As the creek tells its last stories before it freezes over, how might you prepare to slow down? Guten Tag, Reader, The land settles into winter. All growth is done, all seeds have been set, and all systems are switching from generation and expansion to slow-shit-down and leave-me-the-fuck-alone. Well, I might be projecting on that last bit. Certainly, though, nature knows winter is the season to conserve and protect energy. Yes, I am noticing the juncos, chickadees, finches, flickers,...
26 days ago • 2 min read
My prescription for the winter blues: smell the forest at dusk. Guten Tag, Reader, The sweetness tickled my nose as a deep breath carried it through my nostrils. Immediately after, my brain registered bitter and earthy hitting my olfactory system on a soothing wetness, so different from the dry (and annoyingly loud) air that’s being forced through the vents in my house to shelter me from the approaching winter and its blunt. Smelling a fall forest weaves a thread that connects me far, far...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
What it looks like when my Soul Goals get stirred up. Photo taken by Mr Laine at Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park. Guten Tag, Reader, Over in the Midlife Wilderness Expeditions, I wrote the participants a real honest email this week. I told them I feared they would shove the material I had taken days to create to the back of their junk drawers and that I might never see them again. I shared that in all my years as a coach and even more years as a sponsor in my 12-Step Program, I have...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
When we said "yes" to visiting Glacier National Park, we had no idea what else would happen... Guten Tag, Reader, A week ago, I am sitting in the passenger seat of our packed-to-the-roof Subaru Outback and roll down the window to talk to the man whose family's three cars are parked in front of the Forest Service cabin we've rented. Or that he rented, depending on which side of the window you are currently on. Three kids in pajamas roll up on their bicycles, curious to see who's come to visit...
2 months ago • 3 min read
The Blackfoot River was running exquisitely clear this week. Guten Tag, Reader, Before I begin with this week's letter, I have a favor to ask: 2024 Email Advent Calendar Poll Since 2020, I have been sending out an email advent calendar each December. I am currently working on this year's and would love to hear what YOU would enjoy: What would you love to find behind each advent calendar door? A prompt for reflection on 2024 Inspiration for something to do/make/bake Something short and sweet...
3 months ago • 4 min read
Half green, half purple. Maybe this is the trailplant's interpretation of business casual? Noticed on the trail to Morrell Falls. Guten Tag, Reader, Green is their costume—the business suit of the deciduous trees—signaling that they are working, producing, and transforming. They make energy out of sunlight. Transform out-breath into in-breath. Humans, in their quest to understand, describe, and name all things, call it photosynthesis. I call it tree green magic. The slower I walk among the...
3 months ago • 2 min read
The forest floor at Primm Meadow has no opinions about summer and fall. It just does what it does. Guten Tag, Reader, “I am so glad summer is almost over and I can come back to my routines,” said one of my clients this week. “I never want summer to end. It feels so much freer than the other seasons,” lamented another. Some people find summer too hot; others consider its days too long. Some can’t wait for pumpkin spice everything; others are grieving the loss of daylight. Personally, I relate...
4 months ago • 2 min read
Pre-Dinner scene from the Salmon River Slowdown. Guten Tag, Reader, There is a spaciousness inside my soul that I have not felt in a long time. I can tell that my intellect wants to fill the emptiness with wordy thoughts. She is not entirely convinced of the power wielded by wordless thinking. (Instinct, intuition, heart math…she calls those irrational as if irrational were bad. I guess she is just worried about job security). So, in her best attempt to resist change and get everything back...
4 months ago • 3 min read
The sun rises over the Indian Creek put-in. Photo: Derek Laine Dear Reader, I am getting ready to embark on the Salmon River Slowdown with my co-creator and nine women who can't wait to launch on the adventure of a lifetime on Monday. So, I thought I'd share a letter I wrote three years ago when I returned from another river trip on the tail end of another Olympics. I will see you back here in two weeks. Make some joy until then and walk barefoot at least once. Notice what you notice,...
5 months ago • 2 min read