01/17/2026
Paying attention to nature is a doorway into ourselves.
This week’s dispatch post-Mexico:
One week ago, ten women gathered in a hacienda in Baja where the rugged desert drops into endless blue ocean to savor the beauty and wisdom of the natural world.
I am easily delighted and nearly lost my mind when baby hummingbirds streamed over our heads on the first evening. But, no, these creatures were even better than baby hummingbirds! Moths. White-lined sphinx moths, to be precise.
Mimicking hummingbirds, these surprising pollinators are crepuscular, meaning they are are active only during twilight, tending to night-blooming flowers like petunias and moonflowers which can be neglected by diurnal bees and butterflies.
I was wholly unaware of this option. Why limit oneself to early bird or night owl, when you might just be a twilight moth?
On the other end of the enchantment spectrum, while wandering the beach on the final day, I came upon a big blowfish co**se drying in the sun. It was so cool.
Under all the adult husk, we are all still kids amazed by the wonders of the world. That original self is gobsmacked by the fantastical remains of a creature adapted to avoid being eaten by puffing up into a poisonous sphere.
I was reminded of the recent trauma spiral shared in last week’s progress note. What if we tried to see our own stunning and creative responses to danger, our spiny beachball moments, with such awe?
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Inside my life resides a simpler life,
And inside that another, concentric
Russian dolls of happiness, each
Waiting for me to show them sky,
Birdsong, rain, the gifts of plain days,
Until at last my innermost original
Shrugs off all husks of complexity
To wake singing in this world.
– Concentric Futures by Kim Stafford
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