Blog Posts – Paddlin’ On

What is Sacred to You? This essay is an excerpt from my recently published book, Paddlin’ with Thoreau…Reflections from the Red Kayak “All wisdom is the reward of a discipline, conscious or unconscious…Cultivate reverence.” -Henry David Thoreau, Journal, September 5, 1851, age 34 Two days before this journal entry, Thoreau writes about walking in drizzly […]

This essay is an excerpt from my latest book, Paddlin’ with Thoreau…

Just as we reached and soared to new heights in January, we now reach deep within and find the resilience that will bring us joy.

When I was a little girl about eight years old, I subscribed to Highlights Magazine filled with fun learning activities. In the back of one issue was an invitation to send in for a certificate entitling you to board one of the first rockets taking people to the moon. This possibility was incredible to me! My Mom, rolling her eyes, graciously paid for and sent in for my certificate. I had my ticket! I was going to the moon someday! I couldn’t wait!

Reflections from the Red Kayak “Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant?” Henry David Thoreau, Walden This question is the opening quote of my new book, Paddlin’ with Thoreau, the 4th one in my Reflections from the Red Kayak series. The pictures above are

Reflections from the Red Kayak “Books must be read as deliberately and reservedly as they were written. Books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit inheritance of generations and nations.” Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Reading And so Paddlin’ with Thoreau, Reflections from the Red Kayak, appropriately begins with that quote from Henry.

Reflections from the Red Kayak “Each new year is a surprise to us. We find that we had virtually forgotten the note of each bird, and when we hear it again, it is remembered like a dream, reminding us of a previous state of existence. The voice of nature is always encouraging.”      

Reflections from the Red Kayak The shore was kissed, by sea and mist, tenderly… The picture below I call a snow flower. Little branches of a tree on a shore, its sharp edges are softly covered by mist in a shimmering glow of snow and ice. One of nature’s beautiful creations. Slowly, gently, tenderly, winter

Reflections from the Red Kayak “The leaves are perfectly ripe. I wonder if there is any answering ripeness in the lives of the men who live beneath them.” Henry David Thoreau, Autumnal Tints My dear friend Amy sent me Thoreau’s book, Autumnal Tints. It is considered his classic essay on the colors of fall, and

Saturday, September 3, 7:00a.m.-1:00 p.m. Marywood Spirituality Center, Arbor Vitae Facilitator: Author and Kayaker Mary Anne Smrz “Change: Our Ever-Present Companion” is the theme of this retreat. Mary Anne takes cancer survivors and their caregivers on the water for a much-needed “pause,” to allow time and space to reconnect with self and nature and a