A Garden Poem to Relax Your Spirit
I love how reading a poem can almost instantly alleviate stress. So I thought I’d share this sweet bit of verse from W.S. Merwin. Not only does it capture the beauty of an everyday moment, it tells us a little story. We learn about the narrator’s history, age, and how his garden exists with or without him. Merwin lived for many years in Hawaii, restoring a few acres of treed land he preserved as the Merwin Conservancy (not pictured above). Lucky for us he did. If you need a silent…
#10 A Poem Digs Deep Into Plant Love
W.S. Merwin is one of my favorite poets because he’s intensely connected to the natural world. He digs deep into plant love through his words. Not only did he believe in the importance of preserving the environment, he lived for years in Hawaii, gradually restoring a palm forest on Maui. It now houses almost 3,000 palm trees. Within that collection, there are 125 different tree genera, which subdivide into 400 species and 800 varieties. Botanically speaking, that’s incredibly impressive. A Vision Early On I also admire W.S. Merwin (as well…
The Most Effective Way to Keep a Gratitude Journal
Now that I’ve started a gratitude journal, I’ve been worried that its effects may wear off after a while. If I repeat myself regularly, I may lose the quality of happiness I’ll feel when counting my blessings. I mean, how many times can you feel grateful for a spouse, child, pet, etc? The Various Approaches So I did a little research. A super helpful article in Greater Good Magazine talks about the various techniques for getting the most bang for your blessings buck. They advise to go deep in your…
Botanical Shakespeare: My Kind of Nerdy Fun
The book, Botanical Shakespeare, is a delightful compendium of every mention of plants across all of Shakespeare's works. Physically, it's a lovely book, an old style hardback with a silk ribbon and pretty color illustrations. Inside, it's even more engaging, as author Gerit Quealy alphabetically collects the bard's poetic lines on everything from aconitum to yew.
On Being Astonished and Capturing the Sight in a Poem
Here's one insight poet Thomas A. Thomas shared during our chat the other day: "There is enough awfulness in the world, and I pay attention to that too. But I want to look at what makes the horrors worth fighting through, what makes the suffering bearable." Check out this interesting poet and nature photographer.
