12 John Muir Quotes On The Necessity of Nature In Our Lives

1 “The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.”

2 “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity.”

3 “Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.”

4 “I am losing precious days. I am degenerating into a machine for making money. I am learning nothing in this trivial world of men. I must break away and get out into the mountains to learn the news.”

5 “The mountains are calling and I must go.”

6 “As long as I live, I’ll hear waterfalls and birds and winds sing. I’ll interpret the rocks, learn the language of flood, storm, and the avalanche. I’ll acquaint myself with the glaciers and wild gardens, and get as near the heart of the world as I can”.

7 “Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn.”

8 “In every walk with Nature one receives far more than one seeks.”

9 “And into the forest I go, to lose my mind & find my soul.”

10 “On no subject are our ideas more warped and pitiable than on death. … Let children walk with nature, let them see the beautiful blendings and communions of death and life, their joyous inseparable unity, as taught in woods and meadows, plains and mountains and streams of our blessed star, and they will learn that death is stingless indeed, and as beautiful as life, and that the grave has no victory, for it never fights.”

11 “The world, we are told, was made especially for man — a presumption not supported by all the facts.”

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

21 Life-Inspiring Seneca Quotes

1 “There is no easy way from the earth to the stars.”

2 “As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.”

3 “Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body.”

4 “Associate with people who are likely to improve you.”

5 “If you live in harmony with nature you will never be poor; if you live according what others think, you will never be rich.”

6 “Sometimes even to live is an act of courage.”

7 “Putting things off is the biggest waste of life: it snatches away each day as it comes, and denies us the present by promising the future. The greatest obstacle to living is expectancy, which hangs upon tomorrow, and loses today. You are arranging what lies in Fortune’s control, and abandoning what lies in yours. What are you looking at? To what goal are you straining? The whole future lies in uncertainty: live immediately.”

8 “Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life.”

9 “While we wait for life, life passes.”

10 “It’s not because things are difficult that we dare not venture. It’s because we dare not venture that they are difficult.”

11 “Life is like a play: it’s not the length, but the excellence of the acting that matters.”

12 “He who is brave is free.”

13 “Luck is what happens when preparation.”

14 “If a man knows not to which port he sails, no wind is favorable.”

15 “It is not that we have so little time but that we lose so much. … The life we receive is not short but we make it so; we are not ill provided but use what we have wastefully.”

16 “They lose the day in expectation of the night, and the night in fear of the dawn.”

17 “People are frugal in guarding their personal property; but as soon as it comes to squandering time they are most wasteful of the one thing in which it is right to be stingy.”

18 (Above quote, expanded here.) “Were all the geniuses of history to focus on this single theme, they could never fully express their bafflement at the darkness of the human mind. No person would give up even an inch of their estate, and the slightest dispute with a neighbor can mean hell to pay; yet we easily let others encroach on our lives—worse, we often pave the way for those who will take it over. No person hands out their money to passersby, but to how many do each of us hand out our lives! We’re tight-fisted with property and money, yet think too little of wasting time, the one thing about which we should all be the toughest misers.”

19 “As long as you live, keep learning how to live.”

20 “To wish to be well is a part of becoming well.”

21 “Most powerful is he who has himself in his own power.”

When It Comes To Writing

When it comes to writing. Just write.

Many people & teachers have ideas about how you & I should write, but too much advice & trying to write how others think you should write, will (often) be unoriginal & foggy.

Clear the skies with your own style. Your own way of writing. Change the grammar, change the words. Create your own.

When we look back at the history of the English language, it’s always changing.

People & teachers will often try persuading you & I to write how everyone else is writing, because that’s the “right thing to do,” but that’s just conformity.

Language is always changing. Use your own words & your own style.

My Time At Doe Bay

Doe Bay is a resort on Orcas Island, to the West of Washington State. 

I spent 7 months there in 2021 as a workaway employee; (Workaway is a platform that offers volunteer & paid jobs & housing in many countries.)

I applied for a few different workaways & am super thankful that I received & accepted the role at Doe Bay. 

During the time leading up to this job I was looking forward to spending time on an island, away from the city life. This workaway did not disappoint. 

My housing was a single cabin, surrounded by about 5 other cabins, & a lot of trees, in nature. (On an island in nature too, so deep into nature, places I love.)

I had a couple days to settle in before getting to work, planting trees, whacking weeds, watering fields, & I helped daily with the Spa – cleaning the jacuzzi decks & testing & balancing the waters & chemicals. This may not sound like a lot, but there was always something to do, and I loved this type of work. After 5 months I also began cleaning cabins & continued with the Spa stuff, but I preferred the outdoor nature work.  

I sometimes fed worms to birds too, haha. & once a bird jumped into my cleaning bucket, true story. Started flopping around & so I dumped the bucket & sat next to the bird for like 10 seconds before it hopped away. 

Anyway, working this job was like a meditation for me. I loved planting trees – digging holes in the ground, learning about soils & good ways to plant trees. Connecting with nature, being all there. I really loved it, & I got paid too. 

Every week throughout the summer there were multiple music artists invited to the resort to perform for a few evenings. I enjoyed a range of talented artists, especially the performances by the bonfires. 

At night in the woods I could see a vast amount of stars. A beautiful sight.

In my free time I hiked serene trails, & I read & I wrote. (I’d been working on The 7 Psychedelic Meditations many months before Doe Bay, and I finished writing it & publishing it in my free time there.) 

This resort & entire island was & is a tranquil place. 

