20 Minute Journal
Build Anchors
The image with this entry is of a #12 Black Diamond Stopper. This particular stopper, after blowing out two pieces above it, was the piece of gear that arrested my fall from the crux of Cat’s Tail at Mount Nemo. The crux is at the top of a 25 meter climb, so I came close…
Read MoreBeginning Again
The more I stop to think about things, the more I realize that most of what I’ve figured out, I’ve known all along. I read once that the most important tool for a writer to use frequently is writing. That much seems obvious, right? But most of us that aren’t in the career of writing…
Read MoreOf Worlds
At the risk of arrogance, I’ll say that I am the soul of this valley. I am the very fabric of being here. There are others more involved on human levels, but I am the essence of what this place is and when I move, I will be the soul of that place too. There…
Read MoreGetting on With It, Bike Culture
I was reminded tonight that in much of what we do, there’s a threshold past which discomfort can be shattered. I was tired after work and almost called off my ride. Changing into my kit my body already felt heavy, but I looked out the window at the darkening sky carrying its threat of rain…
Read MoreGood Will
I wonder how far you can get on good will and spiritual need. People are tied to the land on which they live. If you’re in a city and surrounded by concrete and steel (you poor bastards), there’s a certain element to that. If you can thrive in that element, that clinical, right-angled and structured…
Read MoreContext
There are times when I forget my edge, that I’m jagged energy and full of friction. There are times I forget that my being drop kicks its way through time. There’s no downward dog here. I am stillness and pensive, but not passive. This is who I am, not a bad thing. At the top…
Read MoreWriters Block
I’ve been struggling to get something down on paper since my Speak and Listen post. I literally have five pieces that I’ve started and am working on, each a few hundred words each, but none of them is congealing. I’ve got bits about two guys baking in the sun, a few words about seeing old…
Read MoreSpeak and Listen
I get that I overstay my welcome on the internet. People want quick sound bites, things to instantly hate or adore. So I apologize ad infinitum for thinking, and also for simply blurting out what I’m thinking about without thinking critically about those thoughts. My fuel is emotion which isn’t always conducive to reason, and…
Read MoreMeeting the Eye
There are a couple of components to this, but I think they’re related. One of which I’ve been meaning to write about for a while now, the other which is cuttingly fresh. By the way, I’m writing this with the cat sleeping between my outstretched and now numb legs. The lengths I go to to…
Read MoreDigging Deep
Lately, I’ve been going through my days on the surface, just kind of skimming along without any real connection to what I’m doing. The content hasn’t changed, I still ride my bike, walk the dogs, work. But I do all of this not truly aware of what I’m doing, without focus and without care. I…
Read More