• clouds,  landscape,  sunsets

    Make ripples…

    January 9, 2025
    Yesterday’s sunset over Longs Peak from Arapaho Bend Natural Area

    “This is how you change the world, the smallest circles first… That humble energy, the kind that says, ‘I will do what I can do right now in my own small way,’ creates a ripple effect on the world.”

    Richard Wagamese

    I’m now at Mugs. It’s another wintery morning here, 31 degrees and a dusting of snow blows in the wind. Adrianna is my barista! She made me an extra hot Old Town mocha! Just writing that brings a smile to my face. 😀 It’s good to remind her the effect she has on my life. It’s the small things that change the world. So maybe the message today is to make some ripples!

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  • clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  sunrises

    Watching the Changes

    January 6, 2025
    Predawn at Pineridge Natural Area – 28 sec at f 22.0 and ISO 200

    It is not impermanence that makes us suffer. What makes us suffer is wanting things to be permanent when they are not. We need to learn to appreciate the value of impermanence.

    Thich Nhat Hanh

    Nature is a good teacher of about impermanence. If we watch closely nature is always in flux. In this scene the movement of the clouds is blurred during a 28 second exposure. Yet, as we stand and observe this scene we are not necessarily aware of the subtle changes with them. I now enjoy taking the time to watch the changes as they happen. I took a total of eight images from this same spot and each one is subtly different. Photography has and is helping me learn to appreciate the value of impermanence. It looks like much of the nation is dealing with wintry weather. So stay warm, be safe!

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  • clouds,  quotes,  sunrises

    Sacred Conversations

    December 14, 2024
    A touch of pink over CSU campus just before sunrise

    Imagine how different life would be right now if Christianity could become a place for sacred conversations; a place to explore possibilities and express doubts and disagree and encourage voices on the edges.

    Victoria Loorz

    I was told yesterday I have a very active social life.
    But maybe it’s really a multitude of sacred conversations.

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  • clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  quotes,  sunrises

    To Love Life…

    December 13, 2024
    Predawn at Pineridge Natural Area

    Life is everything. Life is God. Everything changes and moves and that movement is God. And while there is life there is a joy in consciousness of the divine. To love life is to love God. Harder and more blessed than all else is to love this life in one’s suffering, in innocent suffering.

    Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace

    After my quiet time and a bowl of Irish Oats I made a trip to Pineridge Natural Area to enjoy the predawn and sunrise on this Friday the 13th. It has been a while since I’ve ventured up there for sunrise. Instead, I’ve been spending more time riding the bicycle and at the coffee shops. I made a good choice as the clouds to the south were glowing pink and red. And, it was quiet and calm which quiets and calms my soul. I realized how much I missed these moments with nature.  Who knows, maybe nature missed my presence also. Our cold days have left most of Dixon Reservoir with a layer of ice. I then met Jeff for coffee and conversation and will meet Don and Elizabeth for lunch later today. Yes, to love life while we still have time!

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  • bicycling,  clouds,  landscape,  quotes

    Morning Clouds

    December 9, 2024
    Clouds seen from the Mason Trail on my bicycle ride yesterday morning.

    If you learn to love books, you will never be lonely. You will always have something to look forward to at the end of the day, first thing in the morning, on a trip, at the beach or anywhere else you can read.

    Anne-Marie Slaughter, The Velocity of Being

    For me, I would include coffee shops, natural areas, city parks, laying in bed or my recliner, and as she says, anywhere else I can read.

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  • clouds,  landscape,  quotes,  sunrises

    Surrounded by Pink

    December 8, 2024

    “The quality of our being is the basis of all our actions…The quality of our presence is the most positive element that we can contribute to the world.”

    Thich Nhat Hanh

    This morning’s ride to coffee found me surrounded by pink. This is looking west across the intramural fields on CSU campus just before sunrise. So glad I was present and stopped. The Old Town Mocha I had later was just what I needed to warm up.

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  • clouds,  landscape,  quotes,  sunsets

    Heroes

    November 27, 2024
    Sunset from my sisters patio

    Heroes are transmutation agents — people who alchemize suffering and restlessness and rage into love, who compost disappointment into fertilizer for growth, who break down cynicism to its building blocks of helplessness and hubris, then metabolize the toxin out of the system we call society.

    Marian Popova

    We awoke to a dusting of snow this morning. I meet my friend Mark this morning for breakfast then do a couple of things around the house. I am thankful this morning for the heroes that I have in my life, both men and women. My life is richer because of the heroes who have loved me, those beautiful transmutation agents. Stay warm and have a wonderful day!

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  • clouds,  landscape,  meditation,  natural areas,  poems,  quotes

    You are a light…

    October 30, 2024

    Let me honor you today with the respect you deserve.
    Let me acknowledge you as a person
    Who has worth and value.

    Our world would be diminished without you.
    Our journey would seem longer.
    You bless us with your presence.
    You make a difference in our lives.
    We need you.

    There are many who would stand to say this with me.
    You are loved.
    I know you well enough to understand
    That you do not expect
    Or even want to hear this kind of praise.
    But I believe the spirit intends every human heart
    To hear a simple truth: you are a light others can see.

    Steven Charleston

    Today would have been my mothers 93rd birthday. I miss your light!

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