My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and the mystery of it all.
There are moments when troubles enter our lives and we can do nothing to avoid them.
Paulo Coelho
But they are there for a reason.
Only when we have overcome them will we understand why they were there.
A cold morning. Have some cleaning around the condo from all the mold mitigation work done. Everything passed so I’m back in the condo. Want to repair a couple things then paint inside before I have the vinyl plank flooring installed next month. Enjoy your day! Why? Because I said so!
What lies before us today is an unpainted picture.
Touchstones
Stopped at the Cobb Lake State Wildlife Area while driving around the other evening. It was quiet and calm so I listened and took a few photos. I have never hiked these trails but will need to explore them soon.
It’s a brisk 33 degrees this morning and a beautiful full moon. Hope you have a great day!
“Give me solitude,… give me again O Nature your primal sanities!”
Walt Whitman
This is a midday image of the pond near Cattail Ponds. I heard the deep croaking of the heron then watched it gracefully flying away from me. Their croaking stirred up the geese and mallards as they quickly joined in. Seems they did not want me coming too close. This is not far from the road but the solitude was what I needed, a bit of sanity. Love the deep blue fall sky.
Where light and shadow fall on your subject – that is the essence of expression and art through photography.
Scott Bourne
Shadows always pull my attention to a specific point in an image. Shadows primarily hide features that may be better left unseen or slightly hidden. They for sure add a hint of drama, emotion, or mystery to an image. A bright sunny morning was perfect for providing these shadows on my front porch.
The camera is a remarkable instrument. Saturate yourself with your subject, and the camera will all but take you by the hand and point the way.
Margaret Bourke-White
What honest bloggers receive in return for their blogging is what every creative person hungers for—companionship, friendship, kindness, generosity, and words of blessed encouragement.
David J. Rogers
The above quote is from this blog post by a writer named David J. Rogers. Not sure how I found this post but I resonate with him. My reasons are the same: companionship, friendship, kindness, generosity, and words of blessed encouragement. I’ll probably keep it up.
Creation flows from the fountain fullness
Ilia Delio
of creative energy,
Springing from a creative and dynamic Source of Love.
Relational, personal, generative, communicative
Love
Spilling over on the canvas of space-time;
Creation is like a song
That flows in the most beautiful of harmonies.
What could possibly account for such
Creative beauty bubbling up
Into life?
Could it be
The Beauty of Life itself,
A Divine community of Love? . . .
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
Mary Oliver
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
I spent an hour at one of the natural areas this afternoon. The sun felt good as I sat on the bench and looked out over the meadow, being idle and blessed. The trees along the edges of the reservoir are taking on the colors of fall, while some already stand naked of leaves. A fall wind blows in my face from the northeast. I watch clouds casting their shadows over the meadow and I could hear the prairie dogs bark as people walked along the trails. I was practicing how to pay attention.
“Some people prefer solitude. They say their peace of mind depends on this. Others say they would be better off in church. If you do well, you do well wherever you are. If you fail, you fail wherever you are. Your surroundings don’t matter. God is with you everywhere — in the marketplace as well as in seclusion or in the church. If you look for nothing but God, nothing or no one can disturb you. God is not distracted by a multitude of things.
Meister Eckhart
Nor can we be.”
I have lived alone for many years. During that time I have owned my own place and at times invited others in when necessary for short periods of time. That changes this week as I will be staying with friends in their spare bedroom while mold mitigation is done to my condo. So my surroundings are different. My lifestyle will be different. My solitude will be different. To top it off my car is in the shop for a couple days so I’m not as mobile. We will see if I do well in my new situation and temporary surroundings. 😁
“I see that the life of this place is always emerging beyond expectation or prediction or typicality, that it is unique, given to the world minute by minute, only once, never to be repeated. And this is when I see that this life is a miracle, absolutely worth having, absolutely worth saving. We are alive within mystery, by miracle.”
Wendell Berry