Some years ago, I read about a study which concluded that one of the main factors in instances of heroic action is a feeling of competence. In other words, the man or woman who runs into rough surf to rescue a struggling swimmer or jumps into an icy lake to pull out a child who has fallen through the ice acts partly out of a sense of confidence about their ability to swim. There are, of course, additional factors. There is the essential one, even if merely accidental or coincidental, of being in the right place at the right time. But, even more important, is having a strong capacity for compassion, and for courage, the ability to set aside fear and act, despite danger and risk.
All Creatures Great and Small: Winter Coop Wonderland
As the evenings grow colder and the nights get longer, I find myself looking for signs of Jack Frost on the windows and a small dusting of snow on the pines. As the season progresses, I make treks down to the river to see if the edges have started to form their delicate lace of ice and wake up each morning hoping to see a snow-covered wonderland. The kind of snow that brings silence and a deep, peaceful calm to the landscape where, when the sun hits it just right, the world glitters like diamonds.
A Fourth-Generation Herbalist’s Journey
For generations, our ancestors have preserved seeds, leaves, flowers, and roots using natural methods for self-healing. To honor their legacy, connect with my elders, and pass on this knowledge, I made it my mission to practice herbalism and educate anyone willing to learn about the amazing world of plant medicine. I learn something new every day when I am in nature. I take time to listen, pay attention, and trust the universe.
Book Review: How Are You, Really? By Jenna Kutcher
In How Are You, Really? Jenna Kutcher explores the often-overlooked question of how we are truly feeling. She encourages readers to reconnect with their authentic selves and live according to their values, joys, and rhythms rather than societal expectations. The book resonates deeply with people at various life stages, offering a much-needed invitation to stop and ask, “How are you, really?”
Green Living: The Sustainability Imperative: A Call to Slow Down and the Cost of Convenience in Shopping Small
In a world that often feels like it’s spiraling out of control—where climate crises loom, cities buzz relentlessly, and our pace of life rarely allows for a breath—it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Amid this chaos, movements like sustainability, slow living, and shopping small have emerged as radical yet simple antidotes. What ties these practices together is the pursuit of a more intentional, connected, and grounded life. Each contributes not only to personal well-being but also to the health of our communities and planet. This interconnected wisdom offers us a pathway to stay sane in an increasingly unstable world.
Apostasy: Terraforming Tradition as the Crow Flies
Apostasy isn’t easy. I grew up in a rural community in the foothills of the Smokey Mountains. We attended a backwoods United Methodist church which, as far as backwoods religion goes, was not the worst. While I was not barraged every Sunday with hellfire, brimstone, speaking in tongues, or snake handling, our church services were characterized by oppressive silence both literally and philosophically. Alienation and gossip were the means by which order was enforced. All are condemned to whatever degree one cannot conform.
Book Review: Infectious Generosity: The Ultimate Idea Worth Spreading by Chris Anderson
Infectious Generosity by Chris Anderson is a non-fiction book that delves into the transformative power of generosity as a force for positive change. The book argues that acts of kindness and giving can spread rapidly through society, like a contagious disease, creating a ripple effect of goodwill.
Eve Wilson--Midwife for the New World
At 64, this Ann Arborite lives at ease in her body, state, and station. Without pomp, she introduces herself as an intuitive spiritual healer and a World Healing and Ascension Worker.
Slow Farm: Growing Healthy Food and Justice in the Food System
In late April, on a mostly sunny, cool morning, with the temperature in the low fifties, I drove out from Ann Arbor on Whitmore Lake Road to Slow Farm. I found Bayer and co-farm manager Magda Nawrocka-Weekes standing at the edge of a large field on the west side of Whitmore Lake Road, near the farm’s gate.
Namaste, Katie--Fall 2024
Whether you're a seasoned yogi or getting ready to roll out your mat for the first time, here you'll find a variety of useful tips from local yoga instructor, Katie Hoener.
