Pearls of Peace: A Family Psychologist’s Circle-of-Life Blog

Haboob Time

A week ago a tremendous dust storm or haboob dropped a haze-filled blanket over Phoenix. My son was driving at the time. He pulled off a highway for 10-15 minutes. Some choose not to stop driving, the recommended practice, receiving an accident from their choice. Flights were grounded. Homes and businesses lost power. Haboobs are a threat in dry climates, especially in the Southwest. Without warning or a possibility of containment, a haboob whips dust into a mass several thousand feet high in an intense wind that rages for a brief time. As incredible as it sounds, the haboob forcefield of dust can extend up to 100 miles wide. Sudan has an average of 24 such terrorizing dust storms annually. Haboobs also occur in the Sahara Desert across Northern Africa and in Central Australia.

This weekend many are weathering different kinds of storms. In Washington state, two firefighters were apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol while on the job fighting a ferocious wildfire in a remote part of the state. Their reported reason for arrest was “illegal entry and reentry” into the U.S. This wildfire is only 13% contained. These apprehensions of supposed violent behavior are 0% contained.

Meanwhile, in the other Washington (DC), National Guard troops have been ordered to patrol the city to stem violence. Local restaurants and hotels have fewer reservations. Tour guide companies lost revenue. One company reports that typically August is high season for Washington tourists with 80 tours booked; their current number is 40. Canadian bookings have disappeared. Whether crime has been contained depends upon one’s source of statistics. The slogan of the Arizona Department of Transportation regarding haboob time is, “Pull aside, stay alive.” Can we apply this to the National Guard? Hopefully, their duty does not cost them personal street violence that they are expected to contain.

On this Labor Day, celebrations may be as somber as haboob skies. There are many folks without labor to return to on Tuesday morning. Some retired, with many choosing early retirement. Some government workers lost their career post when a termination haboob swept through their office. Without notice, a worker could receive the news at 5:00 PM and not have time to say goodbye to co-workers while being escorted out their work door. Depending upon the worker’s age, some will have difficulty finding new employment. Who helps displaced government workers reenter the labor pool? Who calculates lost revenue in ability to pay federal/local taxes? More importantly, what psychological effects trickle down to their families?

Labor Day is traditionally a time for families to celebrate American workers and to gather for picnics to celebrate the last hurrah of summer as the nation’s children start another school year. America begins this school season with another senseless school shooting. Who provides school security for children and teachers? I have more questions than answers.

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

425. What meaning does paid employment have for you?

426. Have you ever experienced a job termination? If so, what happened?

School Days…Golden Rule Days?

“…Let’s take a trip on memory’s ship / Back to the bygone days… / School days, school days / Dear old Golden Rule days / ‘Reading and ‘riting and ‘rithmetic / Taught to the tune of the hick’ry stick….”

Did you sing this in childhood? OK, I’m dating myself. As a youngster in rural Indiana, it was a well-known song. Thankfully, I never was spanked either at home or in school, although many children receive this wayward discipline. The 1907 song was composed by Will D. Cobb and Gus Edwards. Imagined crooners were adults looking back on childhood experiences in elementary school. Were Cobb or Edwards paddled in school?

As a new school year is in first gear, it rattles my psychology training that in 2025 corporal punishment remains “legal” in private schools in every U.S. state except Illinois, Iowa. Maryland, New Jersey and New York. What educational textbooks are these educators reading? And to make it clear that private education is not the only believer in spanking, it is also “legal” in 17 states in public schools (supposedly “practiced” in 12 states). Spanking is not a healthy choice for either the inflicted child or the perpetrator doing the spanking. As a family therapist, I taught parents and kids, “Hands are for hugging, cooking, playing and ____________________; hands are not for hitting.”

An online Newsweek article (8-22-25) reports that a nonprofit organization, Lawyers for Good Government, has investigated corporal punishment. Sadly, their findings are that Black children comprise 37.3% of the inflicted, and disabled children make up 16.5% of the incidents. This discrimination is disgraceful.

In case you wonder, here are the 17 states allowing corporal punishment in schools: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. Florida made a recent concession – parents must give consent — and “it depends upon the school” in 4 more, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Tennessee.

