Blog of Jonathan Teel

I grew up near a lake, a river, and the ocean in a small town in coastal Maine. I spent my summers on the lake watching sunsets and its play on myriad cloud formations. I marveled at the uniqueness of each sunset and was teased at times for it.  Each moment, however, was different and awe-inspiring in its beauty. I smelled flowers, observed wildlife, and swam with fish. I watched angelic snowflakes fall from the sky upon my face in the wintertime. I was blessed and deeply appreciative.   I grew up with clean air and a fresh breeze off the Atlantic. I played in the frigid ocean and smelled the salty air. I heard stories of intoxicating air pollution in US cities and across the Earth. I was saddened. As any curious kid, I wondered why.  Against the expansiveness of the ocean, there was the majesty of the mountains. I hiked growing up, enamored with the smell of the forest on trails and scaled small mountains. During a gap year, I hiked Volcanoes National Park on t...

A gaucho village beckoned.  It offered silence from the chaos of a city that never sleeps, of honking car horns, dump trucks pounding pot holes, and the buzz of incessant activity.  A gust of wind picked up as I descended from the public bus. It dusted the old cars with dirt parked nearby as well as a group of middle-aged women carrying plastic grocery bags. I observed their sun-beat skin and preoccupied looks with curiosity.   I moved through the village streets with melancholy as if I had been there before in my dreams. To this quiet place of horses, farmland, and simplicity.   I arrived at a park and found shade under a maple tree. I wondered about the last rain when I rested my backpack on grass colored brown. There I contemplated  the quietude of this far off place.  There was a creek and it flowed through the park forming different pools for swimming or dipping. A small waterfall pounded slippery rocks down the hill from me. ...

I walk in nature.  I walk along a trail that leads somewhere. It is nestled into the green growth of a forest whose trees reach the sky. The singing of birds echo in my ears, each with a distinct song and message. One bird here and one bird there.  I hear the branches of the trees as they sway in the subtle breeze. I notice my footsteps on the dirt path. A dog barks in the distance but I know it is not mine. My dog, Barish, is near, jumping over fallen trees, smelling the scent of animals, and investigating the home of a creature below the ground.  The trail takes me to a stream. Flowing water fills my eyes, ears, and heart. It tries to calm the endless thoughts that rumble through my mind like freight trains. I walk over a footbridge and it bounces against my weight. From my view the stream now sparkles in the sunlight, its rays pouring down from the heavens.   My busy mind continues unabated even if nature is slowly winning. I walk along a straigh...

Waking Up is about living within the uncertainty of life. Our lives and our experiences are uncertain from our perspective. We don't necessarily know what is going to happen tomorrow or the next day or in the future. We may certainly have a sense of what will happen tomorrow because we planned it that way or expect it to unfold in a certain way. Nonetheless, for us to know the end result of anything is almost impossible. Uncertainty in life makes us anxious, fearful, and stressed. For the majority of us, we are worried about everything: from family and friends to our jobs and our responsibilities and to our health and happiness. Above all, we are worried about the outcomes of our decisions. We hate not knowing what's going to happen next. There are three concepts whose practice might help us to minimize "the anxiety of uncertainty." In brief: 1. Letting Go: Letting go is to no longer seek to control everything that happens to us or others. Letting go does NOT...