Instead it’s hunks of gorgeous cheese on the ploughman’s platter. There’s a dog named Dylan, fields of green in all directions, songbirds in the air and pheasants in the field and a welcoming air to all who enter…its a good place to land.

But what about the important things? To investigate this questions  I suggest doing a thorough Attention Inventory of your current mental and physical activity. What specifically holds your attention throughout the day? Explore a typical day from beginning to end and review what captured your attention. This can be a very sobering exercise. You are likely to discover the degree to which you are fully, or not-so-fully present with people, issues and ideas. And this inventory will reveal to you the extent to which you are or aren’t  attending to the things that matter most. To get me started on my own Attention Inventory I am committing, this very minute, to a spend some time every evening answering the extraordinary and thoughtful questions that the late poet/philosopher John O’Donohue composed– I invite you to do the same. Your comments and insights will be very much appreciated.

What dreams did I create last night?
Where did my eyes linger today?
Where was I blind?
Where was I hurt without anyone noticing?
What did I learn today?
What did I read?
What new thoughts visited me?
What differences did I notice in those closest to me?
Whom did I neglect?
Where did I neglect myself?
What did I begin today that might endure?
How were my conversations?
What did I do today for the poor and excluded?
Did I remember the dead today?
Where could I have exposed myself to the risk of something different?
Where did I allow myself to receive love?
With whom today did I feel most myself?
What reached me today? How deep did it imprint?
Who saw me today?
What visitations had I from the past and from the future?
What did I avoid today?
From the evidence—why was I given this day?

So here are the top two issues that broke my heart and made me think about world:

1. There is no paradise. I had always wanted to spend time languishing on the shores of the Caribbean Ocean. The blue is truly breathtaking.  Seeing the coast line from the ancient steps of Tulum one can imagine (briefly) what a tropical paradise might have really looked like. But it is gone. Our modern lifestyle and throw away culture is choking the oceans and beaches not to mention the fish and birds that mistake brightly coloured bottle caps for fish and eventually die with a belly full of trash. For more on this urgent situation visit Algalita and the work of Captain Moore and be sure to click on the TED lecture at the bottom of the home page.

2. The cost of clean water. It used to be when you travelled in Mexico that hotels placed the big blue water bottles of purified water in courtyards for customer consumption. But not anymore. Now however it is all about the disposable water bottle. The beaches and trash cans of idyllic places like Caye Caulker Belize, or Isla Mujeres Mexico are overflowing with discarded water bottles. And they aren’t cheap. In three weeks, staying at budget hotels, I only encountered one place that offered refills. Currently the fifth World Water Forum is underway in Istanbul and even there, the hidden corporate agenda of water for profit is alive and conniving. For additional insights into the issue visit the Council of Canadians.

This little bit of writing is all i can manage for today. There is more to share, and I’ll get there. Thanks for reading.