There is hope for change to archaic discipline in schools. According to Elizabeth Gershoff, Professor of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, “…school principals either realize that school corporal punishment is not effective at improving student behavior, that it is not necessary, is cruel and physically harmful, or that it could lead to lawsuits from parents of children injured by school corporal punishment.”

Sarah Font, Associate Professor of Sociology and Public Policy, Pennsylvania State University, suggests, “…instilling proper respect for authority figures” and adults who received spankings believing they learned something, are reasons the outdated practice exists, despite research that corporal punishment does not improve long-term behavior.

Justin Driver, Professor of Law, Yale Law School, states, “Public school students are the only group of people in American society who government officials strike with impunity for modest transgressions.”

Who is educating government officials? Who educates the educators?

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

423. Were you spanked in childhood at home or school?

424. What effects have you observed in individuals who were hit by teachers and/or parents?

Eco-friendly and Culturally Astute

In Edmonton, Canada, a 12-story residential building is retrofitted with photovoltaic solar panels that promise a reduction of nearly 150 tons of carbon emissions annually. Projected savings for both owners and residents is estimated at $80,00 per year beginning with year five.

The 1970’s building, once named Capital Towers, needed renovation. The eco-friendly makeover with a solar focus has a new name, SunRise Residential, and combines sustainable architecture along with the world’s largest solar-panel mural, a current Guinness World Record holder. “This integration provided a dual-purpose solution, allowing the building to generate solar energy while showcasing meaningful artwork,” according to the solar panel company Mitrex. Danial Hadizadeh, CEO of Mitrex, further states, “…building-integrated photovoltaics can produce clean energy, cut emissions, and inspire communities with culturally resonant designs.”

The solar-panel art is a cultural integration of two communities. Indigenous artist Lance Cardinal named his artistic rendering, “The Land We Share.” The color-filled mural panels depict both First Nations and Chinese culture: 7 animals symbolize Cree sacred grandfather philosophy while 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac align vertically. The Cree significant animals are muskox, wolf, bear, eagle, moose, otter, and raven. The Chinese 12-year cycle of animal signs includes rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. I wondered if the muskox and ox were the same animal. Online info suggests that the shaggy-haired muskox adapted to cold environments and relates more to sheep; domestic oxen belong to a different family. While the two have similarities, they have distinct physical and behavioral traits (like people it seems to me). However, these species shared a common ancestor millions of years ago.

Artist Cardinal views his paired animal lore in a collaborative manner: “The different teachings and ideals represented by these 19 animals help us see the world in a better way, to be respectful of each other and to understand each other’s differences, and of course, to take care of Mother Earth.”

In fascinating research of indigenous First Nation individuals, scientists have discovered several migrations that originated in China. Originally, it was thought that all indigenous Americans were descendants of a Siberian population; some are, however, earlier migrations began between 19,000 and 26,000 years ago when ice sheet glaciers covered northern China and the harsh climate began a melting of the ice. Some early adventurous Chinese settled in Japan. Some pushed onward to the Americas. There are similarities in prehistoric arrowheads and spears that existed in China, Japan and the Americas.

When we go back far enough to the ancestry of various groups of people, we become more astute in our understanding that we are indeed brothers and sisters with one another. The surprising genetic links between certain Native Americans, Chinese, and Japanese people brings our understanding of one planet, one people to a deeper place.

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

421. When you consider your ancestry, how many generations can you trace?

422. What meaning does another culture’s folklore have for you?

Cultural Change and Climate Change

Receding Nisqually Glacier and its Mount Rainier runoff in 2025

Washington state Nisqually indigenous people are described as people of the river and grass. Nisqually original homeland consisted of nearly 2 million acres encompassing present-day towns of Olympia, Tenino, and Dupont, including a reach as far as Mount Rainier. Nisqually life in the Puget Sound watershed has existed for the past 10,000 years. However, drastic changes for the tribe occurred 150+ years ago with the arrival of Euro-Americans. Many current families live along the Nisqually River 14 miles east of Olympia on a reservation of approximately 5000 acres with tribal land holdings nearby of 1000 acres (which only were reacquired in the past 25 years).

