( photo courtesy Balaji Saha )
sunset over the Belekiya Terrara ranges … as seen from the Camp in the Danakil depression…….
May 11, 2011
sunrise over the Danakil ‘Alps’ ….
( photo courtesy Balaji Saha )
sunrise over the Danakil ‘Alps’ ranges … as seen from the Camp in the Danakil depression…….
May 11, 2011
the power of presence …..
” Presence is a noun,
not a verb;
it is a state of being,
not doing.
true presence or “being with” another person carries with it a silent power —
to bear witness to a passage,
to help carry an emotional burden
or to begin a healing process.
In it,
there is an intimate connection
with another
that is perhaps too seldom felt in a society
that strives for ever-faster “connectivity.”
May 11, 2011
the “rest step” …..
“ When I was 19, I learned something called the “rest step” from an old mountain climber named Paul Petzoldt. He advised me to rest in the middle of each step completely, but briefly. The rest step, which I still practice today, allows me to walk or climb with little effort. I can move very quickly yet still find a pause in every step.
In times of crisis, pace comes to my aid. Another of Petzoldt’s lessons was when faced with an emergency, sit down, collect yourself, make a plan. When needs seem most urgent — even life-threatening — the practice of slowing down offers calm and clarity
Concentrating on how I move through the world is important. It’s why I reach mountain summits and life goals with energy to spare.
There is magic in any faith. Every once in a while, rushing about, my belief in pace rises up, slows me down and grants me a view of a sunset, a smile from a stranger or a conversation with a child. I owe these moments to what I learned from an old mountain climber and have practiced ever since.”
- Phil Powers
…… The amount of work accomplished is less important than the spirit and care I bring to what I do. Slowing the pace of our lives transforms the mundane into the transcendent. It teaches us how much there is to appreciate in simplicity.”
