Thursday, January 31, 2019

Sweetness~ E. B. White

“I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority.” 

E. B. White






Artwork from Dee Nickerson 


Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Which we Belong ~ Aldo Leopold

“We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.” 

Aldo Leopold  



More at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldo_Leopold

Artwork from Walt Curlee 
http://www.waltcurleeart.com/walt-curlee-bio-page.html

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Grazing and Nesting ~ John Ruskin

 "The living inhabitation of the world — the grazing and nesting in it, — the spiritual power of the air, the rocks, the waters, to be in the midst of it, and rejoice and wonder at it, and help it if I could, — happier if it needed no help of mine, — this was the essential love of Nature in me, this, the root of all that I have usefully become, and the light of all that I have rightly learned."

~John Ruskin


More at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ruskin

Artwork from Mark Hearld
https://www.stjudesprints.co.uk/collections/mark-hearld

Thursday, January 24, 2019

For Good or Bad ~ Matthew Landis

"Social media is also more decentralized than TV or radio. The individual sitting in his living room can amplify his voice, for good or bad. When two people are talking together in person they are communicating directly with each other without any type of interface. With social media, there’s an application (such as a web app or a phone app) that’s mediating or brokering our communication, which then has the ability to shape what we say....The ability to amplify a message is one of the ways that social media can be beneficial. Posting a positive message that reaches all around the world is a huge opportunity. On the other hand, many people take the same opportunity to distribute negative or harmful messages...One important thing to remember when considering involvement in social media is to act on social media like you act in person. Providing of course that you are acting right in person. Be consistent between who you are in person and who you are on social media. If you don’t talk about yourself all the time in person, don’t do it on social media."
Matthew Landis 

More at
Artwork from Carl Larsson 

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Backs to the Sun ~ Parker J. Palmer

"We are exploring together. We are cultivating a garden together, backs to the sun. The question is a hoe in our hands and we are digging beneath the hard and crusty surface to the rich humus of our lives.” 

~Parker J. Palmer



Artwork from Camille Pissarro

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Radicals Ideas ~ Ching Ning Chu


"Many of the things that you have been taught were at one time the radical ideas of individuals who had the courage to believe what their own hearts and minds told them was true, rather than accept the common beliefs of their day."

~ Ching Ning Chu



More at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chin_Ning_Chu

Artwork from Frederick Cayley Robinson
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Cayley_Robinson

Monday, January 14, 2019

How Hard You Try ~ Ray Bradbury

"No matter how hard you try to be what you once were, you can only be what you are here and now." 

Ray Bradbury 



Thursday, January 10, 2019

Exciting Challenge ~ Jenny Spinks

"Simple and sustainable living is effective when we are connected to each other; when we work together in community, and when we are connected with the earth; when we are closer to our food sources. People in the world who live in this way experience a happiness and fulfilment that we are deprived of-that deep sense of belonging that comes with those connections and that encourages a faith in G_d, or the light, or the universal spirit. So living the simplicity testimony is not a series of personal sacrifices for the good of others. It is choosing a path that leads to our own inner wellbeing, and more joy in our lives. I believe that it does not help us to be hard on ourselves and act out of guilt. Instead we can see it as an exciting challenge to make it a priority to increase those connections in our lives and see how that improves our sense of inner wellbeing and, as a beautiful side effect, reduces the inequalities in human society helping to create a culture of peace."

~ Jenny Spinks



More at 
https://www.quakersaustralia.info/sites/aym-members/files/pages/files/2007%20Lecture.pdf

Artwork from Ellie Ling http://www.ellieling.co.uk/

Born of Dust ~ Daniel Stulac

"We are, quite literally, born of dust. But that does not mean we are only dust. Filled with the breath of G_d, we have a special vocation, too – to serve the garden in which G_d placed us, and to keep it well. As dust of the earth, we are created to be servants of the soil. We are creatures designed by G_d to have our hands dirty. We are intended for cultivation. We are here as the keepers, the pruners, the grafters, the midwives, and the husbands of G_d’s planet. We are of creation, and we are for creation."

Daniel Stulac



More at http://www.ecotheo.org/author/daniel-stulac/

Tuesday, January 8, 2019

The Sun Still Shines ~ Michael Pollan

“The single greatest lesson the garden teaches is that our relationship to the planet need not be zero-sum, and that as long as the sun still shines and people still can plan and plant, think and do, we can, if we bother to try, find ways to provide for ourselves without diminishing the world. ” 

Michael Pollan




Artwork from Mig Wyeth