Fort Nisqually was established in 1833 as the first white settlement on Puget Sound. Shifting land allotments for the peaceful Nisqually people are painful reminders of shifting movement of the Nisqually Glacier and Nisqually River on Mount Rainier. Shifting names accompany this impressive mountain: Tahoma, Lushootseed, Cowlitz, Klallam, Upper Chehalis, Twana, and Chinook Wawa preceded Mount Rainier, named for Rear Admiral Peter Rainier. Renaming a mountain is symbolic for relocating communities. Relocation is challenging; forced relocation is traumatic.

Both steep topography and roaring rivers characterize Mount Rainier. When developers situated roads and buildings alongside the grade of a river, they did not anticipate shifting climate changes. Repeat flooding severely damaged the Carbon River Road, taking away car access to some northwestern parts of Mount Rainier National Park. On the western edge, the Longmire development sits adjacent to Nisqually River. The river is “up” 30 feet in elevation higher than park buildings and roads which rely on a levee for protection. In 2006 one storm dumped 17.9 inches of rain over a 36-hour period on Mount Rainier, causing the park to close for 6 months.

Nisqually Glacier is losing land mass and retreating at a more rapid pace in the past century due to rising temperatures. When the summer melt period exceeds winter snow accumulation, receding glaciers pick up their melt pace. At one point Nisqually Glacier was recorded as moving as quickly as 29 inches per day! Glaciers are Nature’s laboratories for climate change. Unless there is some global stabilization of temperatures, the projection is for increased glacial retreats which in turn lead to dangerous debris flows into Mount Rainier’s rivers.

Cultural changes as well as climate changes can impact local ecosystems in some drastic ways. We often do not address the long view on a consistent basis. The concept of “7 generations ahead,” an ancient Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) credo, needs to be everyone’s credo.

Oh, I did not mention yet that Mount Rainier is an active volcano. A cousin active volcano, Mount St. Helens, blew its lid in 1980, changing the topography in the surrounding valleys. Layers of mud and debris were sent flowing for 17 miles, while ash fell all the way east to Montana. Yikes!

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

419. When you think of climate change, what are your first thoughts?

420. How are today’s U. S. cultural changes affecting you?

When the Chips are Down

National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day happens every year on August 4^th. Who knew?

The average person supposedly eats nearly 35,000 cookies in a lifetime! I wondered how many of those are chocolate chip cookies, a favorite of many since this cookie’s humble birth in 1937. Reportedly, 53% of Americans prefer chocolate chip cookies over others.

The chip cookie trail is traced to Toll House Inn in Whitman, MA. One story has owner Ruth Graves Wakefield intending to make her usual chocolate cookies, only she ran out of baker’s chocolate. She substituted chunks of a Nestle chocolate bar to her mix. Another story has Ruth being creative and deciding to try something different in her prized cookies. In any case, the Toll House cookie chipped its way into delicious existence.

Another story has Nestle approaching Ruth for her original recipe which the company added to their wrapper of chocolate chips (which they began producing for Ruth’s cookies). What was her compensation? She made the company considerable chip cash, while she received a lifetime supply of chocolate and $1.00! Hmm…is this true? Supply and demand economics does not always play fair.

An original name for Ruth’s chip cookies was Toll House Chocolate Crunch Cookie. If you want to read up on the entrepreneur who possibly sold her recipe for unlimited chocolate, there is a clever book about her:How the Cookie Crumbled: The True (and Not-so-True) Stories of the Invention of the Chocolate Chip Cookie by Gilbert Ford. Just so you know, it is a children’s book for ages 4-8, but it highlights a woman entrepreneur’s experience. Ruth’s Toll House Inn restaurant became a popular stop.

“When the chips are down” comes from gambling and not from chocolate chip cookies – when all the bets are made and there is no going back, the cards are about to be turned over to show who “wins.” It is a moment of seriousness. Some might even say an ominous moment.

We seem to be at such a time in our U.S. supply-and-demand economy. Who knows which stories will emerge from a current chaotic chain of events? It might be a good time to bake some chocolate chip cookies and give them to strangers. Listen to their story. Be compassionate. We need to pull together in the country.

Some bakeries give away a freebie on this trivial holiday. You could go bakery-hopping to taste-test variations, although I recommend making them yourself. The smell of wafting chocolate from the oven is worth it. An online suggestion places 3 chips on the top if it bothers you when all chips are down inside the cookie. Inevitably, some have more chips than others.

Anyway, there are so many chips that are down in our world today that are of greater consequence than cookie-dressing and counting chocolate chips.

