Heidi Barr's Blog, page 2

Imperfect Practice [is still] the Way Forward

12 Tiny Things: Simple Ways to Live a More Intentional Life, the book I co-authored with Ellie Roscher, has been out in the world for about eleven months now. It’s a strange and wonderful thing to see the words you’ve written take on a life of their own once they are out of your hands. We’ve watched as readers picked up the book and gave trying on their own tiny things a go, from our friends to community members to strangers who post about it on their own websites. We’ve published guest bl...

Rest in Gratitude

A lot happens over the course of single season during the life of a garden. By late autumn, the plants that produced all sorts of good things during the summer have become compost, the fields will soon be tilled under to mark the transition to fall, and the leaves on the aspen trees turn from green to gold. Enough food was grown to eat, to preserve, and to share. Abundance sprang from the soil and found its way out into the world. Pounds of produce were harvested and enjoyed.

There were some ...

It’s Only A Door

“The door itself
makes no promises.
It is only a door”
~Adrienne Rich

Have you seen the movie Sliding Doors?  I have to admit that I don’t really remember the plot very well, other than in tandem story lines, Gwyneth Paltrow’s character misses her train by seconds as the doors slide shut in one, and in the other she makes it and goes on with her day as planned.  Her choices, as a result of missing the train and going through a different door, alter the course of her life almost beyond recognitio...

You may say I’m a dreamer

is what John Lennon sang, and surely he’s not the only one.

What do you dream of? How do you make music? What art finds a voice in your body?  What do you muse over? What invites you to wander, and what invites you to be still?  How do you let go of what the world wants you be?  How to you claim who you are instead?

How do you move with the mountains?  What makes you return to the forest, or the lake, or the plains, or the sea, time and time again?  How do you listen to the moon and what ...

The Scent of Wildness

It’s been really overcast and, honestly, kind of dreary and flat-looking outside lately. The cloud cover has been thick and the air heavy with spring humidity after two days of constant rain.  Mid morning I needed a break from work, so I headed to one of my favorite trails. Despite the uninspiring weather conditions, it was time for a brief respite from the computer screen. I wasn’t expecting much more than a chance to stretch my legs and to get some fresh air. Be screen free for a little while...

On Being Fully Alive

“Find the marriage of meaning and matter in life and in the world.” Oriah Mountain Dreamer says that’s what we ache for—to touch and truly know the “fire of being fully alive.” It’s true. Being alive (truly alive) seems to be the ultimate goal, even though it can be hard to express what that means or looks like.

What is “being fully alive”?

Today, for me anyway, being fully alive is noticing the way the sun casts dappled light and shadow through still bare tree branches. It’s coming thro...

How to Cultivate a Wild Child

Childhood.  That time of life that is full of growth, learning, questions and change.  A time that plays a part in defining our view of the world and what we hold as important.  A time of cultivation. A time that needs wildness.

Most of my childhood was spent living just outside of a small college town in eastern South Dakota. Days in the summer were spent outside in the fields around our five acre plot, picking berries and vegetables in the garden (enthusiastically…some of the time) and stra...

Embrace Your Wild In Four Simple Steps

Does multitasking ever threaten to splice your attention into little bits? When the pull to do 15 things at once comes calling, I try to remember to do four simple things.  When I can remember to do these four simple things, I can honestly say that I am present in my moments.  That I taste and smell and see and hear and feel with my whole being.

Image by Red Bird Hills

1. First things first: Go outside.  Even if it’s cold, cloudy, or raining.  There is something about connecting with f...

Flickers

The flames are dancing in the wood stove, sending little flickers of light and shadow around the room. I can hear the clock ticking over my left shoulder, marking the seconds as they go by. It’s dark outside, and overcast. There’s no moonlight. The coyotes who have been chattering every night for weeks have gone silent for now. The house is quiet and still.

Things in the world, especially this country of the United States, remain tumultuous. Events in recent weeks have left people feeling ...

Imperfect Practice is the Way Forward

Tomorrow is the first day of a new year.  You could say it’s a chance to make the changes you want to your lifestyle.  You could say it’s the start of a new chapter in your life, a chance to make this chapter your best yet.  You could say what lies ahead are 365 days of possibility.  All of that could be true—but at the end of the day, even a day that includes opening up a new calendar, no day holds more power for change than another. Every single day includes a chance to make a small change. Ev...