It's in the Fire in my Heart – and Yours
Plus info on my upcoming International Trails Summit sessions
Hello, friends! I wanted get a message out before the upcoming International Trails Summit (see below for more on that). I hadn’t had a topic planned for this post but did want to drop in with a hello and share a book recommendation. I finished reading Diary of a Young Naturalist the other day. Written by a young climate activist, Dara McAnulty of Northern Ireland, the book shares Dara’s diary entries over a one-year period. From the inside cover: (In his entries) “We see his close-knit family, the disruptions of moving and changing schools, and the complexities of living with autism.” We also see an emerging leader who is committed to addressing climate change and declining animal populations. It was a good read and was inspiring to hear from a person with a “fire in his heart” – like so many of you! An added bonus of reading this is I’ve noticed that I’ve been paying better attention to the natural world around me in the days since, always a good thing.
McAnulty ends his book with this excerpt of Johnny Flynn’s Bottom of the Sea Blues. I wasn’t familiar with the song before. I love how the tempo changes at this part:
My soul is in the trees
It’s in the sap that fills the wood
It’s in the rings that tell her age
It’s in the smoke that marks the days
It’s in the fire in my heart
It’s in the embers in the soot
It’s in the place I put the ash
It’s in the soil
It’s in the grass
It’s in the mouths of all the herd
It’s in the beetles and the birds
It’s in the feathers that I found one morning lying on the ground
It’s hallelujah, aye and oh
It’s where I’ve been and where I go
It’s in the people I meet
It’s kneeling silent at their feet
It’s ever dutifully yours
It stems my pride
And opens doors
Cycle Forward at International Trails Summit
I’m looking forward to attending the International Trails Summit in Reno, Nevada next week. I’ll be co-leading the sessions noted below and will also moderate the Trail Town and Gateway Community Manager Idea Exchange on April 17. Click on the flyer to learn more.
Gratitude Notes
My last post fell on my grandma’s 96th birthday. Today’s post falls on my other grandma’s birthday, so I thought I’d express gratitude for the role she played in my life. Edith “Cookie” Camp would have been 99 this year, but we lost her in 2008 at the age of 84. She was one of those really involved grandparents. My brothers and I spent a lot of time at her house, which was just one town over. She engaged us in craft projects, helped out with school shopping, and was the maker of some of my warmest childhood memories. Something I loved about my grandma is that she went into nursing in her 50s. I always thought that it was the most impressive thing that she went back to school and started a career at that age. Here’s a picture of her in her nursing uniform…along with my uncle’s hand and phone :). If you want to see the results of one of her craft projects (matching tie dye t-shirts for my brothers and me), send me a note and I’ll share the photo.
Keep a fire in your heart, everyone! Talk soon!
Loving the gratitude segments of your posts, Amy!