Andrew Gingerich embraces a prophetic, contemplative lifestyle. Of course he would object to this description, because his pursuit is internally driven and extrinsic validation does not go far with him. At times he speaks like a modern-day Desert Father (in our conversation he unknowingly paraphrases one of the most famous lines by Abba Moses), with the winsome nature of Thoreau and the delivery of The Dude from The Big Lebowski. In this episode, I sit in Andy’s shack during a soft rain to talk about his years of minimalist living and the intention behind it, the integration of human imagination and …
Author: Swanson
007: Growing Basil and the Art of Eavesdropping, Dar Williams on Building Community through Positive Proximity
“One of America’s very best singer-songwriters.” – The New Yorker* Dar Williams is thoughtful and charming as she tells stories about her local community, but don’t let her laid back delivery fool you, she is passionate about community life and the revitalization of small towns everywhere. Known for her songwriting chops, Dar takes us down another avenue to talk about “positive proximity”, the focus of her forthcoming book. In this episode, Dar dives into the themes of social capital, the joys and trials of truly knowing your community, and learning the art of eavesdropping. Dar Williams is a singer-songwriter, author, teacher and the list goes …
006: Creating Empty Spaces, Toinette Lippe on the Mindful Art of Being
“Each day is valuable…Do not compare it with a dragon’s bright pearl. A dragon’s pearl may be found. But this one day out of a hundred years cannot be retrieved once it is lost.” – Zen Master Dogen* This quote easily tripped off the lips of author, editor, illustrator and brush painter Toinette Lippe. An artist of many pursuits, Lippe had a distinguished publishing career at Simon and Schuster (under Robert Gottlieb, who later became editor of The New Yorker), Knopf and then as the editorial director of Bell Tower. She edited 141 books from such luminaries as Ram Dass (How …
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