
Yep, I live a couple blocks from a college campus.
My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, coffee life, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, spirituality and asking deep questions.
“The camera only facilitates the taking. The photographer must do the giving in order to transform and transcend ordinary reality. The problem is to transform without deforming. He must gain intensity in form and content by bringing a subjective order into an objective chaos.” -Ernst Haas
“I’m an old man now and have had a great many problems. Most of them never happened”
Mark Twain
Each time I wait at the bus stop at the Mountain Avenue stop, I see this bicycle on the other side of the tracks. And, each time I take a photo. It’s a simple image. No strong colors or repeating patterns. It has a strange illusion of imbalance due to the sidewalk that rises on the right side. Yet, it speaks to me in some way.
In reference to the quote, yes, my imagination does create illusionany problems, amusing commentaries and scenes at an astounding rate. They arrive while driving, doing the dishes, meditation, reading, etc. Each time these take me away from the present, which is the only place I can live this life. As Rohr says, “Presence is only known by presence itself.”
Well, actually it’s the alley near Enzios wine bar in Old Town Fort Collins.
“You must empty your mind & heart of worries, only when you are empty of fear can your heart & mind be filled with joy.”
I decided to make a drive up to Estes Park yesterday. My intent was to grab a coffee and sit along the river to read and write. The thought crossed my mind to maybe have lunch before coming back. I ended up driving up to Trail Ridge Road. What a glorious day to make that drive. Last Fall Estes Park had a flood come through the town and wiped out most of it. Here are a few images. The city is built along the banks for the Big Thompson River and has been a tourist attraction for years. I am amazed at how well it looked. Lunch was probably the best turkey/bacon wrap with a pesto sauce to die for.
After 21 months of having a daughter and two teenage grandchildren living with me, I now have my condo back. I have a small one bedroom one bath condo and adding three more people it became much smaller. My daughter and granddaughter slept in my bedroom and my grandson and I used bunk beds in my living room. It was nice to sleep in my own bed in my own bedroom. They really did not bring that much stuff but when all of it is this little condo it seemed like so much more.
So, now we all have moved on to anther phase of life. These months were a stress on all of us. We learned a lot about each other. Some issues we dealt with and some we didn’t. This time allowed me to discover a few things about myself and them that I did not about before. It’s a change not having them here but pretty sure I will adjust in couple of hours. I’ve already noticed it’s quieter and peaceful. I no longer find dirty dishes in the sink or shoes laying around on the floor or curling iron sitting on the bathroom counter or someone in the bathroom.
I missed that bedroom. I was not aware of how much of a sanctuary it was and how much time I spent there. It’s a simple bedroom: a full size bed, a dresser, a small desk and a wicker rocker. I now having quiet mornings, and evenings, in that rocker with my latte, again.
“It was a strange feeling going into a church I did not know for a service that I did not really believe in, but once inside I couldn’t help a feeling of warmth and security. Outside there were wars and road accidents and murders, striptease clubs and battered babies and frayed tempers and unhappy marriages and people contemplating suicide and bad jokes, but once in St. Martin’s there was peace. Surely people go to church not to involve themselves in the world’s problems but to escape from them.” ― Michael Palin,