Breaking News: Glorious Sun Rise This Morning

Sunrise from home at 5:46 AM this morning - the proverbial crack of dawn.

A sunrise is a majestic thing to witness. Here it comes! 

Heat. Hope. Light. Life. 

Each morning we have an opportunity to welcome a new, fresh day in which anything could happen. The possibilities are infinite. But we need the sun to make it all happen.

A recent solar eclipse made headlines recently, like eclipses always do. But what a dark and foreboding thing, the sun disappearing in the middle of the day. 

Total eclipses aren't even that rare. Approximately once every 18 months (on average) a total solar eclipse is visible from some place on the Earth’s surface. 

Like a sun set, an eclipse is a more somber, cautious moment. They have a hint of dystopia about them.

Sunrises, on the other hand, the moment when the sun comes to us instead of going away, are full of hope and joy. They are utopian. An inhale rather than an exhale.

Imagine a morning the sun didn't rise, or an eclipse that didn't end, and you begin to feel how our ancient ancestors felt about the sun coming up every day. 

A miracle!

Still, sunrises rarely make the headlines, even if they are as striking as this morning's was over my little part of the world in Digby, Nova Scotia, Canada.

I have enjoyed the sun rise over pristine and remote mountain lakes in the Rockies. Sitting on the porch of an Ashram in Rishikesh, India, I watched the rising sun begin to bake the Ganges River valley as the previous night's cremations smoldered on the banks. 

What I have learned over the years, is that there hasn't been a sunrise I haven't felt deeply, and with gratitude. And that goes for watching the sunrise this morning right from the comfort of home.

Have a joyous light-filled day.

Humility Is The Medicine Humanity Needs Right Now

"An abiding humility in the face of the Earth’s exuberant multiplicity, wildness, and weirdness is, I believe, a necessary quality of our kind and the best possible medicine for what ails us."

- David Abram

Humanity has an excess of hubris when what we desperately need is a good dose of humility.

The intelligent person bows before Nature, in all her glory. Exposure to Nature melts hubris into humility like nothing else.

You think you are so big? Wander into Nature without your technology and your electricity. Be there without clothes or fire. See what happens.

And yet, all other living things manage just fine.

So humans are the pinnacle of life in the Universe? Wrong. We aren't even the pinnacle of life on this planet. You might not even be the pinnacle of life in your own home.

Spiders, such as those found in every dwelling across the globe (except in Antarctica), have been around in a similar form for at least 380 million years. 

The silk in a spiders web is 5 times stronger than a strand of steel the same thickness. Scientists have been unable to replicate the strength and elasticity of spider silk.

Some spiders can live longer than 40 years.

Indeed, spiders are vital to a healthy ecosystem, and provide many valuable services to the rest of Nature. 

Can the same thing be said of humans?

Finding A New Place To Grow

Our search for a place to settle more self-sufficiently (and cheaply) in Nova Scotia is off to a slow start, mostly because we do everything slowly. But that is not the only reason for our leisurely pace.

There are a few other reasons not to rush into making one of the largest purchases of our lives.

1. House prices have been dropping since we got here in 2014, and continue to drop.

2. We planted our garden. We can't leave it now, can we?

3. The rental we are currently living is, in many ways, perfect for our needs. Plus, our new landlords are excellent folks. 

4. We have never bought a home before, and it's a scary commitment. 

The house shown above caught our interest as we continue our research into the market here. 

At 79 sq m (850 sq ft), it was listed at $84,000 one year ago. Since then its price had been reduced to $47,500, and it just sold for $42,000. That is a substantial discount, and shows that rushing right now could cost us more.

This particular house, though, was too far from services, requiring a 30 minute drive to the nearest town. It was on a smaller lot (929 sq m/10,000 sq ft), which was sloped. Not the best for a wheelchair. 

On the plus side, the house was in the size range we are looking for, and came with 4 cords of wood. It also has the historical significance of being on the oldest graded road in Canada. 

Granville Road was established in 1606 by Samuel de Champlain, running from Port-Royal to Digby Cape, NS.

Better than that, how about the view across the street?

In between watering and weeding our garden, we will continue to look for a new place to grow and thrive. Until we discover our special place, we will continue to enjoy where we are here and now.

We hope you are doing the same.