Author: Michael Stevens

This week, I personally received word of three deaths: someone’s brother, a distant relative, and a friend. I often reflect on how many people, animals, insects, plants, etc. are passing away in this moment...

The wind begins to strengthen with the unmistakable ambience of an oncoming thunderstorm. My memory of this unique quality is deeply rooted. As a young boy I was indirectly struck by lightning while standing...

They are flitting about the courtyard, making numerous trips into the sky and back. Cradled within mud nests clinging to the sides of the house, open beaks eagerly await their return. Parent barn swallows...

I am sure those twelve people who read this blog recognize I am an introvert. Growing up in a world that prioritizes extroverts has forced me to face this fact of my existence. I...

On this day celebrating Buddha’s enlightenment, I am 30,000 feet in the air. The clouds below look like acres of cotton candy. If I fell from this airplane, I would pass effortlessly through that...

The thunderstorms roll in one after another. As they pass, micro-rivers flow over the landscape like splayed veins of water flowing into ever widening deltas. I come across one area where it seems fresh...

The Dharma Center is steward of a two mile section in the adopt-a-highway program. Our stretch of route 20 is located east of Bend, and we make an annual pilgrimage there to clean up...

Quite early this morning, before the city awakens to its busyness, I begin wandering about outside and start touching things. I am compelled by a strange urge to explore beyond static labels and each...

The trail to Chimney Rock winds through a dry canyon toward a basalt outcrop overlooking the Crooked River. The ‘chimney’ is an eroded bit of a larger basalt formation, part of a number of...

It is funny how my mind peers through the filter of my assumptions. Like that toilet paper strewn about on an undeveloped parcel of land near my home. You would think people would be...