Wood Chips
From the shores of Lake Superior (The Third Coast)
During these last days of 2020, it’s a good and right time to reflect back on the year. What has COVID-19 brought out in us? Suffering in our country has been on historic levels. Many of us have learned to revision our lives, to appreciate small things, to cherish the value of relationships in ways we would never have imagined.
Walking. Cooking. Doing chores around our apartments and homes. These no longer remain means to an end for many of us. We’ve had to go to a deeper place. We’ve needed to learn to find grace and satisfaction in such activities. Here in Northern Michigan, in our rural communities, this has always been a part of life and survival here in this part of the Great Lakes Basin. It’s a reminder to us all about the gift of slowing down, getting in touch with our physical bodies, experiencing gratitude for life in a basic, fundamental sense.
That is a good thing. For us. And for the planet.
Jon Magnuson
The Cedar Tree Institute
“Wood Chips” is a series of brief reflections written by Jon Magnuson, Director of the Cedar Tree Institute.
