I live on Max Patch Road, named after a gorgeous bald mountain a short distance from my property that used to be sacred ground to the Cherokee, and still is sacred ground to many who live in these parts. People come from all around to climb to the top of
It has been raining for two days here on the mountain – lightning, thunder, wild wetness and stranger shades of green that come through with the grey clouded light. I was standing in my kitchen this evening, looked up and suddenly saw the trees at the bottom of the meadow outside
An old Buddhist maxim: “Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.” The maxim comes to me now, not in terms of enlightenment but in terms of travel. Just got back from Mexico, and am off to Africa in just over a week. Six and a
I have been travelling recently, and will be again soon. But home life in the last years for me has been about adapting to a large degree of solitude, so that when I come home again the life of the world quickly disappears and the solitude takes over in its
Moon shot from my porch
Hafiz wrote a poem about a wine bottle that fell off of a cart in a field and all of the beetles and insects got drunk on it and began to play music as they discovered seeds that they could drum upon. And this, he says, “made
On Memorial Day I have often visited the graves of those I have loved, and, while living in Los Angeles, walked the Labyrinth at Forest Lawn, a large and exquisitely landscaped cemetery located over the hills of Los Angeles. Here in North Carolina I don’t have graves to visit that
Family bluegrass band
At the retreat I did for some folks in Georgia this weekend, the woman who arranged it hired an extraordinary cook and her husband to prepare our completely organic, vegetarian meals. In this I met one of the most unique and interesting families I have ever encountered. The
Just had the first day of a retreat in Georgia, the day when everyone arrives and stories start being told. By the end of this evening in a forest setting, full moon, perfect weather, an extraordinary group of people with big hearts brought together, people so real, honest and open,
A friend invited me down to her home near Daholonega, Georgia, to do a retreat for her friends. Arriving last night on a full moon night, I have been able to see for the first time this home she has been telling me about. When she arrived many years ago
This has to be an obvious and overused metaphor, but I can’t help myself. I planted an extensive garden, watered it well, and then left for more than 2 weeks to Colorado and Mexico. Now I am back tending the plants, excited about their sprouting, and watching big weeds growing close that could choke their roots