The staff was (& is) awesome too.

One of my favorite things about the resort is that sometimes a peacock would be walking around, & chillen. It was a cool, friendly, & beautiful being.     

Anyway, I really enjoyed my experience at Doe Bay & Orcas Island. I recommend both visiting Doe Bay, & if you’re interested in a workaway experience, to go for it.

Cheers to your journey & travels.

Meaning of Life?

“I don’t believe people are looking for the meaning of life as much as they are looking for the experience of being alive.”

—Joseph Campbell 

I personally do not know the meaning of life. 

Maybe it’s different for everyone? I don’t know.

But I do think, sometimes like Joseph Campbell, that people aren’t looking so much for the meaning of life, as they are looking for the experience of being alive.

What do you enjoy?

What makes you experience the fullness of life?

Simple Living Is Good Living

Da Vinci said “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

It is.

Many people live their lives in unnecessary complications that cloud their lives & those around them. Some people think that their complications give their life meaning, when often their complications take away life’s meaning.

To each their own.

If living simply was easy, everyone would do it. It’s not easy to live simply & be happy & fulfilled – to not be comparing & competing, but to just be. & to be happy with what we have.

Abundance & gratitude often breed more abundance & gratitude.

A simple life may lose you some friends, but it will bring you peace.

Attention, Daydreaming, Focus

These three words have similarities & differences.

There are different ways & levels of attention, focus, concentration, and then there is daydreaming – which is a sort of focus within; a meditation.

There is not one right way of living for all people. There is a vast range of ways of living, just as there is a range of attention, focus, and also daydreaming. 

It is all okay.

Here’s a relative Henry David Thoreau quote:

“If a man does note keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.”

Listen to YOUR own drummer. 

Listen to the music YOU like. 

Read the books YOU enjoy. 

Do the activities YOU like.

This is not selfish. This is self care. 

Take care of yourself first, and if you need to care for others, then you can do so, but make sure you put your life jacket on first.

Attention, Daydreaming, Focus…oh the places you’ll go…

2024 With A Smile

“Everyone should smile. Life really isn’t that serious. We make it hard. The sun rises. The sun sets. We just tend to complicate the process.” 

Ram Dass

If you are like me & probably most people, you faced challenges & adversities in 2023, and it may have been depressing. It was for me at points of the year. Life happens to us all. The weather changes. 

Anyway, I am reminded today from Ram Dass to smile. Sometimes we overthink or live in a fog or may be afraid to act. 

The sun rises & sets as it does, and we humans sometimes go around thinking & overthinking things, worrying ourselves, complicating things, when simplicity is offered to us.

Sometimes reading Ram Dass quotes is like breath to my soul. 

I hope you have a wonderful 2024!

10 Quotes From Dan Millman’s The Peaceful Warrior To Bring You Happiness Today

1) “There is no need to search; achievement leads to nowhere. It makes no difference at all, so just be happy now! Love is the only reality of the world, because it is all One, you see. And the only laws are paradox, humor and change. There is no problem, never was, and never will be. Release your struggle, let go of your mind, throw away your concerns, and relax into the world. No need to resist life, just do your best. Open your eyes and see that you are far more than you imagine. You are the world, you are the universe; you are yourself and everyone else, too! It’s all the marvelous Play of God. Wake up, regain your humor. Don’t worry, just be happy. You are already free!” 

2) “Reality never matched their dreams; happiness was just around the corner — a corner they never turned. And the source of it all was the human mind.”

3) “Sometimes sorrow, sometimes joy. But beneath it all remember the innate perfection of your life unfolding. That is the secret of unreasonable happiness.” 

4) “And so I awoke to reality, free of any meaning or any search. What could there possibly be to search for? All of Socrate’s words had come alive with my death. This was the paradox of it all, the humor of it all, and the great change. All searches, all achievements, all goals, were equally enjoyable, and equally unnecessary.” 

5) “Act happy, be happy, without a reason in the world. Then you can love, and do what you will.”

6) “The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.”

7) “‘What do I do then, now? Where do I go from here?’ Dan asked Socrates.

‘Who cares?’ He yelled gleefully.  ‘A fool is ‘happy’ when his cravings are satisfied. A warrior is happy without reason.  That’s what makes happiness the ultimate discipline—above all else I have taught you.’”

8) “Stay in the present. You can do nothing to change the past, and the future will never come exactly as you plan or hope for.  The warrior is here, now. Your sorrow, your fear & anger, regret & guilt, your envy and plans and cravings live only in the past, or in the future.”

9) “Like most people, you’ve been taught to gather information from outside yourself; from books, magazines, experts.  Like this car, you open up and let the facts pour in.  Sometimes the information is premium and sometimes it’s low octane.  You buy your knowledge at the current market rates, much like you buy gasoline.  Like this gas tank, you are overflowing with preconceptions; full of useless knowledge.  You hold many facts and opinions, yet know little of yourself.  Before you can learn, you’ll have to first empty your tank.

10) “Wake up! If you knew for certain that you had a terminal illness – if you had precious little time left to make use of your life and consider who you are, you’d not waste time on self-indulgence or fear, lethargy or ambition.  You do have a terminal illness – it is death. Be happy now, without reason – or you never will be at all.”

1 Empowering Message From The Alchemist

“…That’s what alchemists do. They show that, when we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too.”
—Paulo Coelho

Life can be a mysterious experience, and yet, in one way that life is not mysterious is that when we become better versions of ourselves, everything around us improves. 

This is a Fact of Life.