Pamela Leavey

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Quote of the Day: Joan Didion

Writing has always been a part of me. Thoughts I could not express in verbally came easier to the page. Yet I still struggled to understand that writing was part of the integral path in my life that cried out for me to follow. I follow that path now, struggling sometimes to force the words to the page, and hoping that those words resonate with others. Sometimes it feels like I looking for something hidden deep within a haystack. I persevere. I draw inspiration from memoirist’s like Joan Didion as I work on my own memoir.

I knew that I was no legitimate resident in any world of ideas. I knew I couldn’t think. All I knew then was what I couldn’t do. All I knew was what I wasn’t, and it took me some years to discover what I was. Which was a writer.  ~ Joan Didion

haystack

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Quote of the Day: Robert Browning

 "Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp--or what's heaven for?" - Robert Browning

“Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp–or what’s heaven for?” – Robert Browning

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Quote of the Day: Sam Keen

Sam Keen Wondering Eye Quote

“Only the wondering eye sees the sacred horizon enfolded within the petals of a blue flower.”
– Sam Keen – Hymns To An Unknown God

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Reflections on Thoreau’s Walking

Thoreau speaks of walking in nature as a “sort of crusade,” a pilgrimage of sorts, in search of all that is holy in the midst of nature. (Thoreau p.72) In fact, Thoreau calls walking a noble art, one that is not unlike the Knights of old. (Thoreau p. 73) On this, I cannot disagree for I feel my walks in nature take on a higher order in my life and connect me to all of my senses at once and without a doubt to a higher order within the universe.

It is in walking in the afternoon Thoreau says that, he would “fain forget all my morning occupations and my obligations to society.” (Thoreau p. 78) In fact, if the thought of things other than nature invade his time walking, he would find himself returned to his senses through nature, recognizing he has no business walking in the woods, if he is “thinking of something out of woods.” (Thoreau p. 79) For it is the “subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it,” that “will direct us aright.” (Thoreau p. 85) Yes, I can concur for when I walk I find the ills of my life are lessen, the pains in my heart are healed, and my senses are awaken by the smallest gift of nature that speaks to me as I stroll through nature’s woods and pastures.

Moreover, in the midst of Thoreau’s exhalations of the restorative power of nature on our psyche, he takes time to remind us of our duty to preserve nature, for “all good things are wild and free.” (Thoreau p. 107) Without nature, the question begs, what place does man have in the world. Thoreau implores us to preserve nature and to respect nature. Thoreau draws the parallel of walking in nature as a spiritual connection to the world in which we live, a connection that is vital to our very lives.

Works Cited

Thoreau, Henry David. “Walking.” Emerson, Ralph Waldo and Henry David Thoreau. Nature / Walking. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 1991. p. 71 – 122.

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American Indian Poet, Actor, Activist John Trudell Passes On at 69

John Trudell, Santee Sioux, passed away this morning. He was 69. I have been a long time fan of John Trudell’s written and spoken word, as well as an admirer of the work he has done as an activist. I had the pleasure of meeting John a few times while living in Los Angeles and seeing him perform with his band, Bad Dog. I was deeply saddened to learn a few days ago that John had cancer and his time was limited here on our planet, the planet he advocated for in so many ways.

I am a better person for knowing John Trudell. He was a great man, a peaceful warrior, a stellar human being. His words will be with us forever…

“My ride showed up.””Celebrate Love. Celebrate Life.” John Trudell February 15, 1946 – December 8, 2015

Posted by John Trudell on Tuesday, December 8, 2015

JohnTrudellHumanBeingDecember8-2015

More in the news here

Prayers for John’s family and all his relations… Mitakuye Owasin.

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Quote of the Day: John Trudell

Trudell - When You Left

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