Ordinary Collisions: Intersections of Nature & Culture

Right now I can hear an assortment of birds chirping, the wind rustling through some big pines, and a gentle lapping of waves over big rocks. I smell the earthy piney scent that permeates many northern woodlands near big lakes, and I feel the cool air moving in from across the water. Lake Superior is calm right now and hosting a few loons bobbing 20 feet off shore as a misty fog starts to roll in with the afternoon.

So often when things feel constricted, or there are changes happening that we don't agree with but can't control, it can feel like doors are slamming shut all around. When options feel limited, sometimes it’s the simplest questions that illuminate the path forward — and it’s not always the path we think of when we consider what’s next. Today, I invite you to allow for a new possibility, one that perhaps you’ve not yet considered. What else is possible?

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published 10 Truths About the Garden That May Be True About You, Too I. What you tend tends to grow, often meeting you somewhere between expending effort and letting go. II. That which is nourished and cultivated thrives with such care. III. That which is wild and allowed to wander keeps mystery alive, adding texture and depth to the story of the world. IV.

Go outside more than you think you should. Get intimate with what resides outside your front door, in the weedy patch between the two abandoned houses down the block, at the neighborhood park. Learn to love what’s out there and let it love you back. Bring little bits of it inside. Keep going back out. This series, which lasts six weeks in total, is intended to stimulate a sense of wonder and cultivate appreciation for the natural world.

here's to anti-optimizing and moving at the pace that works for you Somehow it’s already the end of the school year, and summer is just around the corner. My daughter attended the 8th grade formal on the St. Croix River stern wheelers a week ago, rehearsals for the summer musical have begun, and we turned off the heat (finally).

Go outside more than you think you should. Get intimate with what resides outside your front door, in the weedy patch between the two abandoned houses down the block, at the neighborhood park. Learn to love what’s out there and let it love you back. Bring little bits of it inside. Keep going back out. This series, which lasts six weeks in total, is intended to stimulate a sense of wonder and cultivate appreciation for the natural world.

…..but in all seriousness, how to effectively manage stress is an important topic to devote some energy to. In my past work as a health coach and in my current role in addiction recovery, the conversation around “how to effectively manage stress” is one that’s central to figuring out how to navigate through life in a healthy way. Ordinary Collisions: Intersections of Nature & Culture is a reader-supported publication.

Go outside more than you think you should. Get intimate with what resides outside your front door, in the weedy patch between the two abandoned houses down the block, at the neighborhood park. Learn to love what’s out there and let it love you back. Bring little bits of it inside. Keep going back out. This series, which lasts six weeks in total, is intended to stimulate a sense of wonder and cultivate appreciation for the natural world.

For a really long time, “working at camp” and everything that comes along with what that means defined my summers. From 1998 to 2004, Lutheran Outdoor Ministry was a huge piece of the filter through which I viewed the world, and it still colors how I choose to observe what goes on around me.

Earth Day eve, from the kayak. I wrote this post ten years ago today, and I came upon it recently while sifting through some old writing. The details included have shifted some (see footnotes..) but the ideas, the ‘how tos’, still resonate so here it is. Ordinary Collisions: Intersections of Nature & Culture is a reader-supported publication. Please join me by becoming a free or paid subscriber.