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

417. What are your when-the-chips-are-down issues?

418. When is the last time that you baked cookies and gave some away?

Truth Pearls

Recently I met new neighbors while taking a walk around the block. A vivacious girl met me exclaiming, “I’m 4! I’m 4!” She just experienced her birthday and was radiant about her milestone. I responded, “I’m 4 too, but with a couple of extra years!” She accepted my description readily because when you are 4, doesn’t everybody celebrate being 4 again? That is wearing your sheen.

I did not tell the adorable one that my blog also celebrated a 4^th birthday, as it was too abstract for a concrete thinker! I began my blog during the pandemic. I have posted every Monday for 4 years.

Here are words from my first (7-21-21) blog: “…Pearls seem to need attention. If a pearl necklace is locked away, over time the pearls lose their sheen and become dull. While pearls are categorized as a gemstone, pearls are unique in claiming the only gem status to form within a living creature! Unique among diamonds and other gemstones, pearls require no cutting or polishing before use. Pearls are precious. Pearls represent a fresh start. Peace in the family, post-grief peace, and retirement peace all benefit from a fresh outlook. In these blog posts, we will explore how to string pearls of peace wherever you find yourself on your life’s odyssey.”

Some individuals lose their sheen over time. All of us lose track of peace on a regular basis. We humans must polish our sheen to keep peaceful actions at the forefront of our life odyssey.

Joanna Macy is an individual who kept polishing her sheen. She was a possibility model of visionary and dynamic leadership of peaceful causes in global justice and environmental activism. Macy reportedly died “peacefully” at home from complications after a fall on July 19^th. She was 96 (or 24 times 4). In reading about her, I want to share highlights from her workshop called “Truth Mandala” that she presented globally. Groups of individuals gather to sit in a tight circle “to form a containment vessel for holding the truth.” There are 4 quadrants with a symbolic object in each – a stone, dead leaves, a thick stick, an empty bowl. Everyone speaks their truth about a quadrant that represents a significant part of their present life:

A stone personifies fear. It exemplifies a tight, contracted heart when one is afraid.
Dry leaves stand in for one’s sorrow. Much sadness exists within each of us for the trauma we see in our world.
The thick stick represents anger and outrage. One must grasp it with 2 hands but not wave it around or pound the ground.
An empty bowl signifies one’s hunger for what is missing in their life, perhaps sharing their feelings of emptiness.

Give truth a fresh start. Then take positive actions.

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

415. Which of Macy’s 4 quadrants would you speak about if you attended a Truth Mandala workshop?

416. How do we get to a place where people tell the truth about their lives?

“Fast” Talkers Live Longer

The Berlin Aging Study (BASE) is a multidisciplinary (sociology, psychology, psychiatry, and internal medicine) study of seasoned citizens (my name for older adults) between ages of 70-105. Initially, detailed information was gathered for 258 men and 258 women who lived in Berlin. The longitudinal research originated under the direction of the late German psychologist Paul B. Baltes and German sociologist Karl Ulrich Mayer. Along with his American psychologist wife, Margret Baltes, Paul Baltes viewed lifespan development in terms of “plasticity” in cognitive abilities, a context of adaptation, and multidisciplinary factors such as one’s biology, family, schooling, religious affiliation, and profession. The Baltes couple promoted successful aging through optimizing one’s cognitive functions and the ability to adapt to change, including loss. Research supported their belief that cognitive abilities can continue to develop in late adulthood with participation in stimulating activities. A current longitudinal study (BASE II) of 1600 seasoned citizens (ages 60-80) is underway at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Germany.

BASE research results are fascinating. General intelligence did not predict who might live longest. Instead, verbal fluency was key in long-living folks. The participants with low (versus high) verbal fluency had a median survival time that was 9 years shorter! Verbal fluency requires broad abilities, including fast information retrieval and a crystallized knowledge base. One only hopes that a fast-talking individual possesses a truthful knowledge base.

Here are a few pointers for increasing your verbal fluency. Heather Hurlock, Founder and Editor of Super Age (an online source of health and wellbeing), names the first three well-established ones.

