• Arapaho Bend Natural Area,  natural areas,  quotes,  sunsets,  trees

    Can you hear them?

    January 8, 2024

    Trees are poems the earth writes upon the sky,
    We fell them down and turn them into paper,
    That we may record our emptiness.

    Kahlil Gibran

    It’s always a good day when I can get in a nice walk with my camera at one of the local Natural Areas. I do enjoy these cottonwood trees anytime I walk along the east side of Arapaho Bend Natural Area, especially late in the afternoon or at sunset. This time of the year when the sky is clear and the sun is bright the afternoons are the warmest time for a January walk. So I walk, watch and do my best to listen to the wordless poems of the trees. Can you hear them?

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  • clouds,  landscape,  mountains,  quotes,  sunsets

    The Truth

    January 7, 2024
    Colorado sunset

    A teacher cannot give you the truth. The truth is already in you. You only need to open yourself – body, mind, and heart – so that his or her teachings will penetrate your own seeds of understanding and enlightenment. If you let the words enter you, the soil and the seeds will do the rest of the work.

    Thich Nhat Hanh

    Quotes have a way of sitting with me. I sometimes ponder the words, letting them sink in and take root. Sometimes I memorize them, because they truly are seeds for understanding and enlightenment. When I have been open to words of truth I can be changed by them! I am grateful for the teachers in my life who have shared words of wisdom. Have a wonderful Sunday !

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  • leaves,  quotes

    The Constance of Change

    January 5, 2024

    “A self that goes on changing is a self that goes on living,”

    Virginia Woolf

    Not many people enjoy changes. In fact some of us will fight against change. Yet, I’ve found change is where transformation takes place in our lives. I don’t ask for changes in my life because they can be difficult to move through but they are the only constant in my life. If I want transformation in my life then I must accept changing as part of that. It is cold this morning as it seems to be in most of the US. Enjoy your day and stay warm!

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  • coffee life,  journal,  journaling

    Coffee Life

    January 3, 2024

    “Religion isn’t about believing things. It’s ethical alchemy. It’s about behaving in a way that changes you, that gives you intimations of holiness and sacredness.”

    Karen Armstrong

    It’s cold or at least I’m cold. Have been all day. It was 20 degrees this morning when I headed for the coffee shop and I haven’t really warmed up since. However, walking into a warm coffee shop then having this work of art presented to me made it worth bearing the cold. Found a place upstairs and settled in for about an hour of journaling time before meeting Mark for breakfast. Had a pleasant surprise today as my youngest daughter had an electric throw blanket sent to me. I am enjoying it now. I wonder if the mocha latte is a form of alchemy? And, I’m assuming it’s ethical. Stay warm as it looks like much of the US is going to be cool the next few days and behave in a way that changes you!!!

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  • clouds,  landscape,  quotes

    Life Stories

    January 2, 2024

    “The longer we listen to one another – with real attention – the more commonality we will find in all our lives. That is, if we are careful to exchange with one another life stories and not simply opinions.”

    Barbara Deming

    I love when people share stories. Opinions? Well, not so much. Opinions seem to always build walls. Ever wonder what our world would look like if we were learning to listen to each other’s stories with real attention? Congress, churches and our neighbors would look radically different to one another. Strangers would become neighbors. Gratefully, I am blessed in my life to have people who share their life stories with me, those life changing experiences that have altered the course of their lives. And by sharing their stories, they risk letting me know more about them. I consider that a gift. While they share those stories with me they may teach me something about myself. If they have the courage to risk sharing then I need to take the risk to really listen. They were all strangers before becoming wonderful friends. I have found they are also the ones who will listen to what I have to share about my experiences in life, allowing me to be at risk. We find our commonality. 

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  • clouds,  landscape,  mountains,  quotes

    Prayers and Hopes

    January 1, 2024

    Real security can only be found, if at all, in a world without the injustices that now exist, and without arms.

    Kathleen Lonsdale

    It was 19 degrees with clear skies and sunshine when I left the condo this morning, our first day of 2024. However, we are expecting to reach 50 degrees later. Kathleen Lonsdale’s quote stirs my hopes for this coming year. So I would like to share my prayers and hopes for the coming year. May our troubled and broken world embrace a year filled with peace, love, compassion, reconciliation, forgiveness, love, mercy, kindness, justice, love, and healing. May we respect and protect all human lives, their rights as equals, never less or greater than, always discovering our common ground. May we let go of the heavy chains of anger, hate, fear, judgements, prejudice, resentments that weigh us down, separate and divide us. May we see with the openness of new eyes, not defined with preconceived images of our minds or another’s images. May we choose faith over fear. May we have the awareness we are all connected in unimaginable ways within this landscape we call earth. May we respect and protect our life-giving natural world as vital to our existence and not abuse it. May we spend more time within the beauty of Mother Earth, walking gently on her sacred soil, fully embracing the gift she is while accepting her embrace. May we venture into the mystery of the unknown that lies ahead of us with trust! And last but not least, may we all enjoy the gift of sharing with our neighbors from our box of Enstrom’s Almond Toffee (to die for I’m telling you). And, thank you for the gift of your presence in my life, even if it’s virtual!!

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