This Island has a River

 

 

 

 

 

Andrew Tipton

 

/Wilderness Song

"Bitter pain is in store for me, but I shall bear it. Beauty beyond all power to convey shall be mine . . . Death may await me . . . Not through cynicism and ennui will I be easy prey. And regardless if all that may befall, let me not be found to lack an understanding of the inscrutable humor of it all." 

- Everett Ruess

Good Earth Woman

 

 

There is so much knowledge just waiting for us to ask..    This month I met purposefully strong and beautiful female farmers who have blessed me with wisdom and shown me their methods in the sustainable growing of fruits and vegetables.    It is easy to forget the sacredness of ourselves, and to forget to honor the source of our health..  our foods.     Spending time tilling soil, building shelters, admiring these roots and leaves, I have discovered that the wellness of my body is ultimately grounded in my respect for each meal..  where it came from, and acknowledging its purpose for granting me life.   

 

 

 

Andrew Tipton

 

indomitable hope

 

"imagine if every will was free to roam,
imagine if the trees could tell us where to go

imagine that the sun could fill each lonely heart,
imagine confrontation never got a start,

imagine if things were always crystal clear,
imagine if the mind never interfered

imagine if we could fly with broken wings
imagine if the heart could shed its skin,

please,
patience please,

patience please,
I'm creating a dream,"


-Xavier Rudd


-

strawberry stains

 

 

 

I thought it would be really cool this week if I could return a little affection to my community..  since I've been back in Alabama, I've had my soul rocked by the generosity of strangers, the open-hearts of my friends, and the warmth of people genuinely happy to lend me their grace.   I have felt welcomed as a son and a brother.   

     

I invited my friend Jess to join me for the afternoon, and we took a ride down some beautiful stretches of Alabama back roads to find the juiciest, ripest, most succulent strawberries in the state!    After gorging ourselves on as many berries as we could possibly eat..   we picked a few to bring back with us.      

 

  I was reminded that often even the simplest and seemingly insignificant efforts can change everything, about a moment, a day, and a life.     I think what we do.. for better or worse.. 

great or small..  echos through the universe long after our thoughts are elsewhere. 

I'm glad to be home for this short while..



 

 

Andrew Tipton

keep your head up.

 

 

Andrew Tipton

Alchemy

(Ryan McGinley)  

 

To be in love with ourselves is the boldest undertaking I know of.


To forgo the instinct of personal fear,
and the hesitation that accompanies doubt.. 
To take our sanity forward {yes, as always}, but also our madness.
To know what we are here for,  and not pass it by or shut our eyes.
This is everything / every speck and dusty thought:  colliding.  
This is the transformation,  of a self.  our self.  the self.  
Acknowledging our frailty and despite it, our readiness for belief.
I see
greatness happening,
I feel
 greatness.  here.  now.  happening.
and it is as if everything rests on the shoulders of the dreamers
the ones who know that time is infinite and
that love is a disease - contagious. no such cure.
We are beautiful.  straight ahead.. as our eyes wander
and somehow we both know that nothing else matters.
not our flawed voices, and not our scars.
    This is the root of Alchemy.
To take our wildness and our virtuousness and to obey them both.  


 
     Andrew Tipton