Read out loud. This suggestion also is endorsed by a 30-minute-daily program, StrongerMemory, for those in mild cognitive decline. Do not wait for cognitive deficits to appear to make a reading-out-loud practice for yourself! You will build on articulation and rhythm skills when you read to yourself or others. Both skills link to verbal fluency.
Hand-write often. While cursive is being dropped from many elementary schools, I believe that is a mistake. There is evidence that suggests learning cursive handwriting is helpful in one’s overall learning and retention. Handwriting (but not typing) is related to letter processing which translates to successful reading in youngsters. Also, handwriting is part of the StrongerMemory workbook exercises. https://goodwinliving.org/strongermemory-the-fight-against-cognitive-decline/
Think (and take deep breaths) before you speak. Take mindful pauses to provide your brain with a chance to retrieve some linking thoughts. Not only will this increase your confidence level, but it may enlist a better (or more humorous) verbal outcome.
Give speeches or read a poem (as in open-mic venues). You have talents to share and your brain will reward you for using a variety of sensory inputs.
Talk regularly; ask people questions. You may surprise yourself with what you can learn about others in a few sentences.

Have fun talking!

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

413. When is the last time you wrote a letter by hand?

414. How might you practice your verbal fluency in a new way?

How Slow-Living Are You?

Stephanie O’Dea is author of Slow Living: Cultivating a Life of Purpose in a Hustle-Driven World. She is a “slow-living coach.” This made me laugh out loud. She must not be in the midst of a major move which entails constant decision-making hustle around packing/unpacking a myriad of stuff: Will this fit in my new home? If not, what do I do with it? Then, upon arrival, this will not fit! What do I do with it? However, I do know I am making move-hustle progress because my dreams no longer are about packing; last night I dreamt about vacation, an escape from the unpacking process.

O’Dea started her slow-living journey with “A Year of Slow Cooking.” She believes that cooking is a chore, not something that she wants to do, so she loves her crockpot. I gave away my crockpot. I enjoy cooking fresh food “from scratch,” but I might need some slow-living ideas when I finish unpacking boxes.

I found out that I could “join 10,000+ Students of Life” by subscribing to the “Sloww (not a typo!) Sunday newsletter.” Instead, I chose to hustle up on this phenomenon briefly online before jumping into another book for my overcrowded bookshelves. Here are some highlights of Slow Living and the Slow Movement:

Organizational psychologist Geir Berthelsen created a think tank in 1999, The World Institute of Slowness, advocating that “…the best thinking comes from a walk in the slow lane…slowness is the forgotten dimension to time. Unlike chronological time, it is non-linear, time here and now, time that works for you, extraordinary time. So why be fast when you can be slow? Slowness is also about balance, so if you must hurry, then hurry slowly.” Is hurry slowly an oxymoron?
Nearly two decades later, Canadian journalist Carl Honoré wrote a book titled In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed.
Beyond slow living and slow food, today there is a slew (or stew) of slowness – slow money, slow parenting, slow education, slow reading, slow medicine, slow gardening, and slow religion. In 30 countries there are 236 cities that call themselves slow cities! Who knew?
According to Slow Living 201 (I skipped the 101 version), there are 15 adjectives for slow living: paced, unbusy, balanced, intentional, connected, deep, purposeful, holistic, soulful, long-view, low-stress, eased, time-rich, conscious, and mindful. https://www.sloww.co/slow-living-201/

I completely agree that mindfulness is a practice well worth putting into your daily routine. I participate every morning in an online mindfulness group with 20 minutes of silent mindful reflection. I practice mindfulness at other times of the day too, especially when gardening or cooking. I find these slow-breath actions grounding — literally grounding when working with soil in my yard. But honestly, I use some hustle in other parts of my life. Do I need to read O’Dea’s Slow Living book?

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

411. Do you engage in slow living some part of your day?

412. What aspect of slow living might be beneficial for you?

Possessed Versus Letting Go

Vicky Silverthorn is a professional organizer. She can clean up any mess in your home or study. Let’s backtrack. Why did we hang onto items that now clutter our space in the first place? Are we possessed by possessions?

According to a study cited in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, researchers find that folks link certain items to their self-worth. When they no longer have said items, they grieve for lost possessions in terms of their tie to them as part of their self-identity. There are extreme “hoarders” (2.6% of the population, according to the American Psychiatric Association) and more common “packrats” who suffer from a difficulty categorizing “an array of items with minimal value into groups.”

