Author Archives: amy j howton

i met quanita three and a half years ago, in august 2019. i’d just returned from a meditation retreat where the red rocks in New Mexico told me that my inescapable fear was fear of myself. she showed up to guide me as i leaned into this fear, learned from it, and grew into moreContinue reading “quanita”

in my story-weaving way, i found myself this morning following the thread of brigid. i lit a fire. and sat with her in the wayfinding of threads in me that are both ancient and new. this is my labor, now. to go inward and pay attention to what is arising in me. draw close toContinue reading “today’s medicine”

i’ve been deep in winter’s hibernation, practicing a different way of knowing, a different way of being. i’ve been moving slowly. allowing myself to be in a new rhythm, resting and still and quiet. this isn’t to say that it always looks like this from the outside. there are times when i’m buzzing like aContinue reading “hibernation, grief, and the feminine”

for the first time since i wrote it in 2011, i read my dissertation recently. a solid decade stood between my now-self and my then-self; so much learning and living in the in-between–so much changed and so much still the same. it felt good and timely to return to my research. i did so becauseContinue reading “expansion”

we had no gps, no service only screenshots of a google map, sheer determination, and wonder all compelled by deep joy to be here in these Blue Ridge Mountains among these October colors wildly adventuring, mother and daughter freedom coursing through our veins can this be right? as the road evolved into a narrow andContinue reading “lady luck”

a thread that’s running through life these days is solidarity. it’s got me wondering what it means, what it looks like, what it calls for. a couple of weeks ago, i spent the day with a friend who is a community organizer. an escalating issue called for his attention, threatening coalitions that had been carefullyContinue reading “solidarity”

as i pulled together the newest edition of wild roots: weaving stories of wonder and truth, i’ve been listening and looking for patterns that have revealed themselves lately. today, these patterns fell into natural order as we land on today, equinox. in the northern hemisphere, this means we head into darkness. the days become shorter,Continue reading “equinox”

eighteen months or so into this virus and i’m still wondering: what is our relationship with COVID? and what it might look like to be in right relationship with this virus? and underneath these questions: what is our relationship with life? with death? stephen jenkinson talks about the death trade, this culture that western societyContinue reading “covid”

yesterday, i had uninterrupted time with meg in the car. there was traffic. so, more time. funny how even after more than a year in lockdown + pandemic living, there is still need for uninterrupted time with one another… i wanted to talk with her about the IPCC report that had come out yesterday morningContinue reading “reality”