I want to be able to tell a story like this one. It’s simple and short, but it has such depth of spirit. In our culture it’s rare to think of death as beautiful; loss is framed for us as something inevitably tragic and to be avoided. And it’s true that the pain of loss is inevitable, but it’s not the only truth present. The fact of mortality makes love and life all the more precious, and something to be deeply savored. This video is one of the most beautiful I’ve seen all year, precisely because it walks the line between the love and pain that are present when a loved one dies. I cried all the way through, for his losses and for mine.

Happy birthday Mom, I still miss you (and I know you would have cried too).

Last Minutes with ODEN from phos pictures on Vimeo.

“Politics is the art of the practical. Poetry is about enlarging the context.”

Next, read this from La Vida Locavore.

A really good summation from Parker Palmer of how and why our political system is the way it is, from a soul-based perspective:

I’m currently reading Palmer’s A Hidden Wholeness right now, which could be described as a manual for dealing with this type of soul emptiness. Very interesting so far, especially for the essential Quaker-ness of his approach, which lures the soul out of hiding by creating a safe place for it to emerge both within the individual and within a trusted community. Thought-provoking stuff in a world where so many people are already undergoing wrenching transitions due to political upheavals, environmental issues, health problems, loss or change of jobs, etc.

Glenn Beck is a ChatBot? Great tongue-in-cheek piece about how the level of discourse and dog-whistling in right-wing media has descended to a level where it might be duplicable by a computer.

So adorable…it’s impossible to get anything productive done at home these days thanks to our new arrivals:

We’re in the process of building a coop (they will be inside for a few months until they’re big enough), and in the meantime it’s Chicken TV all the time. Weekly updates at the YouTube channel as time warrants.

I often get asked, when people find out I’m in grad school, what I plan to do with my degree. The truth is, I don’t exactly know; the degree itself is the artifact of a discovery process that I hope will point me in a new direction that’s still somewhat hazy. However, certain things are becoming clearer, and I think that a large part of my future life will probably look something like this:

The chickens we just got are a new phase of this, following the gardening/canning that’s already happening. I’m also almost finished with a Permaculture Design course and am looking to combine that with the more philosophical/psychological stuff I’m learning in school. I guess if I could aspire to such heights, I’d like to follow in the footsteps of someone like Wendell Berry, who has such a strong connection to the land and an equally beautiful way of talking about that connection.

Funny or Die does it again, this time courtesy of Jane Lynch and friends. Brings a whole new level to “It’s raining men” for me.

The Joseph Campbell Foundation has begun releasing audio lectures on iTunes—the first series replicates the content from the out-of-print CDs and tapes released by Highbridge, and there’ll be more series to follow.

More info from the JCF website

Signing up for a free Associate membership at the website also gives you access to transcripts and forum discussions for each lecture. I’ve listened to most of the lectures from the Highbridge series (30 CDs worth!), and though there are certainly repetitions of material, they’ve been the backbone of my understanding and approach to myth. Plus, you get Campbell’s wonderful delivery of the material. This has been a long time in the making, so if you like Campbell, definitely check it out! The lectures are $5.99 each.

I’ve been considering the state of my imagination lately. It’s done pretty well over time, in spite of the various beatdowns of Western culture, but I’m always looking for places I can get fresh fuel. The websites below have been highly inspirational of late, so in case you find yourself in my boat. here are some of the oars:

• Imaginal Activists Blog by Leigh Melander, the Founding Fomenter of the Imaginal Institute (and Pacifica graduate). That’s a job title I aspire to…
• Coyote Network News, Caroline Casey’s hub of visionary activist astrology and trickster training. Free podcasts & other coolness.
• The Art of Nonconformity by Chris Guillebeau. This one’s a little more business/entrepreneur oriented, but his passion (and advice about) living life for what matters to you has been indispensible for me in figuring out next directions.

That’s the general stuff…I have a similar (and much longer list) in the works for great permaculture and eco sites, but that will have to wait for another day.

Sometimes, you just need a hit of it. Today’s expression of pure joy: