It is not only humans that tell stories. . . In the voice of bright white feathers and a charming black cap, a story darts its way through gusts of wind off the coast of Massachusetts hatching out of makeshift nests of pebbles and dry grasses. during the months of April and May. It is a seasonal story with themes of reciprocity and interdependence between the arctic tern, a migrating bird, and local coastal cloudberry flowers suggesting that even temporary guest can still contribute to a landscape’s thriving.
Read MoreOwl and Raven: A Folktale of Beauty and Reciprocity
Must beauty always be something unattainable and unachievable, something we relentlessly pursue only to have whatever small gains we have made swept out from beneath or feet by the latest new seasonal trends? . . . Or can we hear the ruffled feathers of an ancient folktale perched on the branched edges of the tree of modernity, just waiting for us to notice it and hear its song? An ancient Inuit folktale about two charming friends, Snowy Owl and Raven, weaves beauty and belonging back together again with old world enchantment. . .
Read MoreAutumn's Gifts: Beauty and Bereavement
Autumn gifts us with the beauty of dying leaves, or, in the words of Rebecca Solnit, the reminder that beauty and bereavement can sometimes intertwine. What the autumn reminds us of is how feelings of grief and loss (and the dying of the leaves) can be felt at the same times as we experience something beautiful and joyful (the vibrant golden colors of the leaves) and how this complex combination of opposites is often at the heart of our human experience and weaves its way into many ancient folktales.
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