Finding Beauty in Ordinary Things By Diane Duckworth “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” Marcel Proust For my sisters, whose light has always been greater than they know. There is an old ash tree in Crow Park whose bark is deeply furrowed and weathered by countless winters. It does not hide its age. It does not wish for smoother bark or straighter branches. It simply stands, rooted in the same patch of earth, o

The Woodland Apothecary By Diane Duckworth Listening To The Spirits of Place “The clearest way into the Universe is through the forest wilderness.” -John Muir As I feel more settled in my new Cumbrian home, far from the open skies of Colorado, I am starting to feel more connected to the spirits of this place. I have been thinking about the Japanese practice of Shinto, not as something to borrow, wear, or imitate, but as a gentle reminder of something humans have always known:

By Diane Duckworth Let There Be Peace on Earth And Let It Begin With Me On this beautiful spring morning, as I stepped through the old stone opening into the woods, the bluebells were holding their own quiet light. Soft as breath, brief as kindness itself. They never shout. They never insist. And yet they change the whole forest floor. It made me wonder whether kindness works in the same way. Not as a grand performance. Not as something saved for special occasions. But as a