Claims that tourism involves colonization, terrorism, dispossession, commodification are valid, but these are reasons to take tourists more seriously and study them more carefully.
Random
Autumn renewal
The stifling remnants of summer have fled at last. Cool autumn air has settled in across the land. Although the trees remain fully leafed, the exhausted gardens sag into their final season.
A tree fell in the forest, and many were there to hear it
This week a rotten tree fell hard in the forest. Many thousands were there to witness its undoing, but no one heard the crash. Not even the tree realized it had fallen.
What is most important to you right now?
My preferred question for people I have just met is “What is most important to you right now?” This question turns our conversation to something you actually are interested in.
Peace, pay, and pacify from the Latin pax
The Latin word pax, most often translated as “peace,” lies at the etymological root of both “pay” and “pacify.” How do we fit the Pacific Ocean into this puzzle?
My sincere lack of faith
Faith has always been a troubling concept for me, something I intuitively avoid. Perhaps my uneasiness stems from the term’s multiple meanings and uses.
Meditation on the coming of the equinox
Tomorrow the equinox arrives. Tomorrow ends longer days as we pass through a moment of balance between light and dark.
When the day is not long enough
Some days are too long, but most not long enough. My obligations and ambitions pull me in too many directions, and before I know it the day is nearly gone.
The detourist path of karma
The detourist welcomes unanticipated changes in course, regards the derailment of one’s intentions and ambitions as a normal and agreeable opportunity.
The simple ambitions of hummingbird
Our complex brains have developed ambitions far beyond our needs and purposes. We race around not even noticing hummingbirds, butterflies, or storm clouds on the far horizon.