A lone coyote cries in the desert night.
Searching for his pack.

The preponderance of man has created islands of wildlife in the desert.
He has blocked the normal animal trails with house, road, and wall.

The resources of Mother Earth belong to all, not just one species.
But man, the colonizing industrial capitalist, believes he owns everything.

Addendum: I later heard the entire pack yipping in the wash. I guess he found them after all.

Photo Priss Enri

Gathering the facts.
Forming our opinion.
Accumulating wisdom.

When it is time, taking action.
An action in line with who we are.
Filled with how we can make things better.

Maybe it will work
Maybe it won't.

We take our shot.
We pull back the arrow and let it fly.
We expect it to land.

If the arrow doesn't hit the target, we can check our aim and try again.
One attempt means little.

Getting caught up in the expected outcome is whistling in the wind.
It implies nothing about the worthiness of our work.
But the outcome could give us clues about what we need to strengthen.
Or not.

Photo vadym merzlikin

Words create our reality.
Choose them well.

Being sloppy with our words creates a mess.
Precision in word and deed.
Don't say what you think happened. Don't guess.
Be precise. Recount only the facts.

Think before you speak.
Speak only when you have something to say; not to fill the space.
You will learn much in the quiet space you create.

Photo Paulette Vautour

Recently, I heard a story of a friend getting ads or calls based on recent web searches.
It could be helpful for people to know what you want or need.
A business would love to serve you the perfect thing. Marketing at its finest.

And for most of us, someone tracking our web activity is a shocking invasion of privacy.
Yet how is it different from Netflix recommending shows based on which ones you watch?
I see their kinship and yet it is going too far.

Duckduckgo blocks that kind of tracking. Their motto is "your personal data is nobody's business."
I have installed it on all my device browsers. I like the security rating it displays as I navigate the web.
No need to be at the whim of Google trackers.  My business is my own.

Photo Kristina Flour

Coming full circle
Finishing what you started
Seeing it through
Taking pause to step back and see what you created

You are at the beginning again
Another circle begins
Another creation awaits

What would you like to tackle next?
After you rest of course

Photo Erlend Ekseth

We compare fruit to choose those most ripe or delicious.
What appeals to me may not appeal to you.
It is the beauty of our uniqueness in the world.

We find the same when comparing humans or their work.
What appeals to me may not appeal to you.
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

Comparing ourselves or our work to others can help us see where we could grow.
It becomes toxic if we use comparison to reinforce a narrative that we are not enough.

A helpful comparison involves ourselves and time.
"Is my work better today that it was yesterday?"
Or "Am I becoming more kind and generous?"

Photo by Arjun Kapoor@arjun_kapoor

Seeing into things.
Using your x-ray vision to see the truth hidden under all the layers.
Seeing the true nature of the disease or how things work.
Beyond the surface trappings and posturing.
Stripping away pretense and the act.
What is real here?

Disease is lack of ease.
A plant, person, nation or planet can be diseased.
To treat the illness, you must first see into it.
Why is it there?  What conditions arose to bring it about?
Next you can begin fighting it.

Thoughts without theme drift through my head.
No rhyme or reason.
They float like wisps of cloud or fog.
Not solid enough to see the outlines.

My grasping hand moves right through them.
Phantoms of thought.
Echoes of what could be, what was, what is.

Photo social.cut

Sometimes a trade runs in a family.
Shoemakers of old passed their craft down.
Generation after generation.

A child grows up knowing who they are.
Where they fit.
The craft deeply embedded in their daily life from birth.
No wonder they become master craftsmen.

I come from a family of engineers.
And a family of teachers.
People who made things with their hands.
And farmers.
I fit with these traditions.

What is your family?

Jost Amman woodcut 1568

Doing two things at once is hailed as the holy grail of productivity.

If two is good, five is even better. Doing five things at once.

If five is good, how about one hundred?

Attention cannot be cloned or duplicated. Can it be cut in half?

Why would you devote less than your full attention to what's important?

Photo engin akyurt