Mining for Gold
"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need” — Cicero

My attention comes back to the garden this time of year. It's too soon for annuals, too early for most perennials, and my sinuses are reminding me that the cool air is filling up with pollen. We celebrate the great awak
https://alexandersmap.com/2023/04/20/mining-for-gold/
#Seasons #GardenandHome #Learning #PersonalGrowth #Productivity #Reading #Writing #April #Cicero #Daffodils #NewHampshire

Serving Joy
"I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy." — Rabindranath Tagore

As spring usually goes this time of year in recent years, we seemingly went right from winter to summer, fooling the daffodils and hyacinth into blooming quickly, lest they miss their mome
https://alexandersmap.com/2023/04/15/serving-joy/
#Lifestyle #GardenandHome #Habits #Productivity #Relationships #Seasons #Writing #RabindranathTagore

Back to the Garden
And maybe it's the time of yearYes, and maybe it's the time of manAnd I don't know who I amBut life is for learningWe are stardust, we are goldenWe are billion-year-old carbonAnd we got to get ourselvesBack to the garden— Joni Mitchell, Woodstock

At first I thought it was simply the snow melting w
https://alexandersmap.com/2023/04/07/back-to-the-garden/
#Lifestyle #GardenandHome #Learning #Music #PersonalGrowth #Poetry #Seasons #JoniMitchell #Philosophy #WaltWhitman

Stories in Time
Now through the white orchard my little dogromps, breaking the new snowwith wild feet.Running here running there, excited,hardly able to, stop, he leaps, he spinsuntil the white snow is written uponin large, exuberant letters,a long sentence, expressingthe pleasures of the body in this world.Oh, I could not have said it bettermyself.— Mary Oliver, The Storm

https://alexandersmap.com/2023/03/02/stories-in-time/
#Poetry #Birds #GardenandHome #Seasons #Writing #MaryOliver

Eternal Sunrise
Having been married awhile, my bride and I know each other's tendencies. She rolls her eyes at me when she sees me watching YouTube videos of faraway places. I've got a regular playlist of places I'd like to go that I visit regularly, and virtually tag along with friends as they sail around the world. She anticipates my
https://alexandersmap.com/2023/02/03/eternal-sunrise/
#Lifestyle #Culture #GardenandHome #Habits #PersonalGrowth #Relationships #Travel #FernandoPessoa

Simply Essential
“Never own more than you can carry in both hands at a dead run.” ― Robert Heinlein

The quest to simplify is often a process of one step forward, two steps back. Eliminating things shouldn't be so very complicated. Accumulating stuff shouldn't be so very easy. It's the eternal wrestling match of what to keep and what to get rid of. Even
https://alexandersmap.com/2023/01/21/simply-essential/
#Culture #GardenandHome #Lifestyle #Relationships #Writing #RobertHeinlein