by Carole Duff | Aug 4, 2014 | Dogs & Other Creatures, Faith, Family, Local or Human Interest, Nature |
I’ve written about Vanaprastha, the third stage of Hindu life when one retreats to the forest in pursuit of solitude. It is also a time to reap the rewards of one’s labor and reconnect with family and friends. Part of a connected harvest involves correction. Proverbs...
by Carole Duff | Jul 7, 2014 | Faith, Family, Local or Human Interest, Nature |
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven; a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted – Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 It’s peach season here in Central Virginia. About a week ago, I...
by Carole Duff | Jun 30, 2014 | Local or Human Interest, Nature |
I read somewhere that good health includes five elements: Physical Intellectual Spiritual Family and friends Community, both local and global. Here at Vanaprastha, we spend most of our time with elements two through five. We check news feeds and email, read widely and...
by Carole Duff | Jun 16, 2014 | Dogs & Other Creatures, Family, Writing and Reading |
Dogs have played a variety of roles in their long history of domestication. During wars, dogs served along with many other animals. As cited in Susan Orlean’s book Rin Tin Tin, 16 million animals deployed in World War I: camels, cavalry and draft...
by Carole Duff | Jun 2, 2014 | Dogs & Other Creatures, Local or Human Interest, Nature |
I do not have a green thumb. Yet, I have always kept a garden, even if it was just a small plot along the side of the house or plants in pots on terraces in Texas, Baltimore, Alexandria and now here on the deck outside the dining room at Vanaprastha. Fresh herbs and...
by Carole Duff | May 19, 2014 | Dogs & Other Creatures, Faith, Family, Writing and Reading |
A friend of mine, who I have known for twenty-five years, came to Vanaprastha this past weekend, giving rise again to thoughts about abiding friendships. In C.S. Lewis’ The Four Loves– family affection, friendship, romance, charity – Lewis states, “…Friendship [is]...
