How to practice “the antidote to exhaustion” when rest isn’t enough Ten years ago I crossed the finish line of my first and only marathon. I said a quick ‘hi’ to some friends waiting there for me, then promptly walked away and broke down in tears. It wasn’t just the distance or exhaustion. The truth… Continue reading The Hidden Invitation of Burnout
Author: James A. Pearson
Caminante
by Antonio Machado (my translation) Walker, only your footprintsare the path, and nothing else;Walker, there is no path,paths are made by walking.Your walking becomes the path,and when you look backyou see a trail you can neverset foot on again.Walker, there is no pathexcept wakes upon the sea. Eight years ago I packed everything I owned… Continue reading Caminante
Worker Bees
I wonder if you can pause—just for a moment—the emergency of your lifeand step out into the quiet of the world. Hear how gently it conveysthe delicate thread of birdsong,how quickly it can soothethe rupture of a passing jet.Feel its vast, smiling invitationto rest back into the person you’ve been all your life. Listen now–the… Continue reading Worker Bees
Game Trails
The forest closes behind meand now this subtle path at my feetis the red thread between worlds,a path made by the soft stepsof wild things, who are at homein the tangled mystery. But I am new to this way of walking—how the trail flirts and teases,fading and hiding and calling you on;how it disappears and… Continue reading Game Trails
Where We Are Now
The day after the election was called I went for a walk in the local forest. It was a cold day. Thick clouds had layered the sky since morning. But just before the sun went down it slipped beneath the gray and lit the trees in a beautiful, heatless glow. Something about the whole autumn… Continue reading Where We Are Now
In a Democracy…
This should go without saying but right now America needs a reminder. Click the image below to download the full-res version and share it wherever you can. (Also if you’re able, you can donate to the ACLU here to help ensure that every vote counts.)
What To Do After Voting
Take back that part of yourselfyou lent to politicians.Peel their slogans from your mouthand pledge your allegianceto the mother down the streetwhose kids have grown outoftheir summer shoes again. And if you’re going to raise a flaglet it be the flag of forgiveness,the flag of our complicityin so much we say we’re against.Under that flag… Continue reading What To Do After Voting
A New Practice
A New Practice To not be able to movemy body towards the scared,the lonely, the grieving—this is a new practicein holding my heart openlonger than I know how. As I watched the wave of COVID-19 build I felt a deep sadness growing in myself. There would be so much suffering. And now that wave has… Continue reading A New Practice
Surrounded
In the middle of the road of my life I awoke in a dark wood where the true way was wholly lost. The opening lines of Dante’s Divine Comedy Look how this wildernessswept in around us—while we slept,while we paid the rent,while we ordered another round. By the time we looked upall our paths were… Continue reading Surrounded
Meanwhile
Meanwhile Meanwhile the world’s still doing springlike nothing’s happening. There was sunlighton the forest floor today, and the sounds of birds welcoming themselves home to another placethey still belong. My fear found no corroborationin the old growth Douglas firs, who seemed as steady as ever. Not even the swarmsof little hemlocks clawing towards the lightechoed… Continue reading Meanwhile