nature my companion

i am who i am.
i accept the gift of self awareness.
assurance of God's design.
wherever He leads,
whether in my spirit or movement,
i choose to be brave and true.

i love all  of creation.
i do not always know how to relate
human to human.
with nature i am comfortably fluent.
the forest, the ocean, the prairie, the desert,
all creation speaks my soul language.
i walk free of expectations and human perceptions.

i am who i am.
i am a sweet spirited man who walks easy in nature.
i am still a learning human who needs
humans to be patient with me.

written while sitting on bluff at big sur: may 20, 2011 

(j and o sitting a bluff away.)

living water continuum

giving out and taking in.
like a tide rolling in and out against the shore.
tumbling the exposed excess for others to take hold.
reeling in, pulling the salts, the nutrients.
necessities to survive, to continue.
low tide hunger, pushing forward.
high tide needed, thirsting for submersion.
swallowed in and swept away.
parched, quenched, engulfed.
living water continuum.

written: may 19, 2011 on the cliffs near big sur waiting for friends to arrive.

a * b * i * d * e

the sun always rises and sets

even when the clouds and fog

hide it from view.

no matter what the day brings

my life belongs to another

and i choose to abide.

abide |əˈbīd|verb1 [ intrans. ] ( abide by) accept or act in accordance with (a rule, decision, or recommendation) : I said I would abide by their decision.2 [ trans. ] ( can/could not abide) informal be unable to tolerate (someone or something) : if there is one thing I cannot abide it is a lack of discipline.3 [ intrans. ] (of a feeling or a memory) continue without fading or being lost.• archaic live; dwell.ORIGIN Old English ābīdan [wait,] from ā- ‘onward’ + bīdan (see bide).

reminder

always let the water touch your feet.
it makes a moment switch

from melancholy to exhilarating in an instant.

radiant-beautiful-miraculous-creation

photo taken by Lori Jo Bradford at Wilder Ranch

ellibella skye is everything her name means. 

she catches you in her glow and presence. her beauty is beyond description. she lives bravely amongst nature and embraces all creation. she thinks deeply and feels much. she is a faithful friend. she is an offerer of peace and walks in it. she is 11 today. she makes me smile when i am caught up in her radiance. she is a gift. she is my second daughter. my only elli. she calls me weird. she is like her mom. when she laughs at my jokes, i really know she found me funny. i love when she says my name. i strive to be everything her name for me means. she calls me dad.

last day 10

arepuchi man

i want to become more like a arepuchi man.
i want to care less how i get to my destination.
i want to keep in mind where i am going.
i want to laugh along the way.
i want to return home smiling.
i want to struggle to find a word for "work".
i want to experience simple pleasure.
i want to make human connection natural.
i want to play without adult hurdles.
i want to laugh from stubbing my toe.
i want to know friendship along the way.
i want to know my tribe well.
i want to be known by my tribe.
i want to understand without resolve.
i want to accept without need to access.
i want to be connected to nature.
i want to plant my food and grow it.
i want to run into the water without reason.
i want to believe that i can become.
i want to start as i am.

"I believe it is possible to start as we are, lost and handicapped, and still find a way back. At least we might learn the direction in which our best interests lie and not go on making efforts that have an equal chance of leading us further off track."-Jean Liedloff, The Continuum Concept