• leaves,  Plants,  quotes,  winter scenes

    Participation with life…

    November 30, 2023

    Courage is the measure of our heartfelt participation with life, with another, with a community, a work; a future. To be courageous is not necessarily to go anywhere or do anything except to make conscious those things we already feel deeply and then to live through the unending vulnerabilities of those consequences.

    David Whyte

    Will meet my friend Dennis this morning at 10:30 for coffee and conversation. We will meet at a coffee shop I have not been to in years called the Alley Cat Cafe ( be sure to play the opening video) 😂.

    Back in August during my physical they discovered my PSA numbers were high. Since I had a UTI the previous week and was on antibiotics they waited a week then retested. Still high. So we scheduled an MRI rather than do an invasive biopsy. Had an appointment with the urologist yesterday to discuss the results of that test. From the MRI results all looks good and he is not concerned about prostate cancer. We’ve come up with a plan to do another PSA test in 3 months, just to keep track of those. If the PSA numbers go up, then he wants to see me about changing our plans. He reminded me the PSA numbers are not the most exact test for prostate cancer. Otherwise, I have an appointment to see him in 6 months. For me this is all good news. So, I plan on continuing my participation with life as David Whyte says; coffee shop adventures, Natural Area adventures, reading and journaling, daily walks, blogging, photography and taking the steps necessary to stay healthy. And, it all takes courage. Stay warm and thanks for being the online community you are!

    Today is my oldest daughters birthday. Hoping she knows she is the gift! Happy BIrthday Christine!!

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  • quotes,  shadows,  snow,  winter scenes

    More Snow Bubbles

    November 29, 2023

    “If we are to see a true reawakening to the sacredness of the Earth and harness the deepest energy of our being to serve this awareness, we need a strong inner authority in our own souls to challenge the religious, political, and social systems that have recklessly ignored or denied this sacredness and are imperiling the very future of the world.”

    John Philip Newell, Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul

    I write this post from the warmth of a coffee shop with a beautifully crafted mocha latte in front of me. We had a magnificent Colorado sunrise that brought a smile to my face and a spark of joy in my heart. This past snowfall gave us a taste of the beauty of our winter wonderland. We still have cold temperatures but with the help of the suns rays, the snow melts, offering its life source into the soil. I love the sacredness and beauty nature offers, even snow bubbles.

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  • coffee life,  journal,  journaling,  quotes

    The Gift-Experience

    November 28, 2023
    The gifts of journaling and a mocha

    The experience of spirituality involves recognizing new and different realities, especially the qualities of the gift-experience, appreciating not only the gift itself but also the sheer freedom and generosity contained in a genuine gift. We need to give ourselves gifts.

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  • leaves,  quotes

    Godful

    November 26, 2023

    But now I’ll have to go, for there is nothing to spare in the way of provisions. I’ll surely be back, however, surely I’ll be back. No other place has ever so overwhelmingly attracted me as this hospitable, Godful wilderness.

    John Muir

    I discovered a new word in some of John Muir’s writings, called “Godful.” At first I thought it was a play on the word grateful but then realized it’s his way of expressing the presence of God in all of nature. Some people may say these brown, orange and red leaves are dying with the autumn frost but I’m not so sure. Just maybe, as I’ve heard it said, they are just flowing through the current of life and those wonderful colors are a way of expressing their excitement in the new phase of life? Maybe the colors express Joy? Happiness? Could their colors and the frost be the expression of that word “Godful?” Well, I have no factual answer to any of those questions and a thousand other questions like them. However, as I experience and see the divine presence in nature I am drawn more and more to the idea of nature expressing itself to us. “Godful” I like that word.

    We have blue skies, sunshine and it’s cold. 🥶 Stay warm if it’s cold where you are and have a wonderful day! If there is a stupid rule that you can’t have a piece of chocolate cake before noon, I just broke it. 😂

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  • leaves,  quotes,  snow,  trees,  winter scenes

    Journey to Wholeness

    November 25, 2023

    Sacred wisdom is deep in our nature. The journey to wholeness is about awakening to this wisdom deep within and seeking it everywhere, in every culture and every religion.

    John Philip Newell

    The snow finally let up about 11:00 this morning. My guess is 6-8 inches of snow with a fine layer of ice beneath the powdery snow. Restless by noon I took the Number 2 bus to campus then walked over to Mugs. This snowfall has been beautiful, a winter wonderland that excited this photographer’s shutter finger. I like how snow can hide something or highlight it. I pretty much had the coffee shop to myself as many students are still on break and the snow kept many people home. Therefore my baristas, Emma and James, spoiled me. I had my Old Town Mocha and one of their November Specials, a bowl of butternut squash soup. It hit the spot.

    I really like Newell’s quote above. He touches on four things that have become important in my journey of life. They are sacred, wisdom, nature and awakening. I say that because I’m awakening to some knowing deep within me that every human being, creature, plant, all of creation is sacred. I am also wakening to the idea that maybe we are all made from the same speck of stardust of our creator. Anyway, here are a few images from this afternoon’s journey to wholeness and some damn good butternut squash soup on this rather frigid Saturday.

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  • natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  quotes

    The Treasure of Wisdom

    November 24, 2023
    The empty bench at Pineridge Natural Area

    We need to open to the treasure of wisdom in traditions other than our own. Not only have they much to teach us, but they also hold the key to unlocking depths within our own religious inheritance that we know nothing of as yet.

    John Philip Newell

    I personally have enjoyed seeking the treasures within wisdom traditions through reading and studying them. Yet, one of the best treasures for me has been the reading and studying of this book of nature, which I never thought of as a wisdom tradition. I’ve found this book to be endless in the wisdom it shares with me when I open myself to it. It is also a very experiential book where wisdom is felt, smelled, heard and tasted. I have this desire to continue to read and study it.

    We did not get the amount of snow predicted but we sure got the cold temperatures. I made my way to Starry Night for a mocha and one of their lemon-cranberry scones this morning. Glad to say I had no guilty feelings about that scone at all. I then walked a bit at Pineridge Natural Area to experience the quiet. The light wind and humidity penetrated my clothing, letting me know it felt much colder than the 18 degrees. The roads are icy so I’m home for the day. Will be reading off and on today and if I can find the gumption I’ll clean the bathroom. If not, well…. I’ll start another book. Stay warm!

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  • landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  quotes,  spirituality,  sunrises

    The Language of Nature

    November 23, 2023

    We need to move: from a spirituality of alienation from the natural world to a spirituality of intimacy with the natural world, from a spirituality of the divine as revealed in words to a spirituality of the divine as revealed in the visible world about us.

    Thomas Berry

    I awoke early and made the short trip to Pineridge Natural Area for the predawn colors. We’re expecting snow later today, as much as 4-10 inches by Saturday morning, so I was expecting to see some red sky. I was not disappointed. Almost no wind. Silence, which is such an integral part of the language of nature.

    Later, when I got to the coffee shop I felt a bit of regret as I may not have stayed as long as I could have. Seems my focus had moved on to enjoying a mocha rather than staying present and accepting all the gifts nature was wanting to share with me. Maybe I was intuitively aware of my spirit of alienation from the natural world over the past few days due of traveling. Maybe the divine in nature was asking me not to leave just yet. As I write this post I’m aware of my gratitude for the natural world that we are a part of, that is available to me, my ability to spend time within it and the amount of time I do spend in it. 

    I’ll end this post with a prayer on this Thanksgiving Day: I am thankful for family, friends, and those who are both. I pray for the healing of this wounded world and that we embrace the divinity of this natural world we share. Hoping you enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends.

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