Although we have been made to believe that if we let go we will end up with nothing, life itself reveals again and again the opposite: that letting go is the path to real freedom.
Sogyal Rinpoche
Letting Go
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Silent Waves of Fog
low lying clouds
ms
sea of suspended water
silent waves of fogHad a short night of sleep but slept sound for most of it and feel rested. Headed out early and discovered a bit of fog on the eastern plains. A world of clouds and haze until the sun burns it off. Very humid and cool morning with 96% humidity and 57 degrees. It is fascinating to watch fog as it changes and moves like a wave ever so silently and quickly. Fog does not hang around for too long. It is a cloud at the earth’s surface. A wave moving over bales of hay.
A touch of pink in this image as the sun is about to rise behind the low clouds in the east. We are seeing fields of both the ripening wheat and three foot tall stalks of corn. Farmers are irrigating the fields of corn so lots of surface moisture to generate the fog. Where I’m standing is a ditch full of gurgling water, almost like having my own little stream. Have a great day!
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Pre-dawn Sky
I arrived at 5:06 am. It was still dark. Warm enough not to need a jacket. It seemed much quieter than usual. I sat in the silence with my journal on my lap and camera sitting next to me. A mule deer pasted in front me and not sure she was aware of my presence. If she was I was not a threat to her. A cottontail came up and sat down in front of me, eyes riveted to mine in the silence. Soon the sky began to turn a soft pink. These moments are a gift then quickly gone. So, we must be present to each of them. I pressed the shutter button three times then went back to my journaling. Will meet with a friend in about an hour for good conversation.
Testing has shown I have mold in my condo and will now need to deal with having that fixed before having the new vinyl flooring put in. It was scheduled for Aug 2nd. Hope there is no delay in that.
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Silhouette
It is preoccupation with possessions,– more than anything else — that prevents us from living freely and nobly.
Bertrand RussellWonder if the freedom from possessions is why birds enjoy singing, everyday.
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Hazy Morning
No clouds this morning but plenty of haze from the smog and smoke drifting from the west coast. Unable to smell them but sure can see their effects. Interesting how the camera sensor does not record the red/orange sun in the sky the same as the reflection in Dixon Reservoir. Hope you had a good weekend and a great week ahead.
Started reading the book Nomadland by Jessica Bruder and finding it interesting. At times it’s sad, at times disturbing, at other times informative and other times funny.
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Discovered the fly
“The Utah deserts and plateaus and canyons are not a country of big returns, but a country of spiritual healing, incomparable for contemplation, meditation, solitude, quiet, awe, peace of mind and body. We were born of wilderness, and we respond to it more than we sometimes realize. We depend upon it increasingly for relief from the termite life we have created. Factories, power plants, resorts, we can make anywhere. Wilderness, once we have given it up, is beyond our reconstruction.”
Wallace StegnerI believe Stegner’s quote is valid for any place. Wilderness is always close by even in our cities but becoming smaller all the time. And we mistakenly call the elimination of these places development. Sigh!
I noticed some Campanula rapunculoides, also known by the common name of creeping bellflower, in a greenbelt and canal area on a walk along Shields Avenue. I felt a closer look was necessary. After a few photos I spotted these mushrooms. Since I was already on my knees I decided they also needed to have their photo taken. I took three photos of the mushrooms and later discovered the fly is only in one image. Guess the fly wanted their photo taken also. 😁
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Follow Them
“The things that excite you are not random. They are connected to your purpose. Follow them.”
Susan RoderickIt’s Saturday morning. Arrived at the natural area shortly after sunrise. Birds were singing and in my imagination they were asking me why I was late. Then I wondered, maybe we’re never too late for those few moments when we are immersed in nature. So my answer was, I’m here now.
I wrote almost nothing in my journal over the past two days, a total of 8 lines in those two days. That is so not like me. Also aware of some feeling of depression, also not like me. Even my meditations has been a struggle. Seem to grab the commentary of my thoughts and run with them more than usual. And yet, there is a tug within me to enter into more times of quiet meditations,and so I did.
On a positive note I was given a gift that brought a smile and lifted my spirits when I returned form the natural area this morning. I watched two women get out of their cars at a coffee shop and share a long heartfelt hug. Both were brimming with smiles as they walked towards me. I told them how wonderful it was to see them hug and the emotions it seemed to have. I was told it had been a year and a half since their last shared hug. I’m hoping experiences like that will be the new normal. Those missing hugs are things that excite many of us.
Thanks for listening. 😍
