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Fern Creek Trail, Muir Woods (Mt. Tamalpais)
Mt. Tam is the largest mountain in the Bay Area, standing tall over the Pacific Ocean with incredible views. But the forests surrounding it, including the famous John Muir Woods, are a tangle of trails moving through gorgeous redwoods, creeks, fallen logs.
This is a shot of one formerly great redwood, fallen when its roots got loose in a storm probably. Over time, its roots were overtaken by forest moss. At first I didn't think I'd be able to capture it in the dull valley light, but then a few rays poked through just as we were saying goodbye to it, and this one sort of worked out.
Over on Mastodon, there’s a trend where people post images of moss and add hashtag #mosstodon. Not sure that will work here :)
As if the Grená forest park wasn’t captivating enough, we suddenly found ourselves staring at this gorgeous, abandoned, moss-encrusted hotel, with large ropey roots sending tendrils down the walls. No signs telling you to keep out, no graffiti on the walls… and also no floors to separate the three stories - just rotting wooden joists. It had once been someone’s dream to create a fancy hotel in the middle of the woods, but for various reasons it had never worked out, and eventually been turned over to the park service to become part of the lore of the forest.
A Happy Thanksgiving to my many American friends!
I hope your day allows you to be grateful for the opportunity you have to bring some clarity to your purpose and optimism to your actions. That can be particularly difficut during these most complex of times. In my case, moments of morning clarity provide me the opportunity for optimism and a foundation for hope. Each morning when I am not traveling, I choose to chase the sunrise during my 7km walk - it's a key part of how I set my mind for the day ahead. I encounter moments like this as I start my trek.
Yesterday, during the final kilometer of my walk, I came across the "rickety bridge" - it's a small, ridiculous contraption that one must use to cross a creek that is perhaps 15 feet wide. I am convinced that it will collapse one day, launching me into a moment of hilarity.
Yesterday, that moment presented me with a special gift.
There, on a tree on the other side, was this glorious owl, perhaps 10 feet up, staring at me. I stopped and didn't move. Neither did the owl. I must have had two minutes to carefully take out my phone and take a few pictures, and then a few more moments to engage in a staring contest with this wonderful creature.
And at that moment, I found and set my optimistic tone for the day. I reminded myself that I could go through the day by choosing to be my 'better self.'
In today's world, we are surrounded by those who choose to fill their day with rage, grievance, hate, and anger. They have chosen to live their life defined not by the opportunities they will pursue but by trying to chase the 'greatness' they perceive they once had. And instead of making things great again, they end up going down a path in which they drag down not only themselves but those around them.
And then there are those who choose not to participate. I'm reminding myself each and every day that I am that person during my morning walk, and yesterday, I found some clarity in my actions. Last evening, I posted this note to my Twitter account.
It reads:
As things of great controversy progress on this site at an accelerated pace, I have decided to scale back my usage of Twitter, including limiting posting to my account @jimcarroll.
I have been online since 1982; I have been on Twitter since 2009. In that respect, my time here to date is but a small subset of my total time in the collaborative universe. When a place of joy and useful insight starts to shift into a location that seems certain to quickly become very much the opposite, it is time to take a break. For me, that time is now; for others, as well.
Twitter has been a remarkable tool and has the potential to remain so into the future. I am not yet confident given recent developments that it will become a viable town square.
I will continue to post my Daily Inspiration to my timeline - I know some of my followers enjoy it. I will continue to occasionally check in to track health, science, business, and news accounts that I respect and have come to trust. But at the same time, I am rapidly depleting my "Followed" list as part of my effort to scale back. I won't be engaging here; I will respond to DMs.
In the meantime, you can follow me on Substack, Medium, Instagram, Facebook LinkedIn and elsewhere. You can find this list, if you are so inclined, at: linktree.jimcarroll.com
Small acts like this can define us. At any given time, we can choose to be our better selves. In moving away from Twitter, I am doubling down on a fast-emerging alternative known as Mastodon. Over there I can be found at beingoblio.com/@jimcarroll. Yesterday morning, when I first had a glance, I did not see a rage-filled hate Tweet. I saw someone posting about .... moss.
As in, that stuff that grows on the ground. It turns out there is a hashtag, #Mosstodon, in which people share pictures of ... moss. It's a differen vibe! I'm in love with it already, and during my walk about 30 minutes from now, I will keep my eye out, not only for an owl, but for moss. I am optimistic that I will find some.
And so on this American Thanksgiving, I am grateful for the opportunity we all have to define our day with optimism and hope. To my American friends, I hope that this day provides you with your moments of gratitude and thanks, and will allow you to do that as well.
Happy Thanskgiving!
Futurist Jim Carroll doesn't know much about moss, but intends to find out. He will also probably fall into the water one day from the rickety bridge, but the water isn't terribly deep. It's a small price to pay for a daily investment in optimism.
Original post: jimcarroll.com/2022/11/every-small-moment-of-joy-provides...
Forest with a large moss-covered tree in the foreground and many smaller moss-covered trees in the background. There are many fallen leaves covering the ground as well as some greenery
via andre on metapixl.com metapixl.com/p/andre/776469326162256572
metapixl.com is a pixelfed instance
Forest ground with moss covering most of a large fallen tree in the bottom of the photo (there is a hole in the fallen tree without moss). There is a smaller fallen tree in the top of the photo mostly covered in moss. There are many fallen leaves covering the ground as well as some greenery
via andre on metapixl.com metapixl.com/p/andre/779044846038846024
metapixl.com is a pixelfed instance
via andre on metapixl.com metapixl.com/p/andre/862751513731863225
metapixl.com is a pixelfed instance