Pondering Destructiveness in Ants and Humans
One fairly ubiquitous creature we encountered in Costa Rica was the ant. We frequently came across lines of ants, marching alongside or across our path. In fact, Luis, our guide, told us that whenever we stopped along a path, we needed to look down to make sure we...
Coconut Cures Everything—or Is It Cacao?
One afternoon, in the small town of Tortuguero, Costa Rica, our small band of travelers sat together on plastic chairs under a veranda alongside a small hotel and listened to Cloied Taylor tell stories as he cooked up his family’s recipe for coconut candy. Cloied grew...
Releasing Old Understandings of Ourselves
There’s a wise saying that the only constant is change. The world, and our bodies, are in a constant state of flux, though we do not realize it. For example, scientists tell us that our skin cells are all replaced every few weeks! The mountains that seem eternal are...
Overexposure to the Summer Sun
It’s hot here in the Sonoran Desert. It’s not unseasonably hot and unbearably humid, like it is in so much of the US these days. Triple-digit summer weather is standard here in Southern Arizona, and—at least right now—we’re not hitting the record temperatures that we...
The Rhythms of Summer
Summer has officially arrived. Here in southern Arizona, the temperatures have been climbing into the triple digits for weeks. I’m taking my morning walk as soon as it gets light—before 5 am—and the temperature is usually already in the 80s. When I get back, I take my...
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