Writing on medicine, art, and seasonal wisdom

The Bountiful Path is a twice-weekly newsletter from Dr. Lisa Belisle. Longer essays on Sundays, lighter features on Fridays, organized around four pillars: story, system, self, and seasonality. The work comes from a family medicine practice, a life on the coast of Maine, and a conviction that how we live matters as much as how long we live.

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Four Pillars

Every essay lives under one of these.

Story

What shapes us. The narratives we inherit and the ones we revise. Memoir, history, and the lives around us.

System

How we care for one another. Medicine, public health, the systems that hold or fail us, and the people who work inside them.

Self

How we pay attention. Contemplative practice, Chinese medicine, the body, and the quiet work of a life in progress.

Seasonality

How we live with the year. Five Phase theory, the tides and the shoreline, and the landscapes of coastal Maine.

How we live matters as much as how long we live.

Recent Essays

From The Bountiful Path on Substack.

Read all essays

Companions

Tools and teachings that move the essays from the page into daily practice.

Seasonal Reflection Toolkits

Field-guide PDFs organized around the Five Phases. Spring and Summer are available now, with companion apps. More to come.

See the toolkits →

Online Classes

Courses at the intersection of integrative medicine and contemplative practice. Warm and expert, accessible to anyone.

Browse classes →

Books on the Boat

A recurring Friday feature, connecting books read at the shoreline to the seasons, to medicine, and to the life of a reader.

Read the feature →

Events

Radio Maine Live and Artful Escapes, the Bountiful Path universe, in a room.

Radio Maine Live

An on-stage conversation with a visiting artist, healer, or thinker, produced in the Radio Maine tradition. Available as a standalone event or as part of a larger gathering.

See upcoming dates

Artful Escapes

Hosted retreats at the intersection of medicine, art, and the seasons. Time in a landscape with a small group, shaped around reading, conversation, and rest.

Learn more

Read along with us

New essays arrive twice a week. Subscribe to receive them in your inbox.

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