas, forks in the road, and unexpected clarity. Dr. Michael Lennox, Your Emissary to Conscious Embodiment (Astrocast for August 27,2025)

It’s the sort of morning that draws me inward. The mountains are shrouded in moisture laden clouds. The air is cool and damp. The environment, Void of Course Moon, and the day’s astrological forecast call me to quiet reflection and listening for any calls to action. All my kin seem to be inviting quiet stillness this blog day. I accept the juicy invite and watch the morning unfold in the glorious, beloved woods out back.

The clouds move; sky darkens then lightens as the Sun attempts to break through. Lichen are vibrant with moisture and the rock beings shine with a clean smile after last evening's rain. Happiness of the trees, the grasses, and Mother Earth herself is palpable as I tune my senses in. It’s the sort of moment to be in the act of observing self and all around me. To take a moment to recognize all these kin in the family of life.

My heart responds to their happiness in kind, and I feel wrapped in a warm, soft blanket of gratitude.

An unexpected message arrives seemingly signaling a call to action around an idea I’ve been holding. I pivot in response, initiating a possibility without attachment to the outcome. Within a short time, a positive response lands in my box. Step taken. Next steps identified. All seeming to be in divine perfect order and timing.

I attempt to login to post this week’s message. Internet down. And so it remained all day and into the early hours of Thursday morning. While the quote above is for yesterday’s astrology, it signals the intensity of the time we are in, offering what is hopefully helpful context for grokking with the intense, perhaps unusual, feelings and events that arise in your daily walk through life.

This is how year 13 begins (Yikes! This weekly blog is now a teenager!). With simple acknowledgement of and gratitude for Life’s gifts and beauty. Not without awareness of the suffering, anguish, efforts to exert power over others, and outright anger in our world, but with intention to contribute to the rise of alternatives aligned with all Life.

Wherever you are, whenever you encounter this post, I invite you to pause and take in that which surrounds you. To bring awareness to all your relations – the air you breathe, the plant beings in your home, the land and all its beings (including all the two-legged upright ones!) when you step outside your door.

Live more fully into the truth that we are related, a truth that points the way out of the morass of these intense and challenging times and into a world that works for all.

Happy Lichen, Happy Pine

Waters of the Soul

Greeted by the Beings of the Sky

The human being thinks that he creates intelligence, whereas he only draws intelligence from the universal sea of intelligence. Rudolf Steiner (quoted in Veda Austin’s Living Language of Water)

Water isn’t a resource, it’s a relative. Reverend Kalani Souza (quoted in Veda Austin’s Living Language of Water)

Stepping onto the deck before dawn took her first breath, I was greeted by the bright crescent moon, by Venus and Jupiter moving apart after their meeting last week, and by a host of other planetary and star beings.

Firmly grounded here on Mother Earth visually aware of the outlines of the mountains and tops of the pines, I felt drawn to my cosmic relatives, feeling grateful not only for witnessing their stunning display in this moment, but also for their energy, their part in the unfolding cosmos and the part that contributes to my own unfolding as a fractal of the whole. Indeed, to the unfolding of all – we humans, individually and collectively, and all living beings: the waters and beings who dwell therein; plants, animals, rock beings, soil; Mother Earth herself.

Of these this week I’ve been most present to the waters. To those that flow on the surface of Gaia and those that run or rest within Her. To the waters that circulate in my physical form and to those that flow out, especially to tears and what calls them forth.

Writing one morning as I feeling particularly deep sadness around the insanity and horrors of war, I wrote, “Fall and release if you can waters of my soul.” And fall they did. For the suffering our violent choices create, not human suffering alone, but the suffering of all our kin amidst the devastation – the land, the trees, the birds and animals, the air, the waters, the Earth herself. All Life!

Tears have flowed abundantly as I’ve recently remembered anniversaries of the passing of loved ones. Each remembrance brought mixed tears of grief, of missing their physical presence, along with tears of gratitude and joy for the experiences we shared. Healing tears to release and ease the pain of sadness, grief, anger, and angst.

Another day, tears but with a different tone. Tears of joy and inspiration as I listened to a young visionary, full-throated and passionate about what she and a small core of stewards committed to bringing new systems into the world. Systems that support the pivots we must make on behalf of All Life. While there are many around the globe dedicated to building the new and engaged in great works, I’ve come to personally know and be inspired by this team over the past several months. Their message has landed deep in my heart. (And that is a story for another day, another year as well, for this Pivot marks the end of year 12, and year 13 beckons on the horizon.)

My recent tears have opened me more fully to tears’ value and to their connection, my connection, to the waters of Life, indeed All Life itself. Like laughter and song, tears are of me, for me, as me. They are the waters of my Soul.