My personal packrat-itis has roots. Both of my parents fit the description. They had an excuse. The nation’s depression was a major event in their early years. As the oldest of 10 children, my mother recalled not having much food to eat; she recalled having “coffee soup” (coffee over a piece of bread) as a meal. She sometimes was asked to take a skillet containing leftover gravy (over bread) down the alley to a family with less to eat than her own family. How could there be leftovers from a dozen people at their table? Such experiences were vivid for my mother many years later. She was a saver of tin foil and plastic bags for reuse, as well as much larger items that became clutter build-up. Dad had saver parents who knew they might “need” an item “someday.”

Silverthorne advises that “Clutter can affect our mood, productivity, ability to think clearly, and overall mental processing. It can contribute to stress, impact our well-being, and really alter our focus…for a free-flowing house and a free-flowing mind, reducing clutter really helps.”

Words of wisdom may not be enough to make the letting-go process possible. In moving from a larger home to a smaller one, I encountered clutter closets that I could escape from for years with merely closing the doors. The day of reckoning came with moving: I had to face the fact that there were simply too many items to take with me…and many of them did have minimal value…to other people.

Each “minimal value” item was attached to some memory. It was memories and the relationships attached to those memories that I did not want to let go. With practice, I am learning to give up keeping “everything,” although my learning curve is a bumpy ride. I do not find Silverthorne’s advice to ask, “What’s the worst thing that could happen?” very useful. More appropriate to my situation, I recall the person who gifted me an item, thank them silently, and then send the item into give-away land. Admittedly, this takes time. It is not as easy as it may sound.

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

409. How do you handle keeping versus giving-away decisions in your home?

410. What is your method for letting go of items of “minimal value”?

Pearls of Time

Time is both slipping by and an enduring treasure. Time has been on people’s minds, well, for a long time.

“Time is the most valuable thing a man [person] can spend.” — Theophrastus, Greek philosopher and naturalist (372 BC-287 BC)
“People don’t take opportunities because the timing is bad, the financial side unsecure. Too many people are overanalyzing. Sometimes you just have to go for it.” —Michelle Zatlyn, Cloudflare co-founder
“Time is what we want most but what we use worst.” — William Penn, British Quaker founder of Pennsylvania
“Every tragedy we can imagine comes back to just one: time slipping by.”
— Simone Weil, French philosopher (1909-1943)
“Time management is an oxymoron. Time is beyond our control, and the clock keeps ticking regardless of how we lead our lives.” — John C. Maxwell, American writer on leadership
“Liminal moments. Those moments apart from time when you are gripped. Taken. When you are so fully absorbed in what you are doing that time ceases to exist.” ― Rebecca Wells, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood

And from my favorite timekeeper:

“…Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? ― Mary Oliver, The Summer Day

Poetry cuts to the chase on most topics. Poets understand impermanence. They often embrace curiosity for one’s present time.

Poet and naturalist Derek Sheffield became Washinton state’s 8th poet laureate on 04-30-25. Freelance writer Sarah Neilson summed up his poetry succinctly: Sheffield writes with wildness and wellness as inspiration. In Neilson’s interview for the Seattle Times, Sheffield reflected on his work with a philosophy I can endorse: “An important part of my own journey has been my sense of curiosity and my capacity to feel wonder. I will run across people who don’t seem to have that capacity and don’t seem to be curious…a fair amount of what I do in writing classes is unteaching and trying to get us back to where we all started in third grade. That space, that energy, that trust, that imagination, that engagement with our imagination.”

Yes, who were we in 3^rd grade? How did that timeframe influence who we are today? Wasn’t it just yesterday? I recall loving my 3^rd grade teacher, Mrs. Anderson. She encouraged creativity and was a font of positivity. I recall her constant smiles. Some teachers’ influence can last a lifetime, either in a good way or a less skillful way. We earthlings are interconnected in a circle of time’s memories.

Consider Derek Sheffield’s poem, Still Time:

“In a wide
and motionless circle, nine

Chinook salmon
below a stilled spillway,

nose to tail-fin, wait,
faint flutterings rounding their backs

in place, each moment
slipping (a white bubble

up from the dark) through the clock face
they make of creek water,

a count we might mistake
as ours.”

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

407. How do you think about your slipping-by moments?

408. What are your plans for wildness and wellness today?