• Plants,  quotes

    Mundane Lifestyle

    A friend shared with me that her life was quiet and mundane. Yet, I see her life as full, vibrant, and rich, anything but mundane. She was also using mundane in comparison to what her life used to be like. I imagine most of us can relate to her, especially after retirement. However, the word stirred my thinker into spending some time delving into the word “mundane.” It seems to have a strong negative connotation in our culture. The word mundane comes originally from the Latin “mundus”, meaning ordinary and worldly as opposed to spiritual, and has been in use in English since the 15th century. The dictionary defines “mundane”: as lacking interest or excitement; dull; common; ordinary; banal; unimaginative and therefore not interesting. Quite a negative list!

    A mind full of preconceived ideas, subjective intentions, or habits is not open to things as they are.

    Shunryu Suzuki

    At this time in my life I am seeing mundane with a bit wider lens. My mundane life, as some would define it, is more about being comfortable with life as it simply is, living life at a slower pace. It’s being comfortable with who I am at this moment and who I’m becoming. My life does not need stimulated by externals such as work schedules, an ever growing to-do list, comparing with the neighbors, accumulating stuff and alcohol or drugs.

    I have found nature to be a wonderful teacher in living life. Seems the dandelion is content with being a dandelion, the mushroom is content with being a mushroom. I am content with who I am, living in the present moment, even if it seems mundane to others.

    Annie Dillard wrote that “how we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” I do not consider my life to be boring, dull or mundane. Although it may be to others. So, for me I fill my days with prayer, meditation, journaling, photography, time in nature, reading, blogging, coffee life, relationships, washing dishes, and cleaning the toilet. And, there’s no rush for any of that. I guess you can call it a Mundane Lifestyle.

  • Uncategorized

    My soul is refreshed…

    It was about 8:45 am when I left the coffee shop. But I again avoided going home and found myself at Pineridge Natural area. I sat on the bench with my journal and pen looking out over the meadow. The cloudless blue sky allows the mid morning sun to warm my body. Deep within me I know I come here because of the impact nature has on me. I take in the sights, the sounds, the smells that are so different from what I experience at home.

    Pineridge Natural Area

    I also come here because there is an abundance of songbirds in this area as they avoid the intrusion of man’s repulsive machines and smells. And as I journal, I see and hear Goldfinches, Bullock’s Orioles, Western Kingbirds, Mourning Doves, Red Winged Blackbirds, Flickers, Bluejays, Chickadees, Robins, and Sparrows. If they are not singing they are entertaining me with their acrobatics. And of course, my favorite is the Western Meadowlark, who I never hear at my condo. All the crosstalk may sound like gibberish to some but it’s music to my ears. I watch two flotillas of White Pelicans drift along the shores of Dixon Reservoir. One on the north end and one on the south end. I hear a Great Blue Heron croaking, but I am unable to see them. A red tail hawk effortlessly soars in circles above me on the wind currents, but never flapping their wings. The prairie dogs bark out their warning as dogs lead their owners by a leash along the trail. My soul is refreshed!

    Coneflower

    And, I’ve not even touched on the evidential beauty of the plants that dance in the wind around me. Wait, are those coneflowers waving at me? Yes, they’re wishing me a happy 74th birthday.

  • clouds,  horizons,  landscape,  mountains

    This Love Thing

    I love landscapes. I love them because of the experience they offer. Experiencing the landscape, letting it touch me is different than looking at any photo, even when it’s my photo. Landscapes are visually and spiritually never the same. That’s true second by second, hour by hour, and day by day. Wind reshapes clouds constantly, the light changes colors, the weather can alter the hues and saturation within a few seconds, and blowing dust causes the light to change.

    And time alters the landscape as aging trees fall, or a flood creates a ravine that was not there last week. What does all this transformation of landscapes mean? What can I learn from watching and participating? I’m sure some get bored with landscapes. I wonder is that because we only glance at a scene rather than sit with them, letting them touch us at a deeper level? I find that when I don’t connect with a scene I can be out of touch with the reality of the world around me. Who knows, maybe the landscape is offering this love thing.

  • flowers,  Plants,  quotes

    The Deep Call Within

    The mystery and magic of being an individual is to live life in response to the deep call within, the call to become who we were dreamed to be.

    John O’Donohue

    Another 90 degree day in Colorado. This quote is an invitation for some deep philosophical commentary but I can’t seem to find the words. So, I’ll just share with you that my lab tests came back negative and I’m not pregnant!! 😂 Next colonoscopy in 5 years. Stay cool!!!

  • coffee life,  poems,  writing/reading

    Living a Privileged Life


    Someone rummages through garbage for food
    Someone hides in the closet in fear of another beating
    Someone loses their child in senseless bombing
    Someone faces another day of dialysis
    Someone receives an wanted pathology report
    Someone contemplates their suicide
    Someone buries a loved one

    While I enjoy my coffee life and mocha latte
    While I live a privileged life

    mws
  • animals,  quotes

    One of My Neighbors

    “One of these days, I’m going to publish a book of all the pictures I did not take. It is going to be a huge hit.”

    René Burri

    So what title would you give your book of images you never took?

  • grass,  Plants,  quotes

    In What We Wonder…

    Our spiritual journey is measured not by how many answers we have accumulated, but by how many questions we have confronted. Our wisdom is not in what we know, but in what we wonder.

    Steven Charleston

    This grass, which I believe is some form of barley, grabbed my photographer’s eye. I like how the light breeze created a blur with some of the grass heads. It’s an abstract yet recognizable image. I am so in awe and wonder of this world we live in.

    They found 2 polyps in my colonoscopy, now waiting on pathology results. All went smoothly. Discovered a flat tire when I woke up this morning. Put the spare on and then took it to Discount Tire. Repaired tire and no charge. I like excitement in my life, except for colonoscopies.! Have a wonderful Saturday!