davidaolson

[davidaolson]

The Poem of Existence

That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.~Uncle Walt Whitman I first heard this quote in the incredible movie, The Dead Poets Society, featuring Robin Williams. It was a role that earned him significant nominations from the Motion Picture industry, but, through an oversight born of myopia, he did not win. The Germans, however, did bestow an award for Best International…

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Wildflowers 04 - Coneflower

The droopy petals give the impression of a flower in the early stages of wilt. Yet, this is how they grow. I wonder if the wilt provides greater access to the nectar stores than a flower with more erect petals.

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Wildflowers 03 - Bee in the Bonnet

There was an array of these pink beauties. The one making the grade for publication including this Western Honey Bee, who, I imagine, was high on nectar.

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Wildflowers 02 - Cup Plant

Besides the yellow petals, I was intrigued by the plant’s stamens, the tendrils emerging from the center as if they were trying to capture a passing insect.

[davidaolson]

Craving Connection in a Disposable Age

I understand that intimacy can only form when I accept someone as they are, not as who they can be for me.~Prachi Gupta Intimacy is a many splendid thing, until it isn’t leaving at least one, maybe both parties, in a state of excruciating pain, confusion, and a fear to ever be vulnerable again. I am not referring to sexual intimacy, which tends to be a mixed bag of emotional and physical…

[davidaolson]

Wildflowers 01 - Orange Day Lily

I make it a point to take a photographic device when I go to the park and walk the dog, primarily because the summer flowers are in glorious bloom. I have long loved the aesthetic of this flower. It could be the petals that open and fold back so elegantly, but it is more likely the color range. I, like the bees, am attracted to the joyous flowers even if what we see exists in distinct color…

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Nature Deficit Disorder

To be in relation to everything around us, above us, below us, earth, sky, bones, blood, flesh, is to see the world whole, even holy.~Terry Tempest Williams One of the greatest challenges for the continuation of the human species is that we view ourselves as separate from, rather than an integral part of, the natural world. From this perspective, that places us on a perch with the other gods and…

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Monkey Mind, Divine Hand

Art itself is a record of human concentration.~Barry Lopez Depending upon perspective, the monkey regularly hijacking my mind, swinging from idea to idea without exploring the savory thoughts ripening on the branch, is either a curse or a blessing. The term monkey mind is derived from a Chinese word meaning heart-mind monkey. It is an idea foundational across Buddhist traditions to describe how…

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The Unhurried Road

What’s missing in view from high-flying aircraft is the sensual immediacy of place.~Barry Lopez Given my druthers, I would prefer to drive the three thousand miles necessary to cross the country than take a plane covering the same distance in a fraction of the time. Not because I don’t value my time, but rather because I tend to be diligent in investing my time for maximum return. Life is a…

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Whispers from the Sun-Eyed Raven

The Norse god Odin traveled with a pair of Ravens named Thought and Memory~Ken Layne I have an affinity for Ravens, which is odd for a person growing up in an area of the country where they don’t typically venture. I have a particular, perhaps peculiar, fondness for a Raven with sun-yellow eyes named Mortimer, whom I have encountered on unique occasions while visiting my beloved southwest United…

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Eternal Returns

You gotta stop thinking about time as a line, man. ~Chaco the Raven Raised, as I was, in a Western, Judeo-Christian society, I was indoctrinated not only with the concept of a capricious, vindictive god but also with the associated philosophy that time is linear, a limited resource, a one-way progression with a beginning and end bookending me in the present, a unique sequence of non-repeating…

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Of Bodies and Souls

My belief in nature is the nature of my faith as a human being humbled before the gods we live among.~Terry Tempest Williams I have heard the human condition is as a body harboring the spirit, and, alternatively, a human is a spirit inhabiting a body. The subtle difference in language when equating body and spirit has an impact well beyond the juxtaposition of the two words, body and spirit. The…

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Beyond the Bend

Despite all the gorgeous moments I have had in the desert, the landscape of my desires has failed to provide me with what I have sought.~Amy Irvine Back when my father could still heave a musky lure into Canadian waters where the loons serenaded from dawn until dusk, we took an annual fishing trip into the great Canadian Wilderness where we dropped lines in the massive Minnitaki Lake on our…

[davidaolson]

Hearing the Invisible

I’m thinking of her face, which always seemed incredibly beautiful to me, and of her dark eye, which no longer see me, which means that I’ve become invisible.~Laura Restrepo Sometimes I think I am actually a ghost wandering the halls of my small home undetectable by human senses, catching the begrudging attention of the dog and cat, both of whom live in an extra-sensory world where they can…

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Conversations with Myself in Robinson, IL #2

03 Jul 2025 One of my favorite break-of-day pastimes is sitting outside, embracing the coolest air of the day while listening to morning bird song, those ethereal tunes that soar with the soul on updrafts of joy, carrying my heart to consecrated heights. This morning, the only bird songs so far are the melancholic moans of the mourning dove, a song I’ve grown to dislike but not as much as I…

[davidaolson]

When the Monkey Sleeps

What would the message be if a tree spoke to us, or an animal, or an insect?~Jane Holister WheelrightEverything has a voice, but you will not hear it if you do not listen.~Henry Standing Bear The pondering that kicks off whenever I go camping tends to focus my monkey mind while I am out and about in the wild spaces. My focus lingers for diminishing days until the monkey resumes control. Or, more…

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America’s Greatest Delusion

Our contemporary Tories prefer the term ordered liberty to freedom. The word freedom scares them; it has too much of a wild Paleolithic ring to it.~Edward Abbey, Prophet Possibly, the greatest US delusion, running just ahead of the Christian Nation fallacy, is we are the only country with freedoms or that we are the freest nation on the planet. Some idiots go so far as to refer to imperial…