I'm thirsty. I watch as the water pours into my glass, ready to say, "Thank you, that's enough," at just the right moment — the moment of satisfaction. But what decides how much is enough? How do we estimate too little or too much? In every aspect of our lives we evaluate what we have and what we believe is missing. How much is enough?

Nature offers us odd and amazing insights, with curiosity as its only requirement. You're probably wondering what Skunk Cabbage can teach us. It's definitely a strange subject for a blog, and it's easy to turn up our noses at something so stinky, and at first glance, so unappealing. But join me in investigating the mysteries behind a seemingly uninteresting plant.

How would our communication be affected if we were restricted to a word diet? Would we be more discerning? Is less really more? There's a zen story about a monastery that was very strict. Following a vow of silence, no one was allowed to speak. But there was one exception to this rule. Every ten years, the monks were permitted to speak just two words.