Grief Runs through like a river Washing away the silt. It cleans and purifies And drains my eyes Of sadness. It’s not grief for today But for a thousand yesterdays: People I loved Places I loved Moments I loved All washed away. But grief rushes through And fills all the cracks Because it wants only...
It begins at my apartment. Jesse arrives first, a tall, thin man with gentle, wary eyes. I met him for the first time a couple days ago at a workshop and spontaneously invited him to join us. He talks and I listen. I feel like he needs someone to do that for him: just listen....
A dream, by its very nature, is something you consider out of reach or, maybe, at the furthest distance of your reach. You know you’ll have to stretch and learn new things to get there. To do this, you must make mistakes. Problem: many of us weren’t taught that mistakes lead to learning; we were...
Those of you who know me, know “community” is my latest buzzword, passion and obsession. My dream (though it’s a biggie, I know) is to eliminate loneliness for everyone by making the idea of “community” cool. That would be easier if I were cool. Natch. We have to make do with what we are. So…I’m...
Tonight I was meditating on anger. Emotions are always an interesting meditation, because we all have them and we usually don’t want them. Because our minds work like computers, the feeling automatically pulls up a bunch of stored stories about past things that made us feel angry, which means if you aren’t careful you can...
What a great day! My book was featured on MSN Travel today on its awesome “Tripified.ca” website. So grateful to Anna, the travel editor there, for the opportunity. On the train from Vietnam to Kunming, China… (The actual chapter in my book is called “How to Make Friends on a Train”) Book excerpt: Finding happiness...
by
admin
on
Sep 13, 2011 • Though it’s from a previous generation, this is a great speech about how we can come together to create a world that works for everyone (I highlighted the bits I personally align with–I can’t say the science & progress bits speak to me). It’s by Charlie Chaplin in his movie “The Great Dictator”. Check it...
When I was heading downtown yesterday to meet a friend the subway was packed, so I was happy to see an empty seat between a man and a woman. I’m guessing the reason why no one sat there already was because the man was big and so the space looked small. It didn’t help that,...
Sogol stands in front of the room full of conference attendees looking small and nervous. When she pitched her topic question (how to deliver products when your resources are re-allocated to other projects), she didn’t realize she would actually have to facilitate it. But that’s what an open space-style conference (often called an Unconference) is...
*This image is from http://permacultureprinciples.com/ Recently I made some suggestions to the marketing department of a new retirement community in Meaford, Ontario called Meaford Haven to incorporate permaculture gardening into the master plan…and they actually listened. Whether they will implement it or not, I don’t know, but it’s super impressive they are welcoming feedback from...
This post is based on the prompt by Gwen Bell at #trust30, an online initiative and 30-day writing challenge that encourages you to look within and trust yourself. We are afraid of truth, afraid of fortune, afraid of death, and afraid of each other. Our age yields no great and perfect persons. – Ralph Waldo...
It’s 9:30 pm and I’m walking home down Bloor Street when I remember my empty fridge. I decide to try the fruit stand across the street. It’s open, even though all the shops around it are closed, including another competing fruit stand a couple doors down.This boggles my mind. I know the shop opens super...
View Shawn Phelps's profile
