Bird Droppings January 29, 2013 All in words we find On days when my wife is out of town I can go out and take sunrise photos and wander about as I do with few time restrictions. This past weekend sunrises were gorgeous and I was able to sit and watch for nearly thirty minutes…

Bird Droppings January 28, 2013 We should be examining the threads of life “Man did not weave the web of life – he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.” Chief Seattle, 1854 It has been a few years since I read a National Geographic article…

Bird Droppings January 27, 2013 The circle is a basis for life I missed the last rerun of a favorite miniseries “Into the west” and one of these days will find the DVD set. The movie starts and ends with a circle of stones; there is a line going east to west and one going…

Bird Droppings January 25, 2013 Who is at the center of your universe? “Tung-shan was asked, ‘The normal mind is the way; what is the normal mind?’ He replied, ’Not picking things up along the road.’” From Teachings of Zen, edited by Thomas Cleary, © 1998 One aspect of the Zen teachings is the process…

Bird Droppings January 24, 2013 Can we define our own success? Yesterday in a teachable moment I drew upon my experiences and while discussing the phylum arthopoda and one of my favorites the black and yellow garden spider, Agriope aurantia, or writing spiders. I then proceeded to offer a Creek Indian view of early morning.…

Bird Droppings January 23, 2013 We are neither wolf nor dog It has been some time since I first read a book by this name written by one of my favorite authors Kent Nerburn. In much of his writing Kent Nerburn addresses the spiritual significance and depth of life of our Native Americans. While to…

Bird Droppings January 22, 2013 Can passion be acquired? “To speak so listeners long to hear more and to listen so others’ meaning is grasped are the ideals of the impeccably great.” Tirukkural 65:646 When I first read the passage from the Tirukkural I thought of a few words from Albert Einstein that I have…

Bird Droppings January 21, 2013 Looking in a direction to start a morning “Beginnings start in the east – from where the sun rises we begin a new dawn. Each day is a good new day with a fresh beginning, a new start. East is the direction of the physical body and newness including children…

Bird Droppings January 18, 2013 Trying to find a way back to normal   “Tin soldiers and Nixon coming, we’re finally on our own. This summer I hear the drumming, four dead in Ohio. Gotta get down to it soldiers are cutting us down should have been done long ago. What if you knew her…

Bird Droppings January 17, 2013 Learning is a journey strewn with boulders   “In a word, learning is decontextualized. We break ideas down into tiny pieces that bear no relation to the whole. We give students a brick of information, followed by another brick, followed by another brick, until they are graduated, at which point…