Three Generations of Fathers
Earlier this year, we celebrated our daughter’s 30th birthday with a small ritual that has long been a tradition in our family. On every birthday, and on our wedding anniversary, we make time to review some of the best moments of the previous year. Since this was a significant birthday for our daughter, we upped the ante. This time we reviewed the highlights of the past thirty years! Unachievable in a week, preposterous in an hour. Still, we tried. Over a leisurely, celebratory breakfast, the three of us recalled and reminisced about favorite family vacations and outings, special concerts—ones we played, ones we attended—plays we’d seen, books we’d read, graduations, weddings, and other milestones. And we laughed about misadventures that were not funny at the time but have, with the passage of time, become hilarious.
Out of My Comfort Zone with Brian O'Donnell and Linda Bender
Life is calling me out of the comfort zone of middle age to the forbidding territory of old age. Middle age isn’t exactly my comfort zone either. If I’m honest I’m still clinging to youthfulness.
Autumn Foraging
There is something romantic and melancholy about the Earth Mother closing out the heat of summer and preparing herself for the cold winter’s embrace. We instinctively feel the shift and are compelled to engage with the natural world, seeking to bask in the cascades of warm yellows, reds, and oranges in the trees and almost methodically find our way to apple orchards, pumpkin patches, and forests to take in the beauty and bounty of the season.
Kids in the Community: The Voices of Tomorrow's Population
In an age where children's voices are easily drowned out by digital noise and societal pressures, nurturing a child's ability to speak up, literally and figuratively, has never been more crucial. Experts and local business owners emphasize the importance of fostering solid vocal skills and self-expression in young people. From techniques to care for growing vocal cords to strategies for building confidence in self-advocacy, a multifaceted approach to "voice development" is shaping a generation of articulate, assertive, and empowered youth.
Born of the Spirit: Storytelling is the Breath of Life
Once upon a time, within the swirling molecules of space, the Creator drew forth a deep breath of every color of energy and blew it into a clear, nearly spherical bowl. S(he)/we swirled the bowl gently, lovingly watching the sparkles of energy coalesce and cascade, mixing every possible setting, every conflict, every character, and every archetype. Then S(he)/we gently rolled the bowl out away from its BEing.
Open Your Heart to Cacao: Healing Through Ceremony
“This is the heart medicine that the world needs,” said Lindsey Glasson, founder, and protector of cacao at i.e. Kawa, as well as a facilitator of cacao ceremonies in Michigan and in places around the world. An intuition-led purchase of twenty pounds of cacao at a Costa Rican farmers’ market just before the pandemic inspired Lindsey’s journey that has helped her heal herself and others through cacao and ceremony. Cacao, she said, “is the doorway of the soul.”
Leonids: Worth a Look
Last April’s total eclipse had many of us looking to the southern sky at that rare astronomical phenomenon. The following month, some of us in Southeast Michigan were out on our porches or in our yards late at night looking in the opposite direction, hoping to get a rare glimpse of the Northern Lights. This fall, we may have another opportunity to witness a celestial display—the Leonids. Each November, the night sky lights up with a meteor shower as the earth passes close to the Tempel-Tuttle comet’s orbit.
Book Review: Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment without Burnout by Cal Newport
In Slow Productivity, bestselling author and computer science professor Cal Newport presents a counterintuitive approach to getting things done in our fast-paced world. The book challenges the conventional wisdom of constant hustle and multitasking in our rapid digital age.
Your Nodal Axis Knows
Years ago, my friend Lorraine and I were comparing junior high report cards which, back then, were much more than a letter grade representing your academic successes and failures. Teachers actually wrote a list of everything they wanted your parents to know you were or weren’t doing. In my case, the list was long and critical.
Astrologically Speaking~The Fab Five: Our Outer Planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto
Moving beyond Mercury through Mars, the outer planets typically are going to have a less personal effect on us in the everyday sense. The longer orbits of these planets mean they don’t change signs as often so they will be in the same signs as people around our same age or in our same generation. For example, if you were born between 1998 and 2011, you have Neptune in the sign of Aquarius.