Tears hold that promise for us all. In these intense times, pivot to embracing the gift of the waters that flow as tears. The waters of your Soul await your invitation and your embrace. Body, mind, spirit, and even Mother Earth will thank you.

Blessed by the Flow of Cottonwood Creek Nearby

Kissing the Earth with All of Our Choices

Home on the Range - Pasture at a Regenerative Yak Ranch

When we walk like we are rushing, we print anxiety and sorrow on the earth. We have to walk in a way that we only print peace and serenity on the earth. Be aware of the contact between your feet and the earth. Walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet. Thich Nhat Hanh

I’ve risen before dawn each morning this week to sit quietly in the darkness and gaze as Venus and Jupiter rose over the mountains. Stillness of body, mind, and spirit for a few moments or more moving only to sip my morning hot beverage. Absent worry about the turmoil, unrest, suffering in all corners of the world, I embrace the smile that comes with these moments of contentment, of presence.

My stillness gives way to mind calling me to think about tasks and projects that need attending. “Now,” says mind. I allow a bit of space for it to speak its reminders and suggestions before gently reminding mind of the day’s first commitment: The Pivot.

Perhaps remembering how we love to play here, mind shifts, and body moves slowly toward the purple pen and journal. Curiosity pops in with her sometimes-mischievous smile wondering what’s had our attention this week that wants to be shared?

I think of Mother Earth and the wise words from Thich Nhat Hanh that I presence on my morning walks. What if every step I took was a grateful kiss of my planet home? I think of soil and the farmers who toil in regenerative practices rather than tilling and chemicalizing the land on which they plant. I think of recent interviews and articles informing me, inspiring, and guiding my choices.

Recognizing that each choice I make to support regenerative efforts is an act of resistance, of saying ‘No!’ to the systems of industrial agriculture that have risen out of separation. Each choice to purchase from local regenerative farmers and ranchers is a declaration on behalf of Gaia and all Life. Each order I place with our regional food hub that aggregates products from many of these farmers and ranchers is a vote for the land, for building nutrient rich soil rather than creating lifeless dirt and the dust that blows when the wind howls across the valley floor. Every connection I make with those in the regenerative movement lends my attention to supporting their efforts and building new systems that embrace Life.

These are my acts of resistance to the old ways and giving voice to calling forth the new.

I think of Thich Nhat Hanh’s words in a new way: When I choose from rushing or from fear of not having enough, I print anxiety and sorrow on the earth and in my body. I want to choose in ways that only print peace and serenity and health for all Beings; to be aware of the contact between my choices and Mother Earth, and all her Beings. Walk and choose as if you are kissing the earth with your feet and all Life with every choice you make.

Our Local Dropoff Spot for Nutritous Local Food - GusGus

Sacred Sight

Sunrise in the Valley

A grateful heart carries the sacred with every step it takes. Live in the gratitude of sacred sight.

I settle in to write at an unusual time today, late morning here in the Sangres, much later than my usual greeting the rising Sun with pen in hand. As dawn began to break, I felt drawn to stillness, a call just ‘be’. In the quiet I deeply felt the happiness of a grateful heart as I gazed into the woods out back. Then, turning my gaze to a cloud bank hanging over the peaks, I watched as it changed form, reflecting the touch of Sun’s first rays.

Those distant rays beckoned, “Come out and play! We’ll soon be shining in your woods out back.” I wondered if I could carry the stillness with me if I rose and journeyed out to put my bare feet in the cool sand.

Move the body. Keep the mind still. A gentle voice nudges me to practice.

I remember that indeed sometimes moving my body stills an overactive mind. Especially when mind wants to have its way like the five-year old crying out for a candy bar in the checkout line with their mom. Not seeking a candy bar, mind simply wants attention for its scattered thoughts reviewing some past event or an imagined future worry or both. Scattered thoughts that like a herd stampeding go nowhere, fast: a downward spiral not so sweet.

Move the body. Keep the mind still. Yes, I can. I will.

Work the herd. Steer the thoughts to the stillness of reflection.

Moving slowly and intentionally into the woods, mind settles allowing the cool ground to be felt from toe to head. I gaze toward the mountains awaiting the first rays that will soon meet me in these woods. Mind and body stilled, I feel the sacred power of the moment. Presence, sacred presence.

I want this for our world: a moment to know the sacred that stirs deep within, a sacred seed longing to sprout and grow; the sacredness of Life as a felt experience.

As I saunter through the woods, I think of those who travel far and wide to visit sacred sites around the world. Then I imagine a world where we know that every step taken is on sacred ground, a world where we each experience our sacred sight.

A grateful heart carries the sacred with every step it takes. Live in the gratitude of sacred sight.

Sungazing Lioness