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“Die when I may, I want it said of me by those who knew me best, that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow.”

~ Abraham Lincoln

Thanksgiving is traditionally both a celebration of the harvest and a time to express appreciation for all that we have been given.

Although this year has been incredibly challenging, the heartbreaking circumstances we are all enduring can have the paradoxical effect of pulling smaller, simpler things into focus - allowing us to more fully value that which we might have taken for granted before.

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Grandmother Trees// In the Bolivian Amazon the enormous Samaúma tree, or Grandmother tree as the locals call them, reveals an amazing truth about interconnectedness between people and the natural world surrounding them.

The imprint of the past, and of the indigenous people who lived here among these giants before the arrival of the Europeans, is literally entwined within the memory of the trees themselves, as well as infused into the surrounding rich, dark earth called “terra preta”.

This bond is of course a spiritual one, but unbelievably also a tangible physical link between the people of the modern Amazon and their ancestors.

Read this fascinating tale about what “inheritance” can truly mean here.

Betye Saar is an assemblage artist, widely considered to be "one of the most significant philosopher-artists of the past century". She is 94 years old and has been working since the early '60's.

The Getty Research Institute has deemed her to be "the conscience of the art world for over fifty years". Her "Black Girl's Window" was the subject of a retrospective at MOMA earlier this year. She has spoken of the panes as tarot cards, others have likened them to a memory board.

She places Death at the heart of the piece because "Death is in the center. Everything revolves around death." You can read more about her here and more about "Black Girl's Window" here.

Stonehenge//Stonehenge has long been a profound mystery. Although believed to be a sacred ceremonial site, including for burials, no deeper understanding of the monolith’s significance was known definitively.

Over the last decade though, and thanks to the utilization of magnetic remote sensing technology, the land around Stonehenge has slowly been revealing more of its hidden secrets. A village adjacent to Stonehenge was discovered first, thought to be where the builders of Stonehenge resided. Although more pieces are needed to solve the riddle of this now enormous pre-historic site, archaeologists and historians are primed for a thrilling ride. Read more here.

Theo and Skelly// When 2-year old toddler Theo stumbled upon a five-foot tall skeleton in the basement this Halloween, it was love at first sight. Theo and “Skelly” have since become inseparable and it looks like Skelly will definitely be sticking around when the rest of the Halloween decorations get packed away!

Get a big smile from this short video about these unusual best friends here.

Tim Heideker is best known as a comedian, part of the famed duo Tim and Eric - however he is also an accomplished singer/songwriter and his latest song here, "Fear of Death" reflects that.

The 44 year old father of two writes from the perspective of being too old to care about being cool and the songs can almost be seen as personal journal entries about aging. They're also, inescapably, about coming to terms with mortality.

Listen to Tim’s NPR interview here and read an Inside Hook article here.

Dick Johnson Is Dead// In Dick Johnson is Dead, the new movie from filmmaker and renowned cinematographer Kristen Johnson, a daughter documents and memorializes her father and his impending death with grace, lots of wit and an exuberant sense of life, while they are still together to share it all.

Now streaming on Netflix, the film is an affirmation of not only Dick Johnson’s life, but also of the rituals of mourning as celebration for a life well-lived. It leaves us with this truth ~ the legacy of love never dies, as it continues to be vital and cherished in the memory of those still here, and in this particular case has been molded into art made from the fabric of their beautiful bond for all time. Watch film here. Read a review here.

The famed Dance Theatre of Harlem - a professional ballet company and school founded in Harlem by Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook in 1969 - takes to the streets with joy in this video clip set to Bach. You can check out the video here.

John Luther Adams is an American composer known for his avant garde approach to the relationship between sounds, frequencies, music and and the natural world. He won a Pulitzer in 2014 for "Become Ocean" which the New Yorker termed "the loveliest apocalypse in musical history".

His work sits at the intersection of humans and their relationship to the planet they inhabit. He is keenly aware of the ramifications of climate change and his work gives voice to all that we are at risk of losing.

You can find a 2008 New Yorker profile here, a 2018 concert at Lincoln Center here, and a Spotify link for “Become Ocean” here.

Featured Practices

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