We seek familiarity, not happiness. Just sit with that for a while. Our brains, our bodies, our entire being is solely concerned with surviving this moment, then the next moment, and the moment after that. We fundamentally don’t understand how we work, or how our brains work. Our brains aren’t really for thinking—thinking about what […]
We seek familiarity, not happiness Read More »
Blog, How Stuff Works, It will be okay, Science
I’ve realized for some time now that the best version of myself, the version that is most giving and loving and supportive, the version that spreads the most joy outwardly, and the version of me that gives me the most joy, is Trail Ray. Trail Ray is who I become when I’m on the trail.
We all need to start saying please and thank you more often. Yes I used the word need. And like so many things, it’s not that we’re doing it for others, we’re really doing it for ourselves in a couple of different ways. Starting first with the word please, it is foremost an acknowledgement that
Say please and thank you more often Read More »
Blog, Inspiring, Rainbows, Tool Box
Resistance, resignation, acceptance. Round and round I go, day after day. I attempted to write this piece a few weeks ago when the idea first came to me, but I was still way too raw in the resistance phase and barely getting to the resignation stage of some of the challenges I’m facing right now.
Resistance, resignation, acceptance Read More »
Blog
It all depends upon which way the wind blows. Am I really this fragile? Is my physical and mental health really so dependent upon which way the wind blows? No, really, I’m asking. I had a week of summer hiking planned, beginning with a Monday drive up to our cabin. We have a cabin. Can’t
Depends which way the wind blows Read More »
Blog, Dark Clouds, It will be okay, Tool Box
Life is a river (through a steep walled canyon). It is change. It moves and flows and grows and feeds and destroys and creates. It is a river that shares selflessly. When it destroys it is not evil, when it creates it is not more kind. It never runs dry until it runs dry. When
I can’t explain anything. Let’s just start right there. I do remember many many laps of the sun ago being taught how to work with quantum mechanics to set up the equations necessary to determine the electron orbitals of the hydrogen atom. Just stay with me here. I know that I plugged through many pages
I can’t explain anything and that is wonderful Read More »
Blog
I learned recently that emotions are simply a fleeting cascade of chemical processes in the body that last for about a minute and a half. Ninety seconds to ripple ebb and flow through us. Yet, I can promise you that I seem to get stuck on a feeling quite often for what seems like an
Emotions only last for ninety seconds Read More »
Blog, How Stuff Works, It will be okay, Tool Box
It seems humanity is moving monotonically towards red-flavored candy. I realize this is kind of an obtuse thing to say, but by this I mean it seems that we’re content just doing or experiencing the most obvious, bombastic, one-size-fits-all things. And yes, I realize that red is not actually a flavor but I bet you
Red-flavored candy Read More »
Blog, Inspiring, Play Spaces
The perfect flower makes us pause. We stop and very possibly for the first time that day are present. We simultaneously want to share it with the world and keep it all to ourselves. Is it any less beautiful if it doesn’t smell sweet? Does it cease to be perfect if there are ants crawling
The Perfect Flower Read More »
Blog, Inspiring, Rainbows