What does it take to change a mind? This is not just a question about individuals, but also our “collective mind” as a society. Last weekend, Healthy World Sedona (in Sedona, Arizona) held a conference that looked at this question through the eyes of world-class speakers on plant-based living. Speakers included Dr. Michael Greger of…
Forget fickle summer; give me a fall day, any day. The aspen trees in the rolling hills reveal their genetic heritage as the vast clones take turns changing to brilliant gold. Red osier dogwood and highbush cranberry broaden the palette with deep red in the undergrowth. When it is crisp and clear with a blue…
A group of boys was milling about on the path by the edge of the canal. As my wife and I walked closer, we could see their arms swinging and the arc of their fishing poles as they cast their lures into the ribbon of water in the concrete trench. We came across a piece…
I would love to introduce you to our neighbor Nugs and her housemates Mike, Pat, Flo, and Charmayne. They all sleep together in the same open-concept tiny house. The odd names and the unorthodox living situation will make more sense to you when I explain that these neighbors of ours are chickens. Years ago, I…
A year ago, just before Thanksgiving, our dear friend Linda handed over a small jar filled with a nondescript white paste. She assured me it was “the good stuff.” It was a sourdough starter. Linda had cultivated it in her earthen-tiled kitchen, where log beams radiate the quiet strength of the forest many miles away….
If only we had the numbers! Someday we will be in the majority. Then, we can effect real change. Whether you fight for farm animal rights, to keep plastic out of the ocean, or to ensure equal pay for equal work, this thought has probably crossed your mind. Using the United States as one small…
It’s no mystery why we fell in love with you. A proud sentinel keeping watch over the bay, your windows looked down the lake to the distant volcanic cone with a snow-capped peak. On the point, facing into the breeze, your yard was free of the mosquitoes and blackflies that could turn a beautiful summer…
I used to think there were only three different feelings. In couple’s therapy, I referred to them (only half-jokingly) as “anger, neutral, and smile.” I had at least some vague awareness of a richer world beyond my childlike view. I could probably have named dozens of more colorfully nuanced feeling words. But when it came…
I went on a pilgrimage Not to Mecca, or the Wailing Wall Not to Graceland, or the tombs of other saints This was a tiny pilgrimage I stood by the ruins of our old family home Kicking rocks into the burnt out basement Letting the ghosts swirl So young and sure of themselves Yet clueless…
At least we caught the problem before blowing up the engine. On the other hand, it was still a drag to sit for two hours and wave irritated drivers around us at the service station. Gasoline in a diesel pickup is a bad idea. Use the green nozzle, not the black one, folks. Trust me….