Drawn by a Star

'Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.' ― Mary Oliver 'Instrucciones para vivir una vida. Preste atención. Se asombrará. Dile a los demás.' - Mary Oliver

As I start to prepare for my next South American adventure, this is the question that's grabbing me. Leaving behind a country in dire crisis ( Spain), how can we, living in First World nations, help each other be part of a transition to a gentler, more responsible way of living by replacing attachment to things with deeper relationships to people, nature, and self? An example of this is lived out by the indigenous people of Peru and Bolivia. Many have no other choice. They live as their grandparents lived. I travel to learn as I learn to travel. What part can storytelling and music play in this transition, here in the West? What part does it play in the Andes? In Peru and Bolivia I'm going to be looking for storytellers, musicians, shamans , people in tune with Pachamama. I'll be meeting friends whose lack of financial resources does not interfere with their faith that, in alignment with Pachamama, all will be well, and all that is needed will be...

Paul Gallico’s The Snow Goose is a tale about a disabled painter living in a lonely lighthouse on the south coast of England. One day a girl brings to him a wounded snow goose, which he nurses back to health. The goose returns each year, as does the girl, and a romance develops between the girl and the artist. But the artist is killed rescuing soldiers after the evacuation of Dunkirk, while the snow goose flies overhead. Gallico is a self-described "storyteller." Many of his stories are told in the apparently artless style of a folk tale or legend. Like other "storyteller" writers, the charm and power lie in something about the cumulative effect of plainly told detail after plainly told detail. A summary outline of a Gallico story may sound uninteresting, even bordering on ludicrous; an individual quotation broken out of its context falls flat; their essence exists only in their entirety. Gallico distanced his writing from a "modern" point o...

If you haven’t read the first part of this story, please scroll down to the bottom to read Part 1. To recap: I'm on my way to Patagonia in search of a turquoise lake and a certain mystical mountain. I've just left a town called Talca in a dilapidated bus , and am heading for Casa Verde, which promises to be a charming Bed and Breakfast 'cabin' in middle of a eucalyptus forest. “Santa Blanca” the bus conductor breathes in my ear, as if saying ‘Meet me at midnight, Gorgeous.’ Or was it, ‘Be very careful Granny?’ I’m the only passenger to alight. The bus leaves, creating a shower of fine beige dust. It’s 4.30 in the afternoon. The scent of pine is strong. But what’s this screeching and droning? Sounds like heavy machinery. Where am I? I watch the bus disappear. Is there a parada ( bus stop) on the other side of the road? No. Is this a saw mill, or... a detention camp? There’s a lot of barbed wire, and a high perimeter fence. What now? ...

“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” Thich Nhat Hanh "A veces tu alegría es la fuente de tu sonrisa, pero a veces tu sonrisa puede ser la fuente de tu alegría." Thich Nhat Hanh "Иногда ваши радости является источником ваших улыбку, но иногда ваши улыбки может быть источником вашей радости". Тик Нат Хан

Symptoms of Inner peace. Los síntomas de la paz interior. Симптомы внутренний мир. 1. A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based on past experience 2. An unmistakable ability to enjoy the moment 3. A loss of interest in judging people 4. A loss of interest in judging self There are more. Author unknown. “There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly.” Richard Buckminster Fuller My new writing goal is to collate and edit a collection of short travel stories I wrote five years ago, after my first expedition to Chile. I asked God to show me His/Her face in Patagonia. He/She did. The collection will include the story in the previous blog. No more procrastinating! In order to do this, I will need to daily check symptom number four! The screenplay is taking a sabbatical. Anyone else needing help with their writing goals have a look at: http://jurgenwolff.com. Jurgen is unique ! Innovate, ge...