I took this philosophy class at Edinboro University, I've forgotten the instructors name, but he was this wonderfully lanky man who could easily double for a homeless man on any hollywood set. I often felt like class was a conversation rather than a lecture. I think this was troublesome to other students but it suited me fine. I think his name was Haber??
One class he mentioned watching the breeze blow around the leaves on a tree as he sat and had lunch. He said this was a philosophical experience. Curious! Part of me didn't understand this at all, but it really stuck with me and I think I spent a great deal of time thinking about this notion. In time it became so much a part of me that I began to see thinks like the crunch of snow underfoot, a branch suddenly falling on a tree that you just, for the first time, took notice of, and that moment you look at your work and really can't remember how you arrived at it---all philosophical experiences. And there are so many more.
I began trying to embrace weather for what it is, let the rain fall on my face without scrunching my face into some contorted configuration as I ducked my head to keep the rain from hitting the more sensitive skin. Enjoy the cold, the heat, the wind and watch what it does.
Now I see philosophical moments everywhere I go, and philosophy teachers in little old men, my dogs, a stray cat, my fire pit, empty land and crowds and on and on!
A farm in Venango County in June 2008