ilana
The Urgency of Joy
With every closing of the year, I choose a word or a theme for the next. This year, the word that came to me is JOY. If there is anything...
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ilana
- Nov 17, 2021
- 5 min
Opal Whiteley and Our Untrue Stories
What of the stories we tell about ourselves and the world are true? “It’s a poor sort of memory that only works backwards” - Queen, Alice...
ilana
- Nov 10, 2021
- 4 min
Becoming the Bear
How much bear are you anyway? When I see a wild animal, I wonder what lessons can be drawn from its nature. Its essence. When I was going...
ilana
- Oct 28, 2021
- 2 min
The Thin Veil
Exploring the liminal with a group of fool-hearted adventurers in the wilderness. This past Sunday my collaborator, Wade (Uncanny Means),...
ilana
- Oct 11, 2021
- 4 min
The Infiniteness of Identity
How does our sense of Self shift when considering our interdependence? There is an oak tree that I visit on my walks. I often pause to...
ilana
- Oct 5, 2021
- 3 min
The Joy of Zero
What the number zero can teach us about freedom. ~~~ In my twenties I was a substitute teacher for Special Education classrooms in the...
ilana
- Sep 20, 2021
- 4 min
The Gift of the Dead Coyote
Trigger Warning: death ~~image of dead coyote~~ I live on a property that is butted up against the Angeles National Forest. Lots of...
ilana
- Sep 9, 2021
- 4 min
Letter #4, Lisa: "The sneaking suspicions about yourself are right."
Letters to a Young Woman Project. Women over the age of 40 write a letter to their younger selves. Dear 17 year old me, Look at you! How...
ilana
- Sep 5, 2021
- 1 min
A Brief Sunday Morning Musing
Walking alone in nature, I shapeshift. Assuming the form of the oak, the rabbit, the flicker, the whale, the darkling beetle. On the...
ilana
- Aug 30, 2021
- 4 min
Here is Everything
A not so solo wilderness retreat ~~~ I recently went on a solo backpacking trip to a place I’ve spent a lot of time exploring, the...
ilana
- Jul 29, 2021
- 3 min
The Fool Doesn't Suffer Inner Critics
The uneasy inner critic is no match for the blithesome inner fool. introducing the cast of my inner critic committee I have this trio of...
ilana
- Jul 26, 2021
- 3 min
Letter #3: "What you must pay attention to are their actions."
Letters to a Young Woman Project. Women over the age of 40 write a letter to their younger selves. TRIGGER WARNING: Childhood sexual...
ilana
- Jun 30, 2021
- 3 min
Meeting the Fool on the Mountain
When I was on a backpacking trip in the Sierra Nevada of California I encountered a fool. I am an avid backpacker and early on in my...
ilana
- Jun 25, 2021
- 2 min
Letter #2: “rejoice in it all and let the mystery be.”
Letters to a Young Woman Project. Women over the age of 40 write a letter to their younger selves. My mom writes to her 18 year-old self...
ilana
- Jun 17, 2021
- 3 min
Letter #1"The creative self is delicate."
Letters to a Young Woman Project. I asked women over the age of 40 to write a letter to their younger selves. Dear 22 year old Me, I am...
ilana
- Jun 17, 2021
- 2 min
why the fool
I’ve spent much of my adulthood wondering if everyone else knows what they’re doing. I am on the stage with the other actors but I’ve...
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