• rvandoren
      • hello rob'n vandoren
      • Username: rvandoren
      • In response to: "What do you do on the side?" i'm never on the side. what do you mean? i'm always right here, where-ever I am. I suppose I could imagine being on the side, but I don't think I could do anything there because I would be here.
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    • My Favorite Small Town

      • the roots of human history, still alive here, you don't need to believe, because there are still those who know


        DSC_1558.JPG

        Whenever I am passing through B.C. (not DC), I like to stop in Chase. I whittled away some summer days not so long ago in my memory, childhood and teen years that swirl together, lakeside eddies in my memory, minnows' shadows slip away against the sunlit sand as another shore monster wades through. Chase bakery date squares crumble through my fingers, disappearing in the clear glacier melt. A train's longing call slides through my awareness, its track runs above the sweet spot on the lake where waterskis seem to hover over the water, that dream, perfect summer days, gliding back to now. There's still some gratitude, a smile, some soul to be found in and around Chase, B.C.

      • answered by rvandoren on 01/27/2012
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    • 2012 Trends

      • slow food is a slow trend and it's big compared to the left over steamed broccoli trend. be charitable


        NYC Food cart

        Well, all the things that have been popular the last few years. Provided that there is no dramatic change to our m.o. of convenience and distraction. Hmmm, I could be more optimistic. I believe that it stands to reason that good stewardship of the planet will grow in popularity, and there will be an increase in the actual number of people who follow good intentions with heartfelt action.
        I really wanted to answer the street food question, but I'm only making time for one, and this came up. I don't think we should call it street food, maybe cart food?

      • answered by rvandoren on 01/11/2012
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    • Does anyone know if I used 'connotation' correctly?

      • my search words were 'city bumpkin'.


        downtown san francisco

        I prefer the combination. A city discourages population growth (hard to believe, I know), and 'the country' can then be better stewarded (hard to believe, ...). Not that you shouldn't have babies, propagate, cocreate, or breed (of course, the only breeding you do should be of other species (note that I said of and not with). Go ahead, make babies, just remember what good stewardship of the planet entails, and make sure your little ones remember. (It really isn't hard to learn, but don't assume that it's always common sense: that applies to raising babies, good stewardship, and living with dignity). (p.s. about good stewardship of the planet: don't assume you know what that is, or that it doesn't involve you, your kids will end up remembering you as an ass, and becoming mules for the burden of their ecological inheritance - and, yes, the ass/mule connotation refers to the earlier breeding remark, read into it what you like, but don't think less of the other species). After that little rant, I think I need a wee sojourn in the country.

      • answered by rvandoren on 11/10/2011
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    • Drop a fig on Jane (this refers to a chimp playfully testing gravity with Jane Goodall

      • it takes more muscles to frown, conserve energy! be silly, and do the right thing, or visit http://www.randomactsofkindness.org/ (start the game!)


        jump

        The First Law of Play: Conservation of Energy: play can be transformative, but it cannot be created or destroyed. Huh? ;) hmm, should be true. Play must be spirited (spirit cannot be created or destroyed, but is transformative). Play must be heart-centered (as in Heartmath), and always keep in perspective good stewardship (Right Stewardship for the buddhists) of the planet: no healthy, wholesome planet, no healthy, wholesome people, and fun needs to be healthy and wholesome, otherwise it's just fun for a few - and there's another word for that (what is it? betrayal? cheating?). Let's end on a happy note: the U.S. (I'm Canadian) is full of very playful people, si? At the end of the day, may we all be full of cheer.

      • answered by rvandoren on 09/01/2011
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    • Optimist or Pessimist?

      • A dense fog sits over Cowichan Bay around us. Is that an orca nudging the boat? large salmon? Is that brush of mist from the passing wings of a great eagle? Can I trust my heart - enough - to move out of this ... or to be in this sacred moment, enveloped in trust? What gifts are here?


        "The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails."

        - William Arthur Ward

        from Heartmath.com

        for me this says so much, and I keep in mind that sailing is more than adjusting the sails, and "sailing through life" can be - must be - a practice of self-mastery, and self-love (not self-adoration). Here's a song for all of our hearts ...
        Put a little love in your heart (Jackie DeShannon) sung by Al Green and Annie Lennox - among others.

        Be Real. Dream, and then return to the here and now. Doubt, and you may disappear into the mists (pessimists and optimists ;)

        laughter is the music of the cosmos (when our focus moves from self to ...)
        it is hard to adjust the sails when stuck at a computer, so off I go ... into the wild blue

      • answered by rvandoren on 10/24/2010
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