Thankful For A Forward Thinker

by Judy

"I only went out for a walk, and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in."

John Muir, John of the Mountains: The Unpublished Journals of John Muir

As I sat on the bench on the unusually warm February day I  watched the squirrels scamper by, I felt the warm breeze on my face, and I listened to the birds chirping, because they, like me, are being fooled into thinking that Spring has come.  

I sat a long time.  That  was a day that I needed some self-love, and the sanctuary was the perfect place to get that.  I go to the sanctuary often, but especially when I need to step away from the rush of my every day.  It's quiet there, and very few people are there during the week.  I love just sitting.  At first my mind is still racing, all of my to-do lists are still in my head.  But as I sit and I look and I listen, my mind gets quiet, till finally my only thoughts are the sounds of the birds and the feel of the breeze.  

As I walked the long trail back to my car I thought of the quote that I wrote above.  Call me a nerd, but so often John Muir quotes pop into my head when I'm fully immersed in nature.  I have always felt a strong connection with Muir's words, and as I walked I realized that John Muir was a man far ahead of his time - a real forward thinker.   His writings from one hundred years ago are completely relevant to our world today.  

Some of you may have been inspired by Muir's quotes about nature -  that is how I first came to know of him.  Today I want to use my time here to share some information about this very forward thinker. If you already know this information you will be nodding your head and smiling.  If I teach you something today, well, yay!  Either way, I hope that this post inspires you to find some of his writings and immerse yourself in his words and thoughts.

John Muir was a Scottish born American who lived from 1838-1914.  I describe Muir as an environmentalist, a naturalist and a philosopher.  Muir felt that there is a strong spiritual interconnectedness of humanity and nature, which is something that I believe each one of us here at Focusing on Life have felt and written about on these pages at one time or another.  

As a young adult Muir temporarily lost his eyesite in a work accident.  When his vision was regained a month later he said he wanted to "turn his eyes to the fields and the woods." It was from this point forward that he became a world traveler and lover of nature.

Muir was an early advocate of the preservation of wilderness in the United States. He founded The Sierra Club, a grassroots environmental organization that has saved millions of acres of land, and worked to protect the environment. 

After meeting and camping with Muir,  President Theodore Roosevelt was inspired to protect the wilderness for everyone to see.  During his presidency, Roosevelt signed into existence 5 National Parks, 18 National Monuments, 55 National Bird Sanctuaries & Wildlife Refuges, and 150 National Forests. 

John Muir has published 300 articles and 10 major books.  

Muir has a minor planet named after him, only a mile in diameter, but still, a planet!  You can also find a Muir Beach, the John Muir College, where students study environmental science, Mount Muir in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and Muir Glacier in Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska.  There is a mineral named after Muir, appropriately called Muirite, which is an orange colored mineral found in California.  Muir also has plants named after him, one of which is called Erigeron Muirii.  This plant is described as a daisy like member of the Aster family. There are even animals named for John Muir.  Muir's Winter Wren is found in California and is a sub-species of the Winter Wren that can be found from Oregon to California.  It is heartwarming to see how Muir's love of nature, and lifetime of activism, have been honored by giving his name to so many things in nature.  

Yvon Chou wrote of Muir on the Sierra Club website, " John Muir's life reminds us of the important things that just one person can do..."

I've only grazed the surface of John Muir's life and legacy here.  I am so thankful for him, his activism for the protection of land and the environment, and his words and writing.  I hope you've been inspired to read some of his work.  

What forward thinkers are you thankful for?  We'd love to hear all about them!  

Junkie

by Carol

 " As long as we stay locked in this idea that creativity can only be born through suffering sacrifice pain and torment, it will always be born through (those), but when we open ourselves up to the idea that it can be  done joyfully, collectively, lovingly, forgivingly; then that’s the work that you make”  Liz Gilbert

One word jumps out of this quote for me - COLLECTIVELY.  That's because once again in my photography experience, I have lived with, loved and learned from a talented collection of diverse people. I was once accused of being a "workshop junkie." I denied it at the time, but now, I have to admit that it's true, and that I am proud to be one. I am in the process of returning from "Voices on the Wind," a workshop sponsored by the Biodiversity Research Institute, a part of the Nature Conservancy,  and facilitated by Kim Manley Ort, Deb McKew, and Adelaide Tyrol.

Many of you know that I joined Kim last year for a magical experience on Star Island, New Hampshire and fell (even more) in love with Contemplative Photography. But this year had something different. For subject matter, we had the Research Lab, who's goal it is to "better understand the factors limiting bird populations." And, not surprisingly, their limiting factors eventually effect many other species, including us. We got to witness these dedicated  conservationists, field biologists, and naturalists do their preservation work geotagging Peregrin Falcons, Merlins and other raptors whose wing shape and weight allow long open water journeys. to gather information about their migratory behaviors. These scientists also lovingly work to preserve songbirds and their habitats.Through capturing, banding, collecting blood and feather samples, they can discover contaminants such as mercury and previously DDT. While these were known to be present in water, and thus water feeding birds, they are now aware that songbirds who eat land prey are also exposed, because of our increasing contamination of the planet.

The Salt Marsh

The Raptor Station

The Songbird Station

Block Island is the perfect place to study these species because it is one of the last refueling points before the birds migrate the vast miles to their wintering locations.(A recent Peregrin traveled to Columbia in just over one month!)  Nestled under the red roofs of  the Victorian Spring House Hotel, circa 1852, we studied on a sunny glassed in porch, trekked the many hiking paths through wildflower fields that could rival Oz, atop bluffs overlooking the ocean, and along beaches of crystal green and blue looking across the salt 

marshes.

The Spring House Hotel

But for me, the true difference in this workshop was the concept that artists, writers and photographers could come together to show that art of all kinds can send a message to the world about important issues. Equally important was the artistic inspiration that occurred when the artists tried to write or photograph, the photographers tried their hand at painting and story-telling, and the writers took pictures and made nature sketches. Our teachers were wonderful at facilitating each skill, giving us gradual introductions to each discipline that allowed us to lose the fear of trying new things. We did 5 second sketches where we were not allowed to look at our papers or lift our pencil from the page. We tried "cluster writing" where collecting lists of descriptive words and vivid verbs helped us create a composition. We sketched our photographic subjects and wrote about them before we were allowed to photograph them. Thus, each participant slowly began to recognize that they actually could draw or paint or photograph or write. Our inner critics, and rule-givers were quieted, and our trial ventures became huge successes.

Then there was the generosity between participants. Each person there obviously had a deep love for their particular process, and each enthusiastically demonstrated that love by encouraging others. As we sat and watched watercolor paintings materialize, the artist would say - "here - you try it."  Photographers helped with camera settings creative cropping and computer uploads, while writers helped ideas congeal to add to our images or paintings. Even the scientists got into the game, thanking us for showing them art that took them "out of their science bubble" and reminded them of the beauty they work with day in and day out. 

And as if that weren't enough - we were simultaneously communing with nature! We each got to release songbirds into the sky and back to their lives. We watched raptors being tossed up into the air, flapping joyfully back to their familiar, and discovered sea creatures crawling and swimming through their clear blue worlds. Add to that the force of a passing hurricane and the crystal clear skies and calm waters following it, and we were the luckiest creatures of all! Workshop junkie - yes please -  but I prefer to call myself a life junkie!

(photo credit:Kim Manley Ort)