Mainstream culture tells us to travel everywhere by car, one or maybe two people per car. This choice makes sense at times. But in general it just makes me yawn. Boring. Costly to people and planet. Confining. Unproductive. I’m writing this on the BOLT bus as Thor and I start a short vacation to Victoria, Canada. (Note: ...
Bathing In A Bowl Of Water
Did you know you can bathe in a bowl of water? A key way to be rich in what matters is to do something you love for a living. Most of us know that intuitively. Something less widely known is that living simply greatly expands our choice of livelihood. Think about it. More income flexibility means ...
Gasping For Air
Atop Mt. McLoughlin on summer solstice, with Colleen Kaleda (on right). Human accordion on left. Being out there in wild nature is a prime way to be rich in what matters. And in my view, the longer the daylight, the better, which is why I love summer solstice. My friend Colleen and I celebrated the solstice yesterday by ...
Happy Earth Day & How To Find A Green Job
Green-collar jobs like those in wind energy are crucial for addressing climate change. Happy Earth Day! The party is at Thor's and my house this Sunday. Are you interested in finding green work you can love? Are you here in the Portland Oregon area -- or can you be here by this Sunday? Would you like ...
Top Ten Tips For Visiting Costa Rica
My Costa Rican chain gang in Santa Elena. I'm in the middle, white shirt. Traveling is a prime way to be rich in what matters. I just returned from eight days in Costa Rica, tired and happy from my first volunteer vacation. Travel can be such a thrill, such a rush, that many blogs are only about ...
The Best Investments I Make
I was so dollar-poor in my 30's that I lived illegally for five years in the loft where my landlord thought I was just running my small art company. I couldn't afford a separate place to live. Even then, I was late with the rent each month. I feel bad about the dishonesty of that, and I ...
A Takeaway from “The Butler”
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was a master of human interconnectedness. He also lived out the ideal of sacrificial love -- easy to admire, hard to do. I came home from the movie theater last night with a wet handkerchief (yes, I still use these) and wet eyes. We’d seen “The Butler”, a tour of civil ...
Advice For Aubrey As She Becomes A Woman
This week's post is something I've never done before: a short video of me speaking, instead of writing. In it I answer the question: what would I like my friend Aubrey, 12 years old, to know about as she becomes a woman? The daughter of my friend since seventh grade, Aubrey played this video at her ...
Top Vacation Pick: Oregon’s Ravishing South Coast
Are you wondering where to vacation this summer without fighting vast crowds of people, or spending an arm and a leg? I think you'd love the South Coast of Oregon. I recently spent one of the happiest weeks of my life there, and I'm smitten. Moonstruck. Head over heels. Like any person in love, I've got ...
Challenged By The Dalai Lama
His voice is deep, as in basso profundo deep, yet animated. His bare right arm, the only part of his body not covered by his red and gold robe, gestures energetically when he talks, like an orchestra conductor. All 11,000 of us at Memorial Coliseum yesterday morning were hanging on every word that His Holiness the ...
