Environment & Ethics - At Street Level

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

My summer project: to read this 2013 book by Chris Uhl - but to go a bit beyond just reading it:

This, is perfect;
The deer, paying attention
And reminding me to do the same.

http://pemachodronfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/4-Keys-to-Waking-Up.pdf

Working to Pay Attention

I was instructed, today,

To write down what I remembered

Of what I saw.

But reminded, too, that it’s hard to pay enough attention

To remember.

So I remembered clouds and the sky, and that set me off, remembering, again.

I recall how I got my set of words: “land, water, and sky”.

I wanted to put it all in one place

All of the things that combine

To make this place or any place.

The land, of course – even if it doesn’t seem like much

At first glance.

The water – it’s what sets us apart from our neighbor planets.

The sky – it’s what I always look at,

What draws me to itself:

The clouds, the writing of the birds upon that celestial surface,

The trees swaying against it.

So that teaches me to remember

That teaches me to pay attention

That teaches me to listen

To the heartbeat of the world.

(WPM - somewhere on the planet...)

Many people - thankfully - who have seen this place or have been here, want to protect it. (Brule River, Douglas County, Wisconsin).Read more at http://www.conservationfund.org/projects/brule-river-state-forest/