Thursday, October 23, 2003 |
Existence
I took last night off, which allowed some big picture topics to resurface. Topics which I lately have set aside to the benefit of relatively urgent and numerous day-to-day tasks.
I thought about my opportunities in this life - and the choices I am making. Last night, I dreamt about a friend who died last year.
For me, what is most astonishing about it all - and what I was astonishing to me even as a little kid - is that anything exists at all. It is amazing that this universe exists, this planet, life... That I exist.
Thursday, October 16, 2003 |
Patterns
Some patterns from my life:
1. Oslo, Norway | 1989-1994
Spirituality, art, relationships, explorations
(chi gong, tai chi, jes bertelsen, tibetan buddhism, cg jung, rudolf steiner, fritjof carpa, systems theories, world literature, painting, drawing, odd nerdrum)
2. Salt Lake City, Utah | 1994-1997
Spirituality, psychology, nature, photography
(kanzeon zen center, environmental and health psychology, utah nature)
3. Madison, Wisconsin | 1997-2002
Community, sustainability, food, rural
(sustain dane, ecoteams, earth institute discussion groups, organic food, csa, rural life, lakes, nature)
4. Eugene, Oregon | 2002-?
Architecture, ecological design, permaculture, spirituality
(sustainable architecture, eugene permaculture guild)
5. Future?
Spirituality, ecological design, community (weaving together)
Thursday, October 02, 2003 |
Thermal Delight
I am reading Thermal Delight in Architecture by Lisa Heschog.
It reminds me of our time living in a rural farmhouse in Wisconsin, near Mount Horeb and Madison (built in the 1880s by a Norwegian family - Tollefsen). During the cold winter days and nights, we spent nearly all our time in the large kitchen - the central part of the house. We fired the woodstove, baked bread, and were warm and content. We let the rest of the house stay cold as we did not need it for other than occasional use. This strategy - insipired by the design of the house (kitchen as focal point) preserved energy, and gave us hightened awareness of the joys of warmth from wood fire and freshly baked bread.
This is in stark contrast to some bland and boring modern designs where all parts of a building is equally heated... dulling our senses and awareness of our surroundings.