Profound Living

Most Friday afternoons I’m hiking with my buddy Vince and then drinking a beer together afterwards. Since he was out of pocket today, I opted for the Seaman’s Gulch Trail by myself, and a nice glass of beer from my new favorite local beer-bookstore brewery., Oldspeak just down Chinden in Garden City. I always see two owners there Shelly and Chelsea and they are so friendly and obviously dedicated to the spirit of this place. Perfect place for people who love books and beer and being around people who do as well.

Friday hike

Walking in the rain. One of the beautiful opportunities of being alive. Out here birds are singing ducks are swimming. Flowers are blooming and smell beautiful what gifts we have just walking around the neighborhood.

I had been thinking about the relationship of nature and elegance, when on my morning walk, I happened to see a large bird carrying a long stick. Only after I took a few steps did I think that the stick was actually a snake. Hence this haiku, which I I used in my video introducing my latest,, naturally elegant, essay. You can find a link to it in the bio if you’d like to read more.

You are.

My latest essay, “Twenty steps of silence.”

The question I asked at the end was, “What might you notice if you walked just ten steps today without words, either spoken or in your mind? Or try it. What did you experience? What did you learn?”

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Reading for Messy Elegance this week: In Pursuit of Elegance by Matthew E. May. He proposes that there are four key elements of elegance.

Simple, not simplistic. Elegant, not superficial.

The quote in the image above is the original one from Holmes, but recognized these days is the more recognized paraphrase, also attributed to him:

“I would not give a fig for the simplicity on this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity,”

and that shows up in books, essays, and the like and is used, rightly so, to show how important it is to not just take the easy simple answer. This going from simple through the complexity back again to the simple, well that’s what I’m calling messy elegance these days.

I’m going to keep exploring and writing this book I’m just starting. You can follow along on my Substack page if you are interested. Check out my link in the bio if this sounds interesting. And I’d love to hear your thoughts about it.

Messy Elegance, a new book in progress.

I’m sharing ideas as they develop, and inviting folks to engage in the process. If you are interested in in wandering along with me, you can check it out on Substack.

A big h/t and huge thanks to , whose book, Show Your Work, encourages people to engage others in the creative process along the way. So I’m doing it. I loved that idea so much I might be taking this a lot further than he might have been thinking. Or maybe not, all of his books (and he writes one of my favorite newsletters too) always give me more fabulous ideas and resources than I can even track down. And he’s just fun to follow.

Anyway, I’m on the journey now!

Link to Substack in bio.

“I am making the case today that the contemplative life, contemplative practices, prepare us for open arms – for receiving them and for sharing them.” The link to this essay on Substack is in the bio.