Sharing a Sense of Wonder
With all its fits and starts – unexpected April snows and fierce Nor’easters, spring has finally sprung. For southerly locales, the March equinox may herald the season’s arrival. But here, at least this year,...
Category: Slower Living
Shedding Stuff
The bitter winds of January blow in, bringing guilt over seasonal excesses and resolve to show greater restraint. It’s an apt time to consider the advice of a self-described “personal trainer for your stuff,”...
Anticipating Climate Refugees
At first, all eyes were on Hurricane Harvey. Then attention turned – momentarily – to the wildfires raging out West before riveting on Hurricane Irma. Cascading natural disasters in a warming world raise the...
Succumbing to Screens: Two-dimensional Living
“When our attention is perpetually narrowed onto a small screen, our world shrinks to meet it.” — Nancy Colier, The Power of Off: The Mindful Way to Stay Sane in a Virtual World How...
Good Riddance
It’s always an ironic postscript to Thanksgiving: the raucous Black Friday stampede at the starting line of a month-long shopping marathon. How quickly our gratitude for blessings descends into a sharp-elbowed scramble to acquire...
An Apple Proposition
“Pick your way through these piles of colorful orbs… and you will get a sense of the many things an apple can be, the many roles it can play in our lives. If there...
The Value of Frugality
A recent skim of the book 365 Ways to Live Cheap! made me realize that, without ever trying, I have mastered the art of being a cheapskate. That long list of tips sounded all...
Decoupling Christmas from Consumerism
It was only two weeks ago, but I’m already nostalgic for Thanksgiving. I miss that tranquil time when nearly everything shuts down, and the only agenda involves the communal preparation and enjoyment of harvest-time...
