My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and the mystery of it all.
It has been a cooler day with clear skies and sunshine. Tonight’s low will be down around 50 degrees. After coffee time I deposited a check at the bank, did my grocery shopping, bought a new jacket and stopped by the CSU Flower Garden. There were several artists at the gardens and a perfect day for it. The jacket is a wind and water resistant shell that I will use it for bicycling. I liked the color and it was cheap. I hope you are having a good day!!
“The most significant gifts are the ones most easily overlooked. Small, everyday blessings: woods, health, music, laughter, memories, books, family, friends, second chances, warm fireplaces, and all the footprints scattered throughout our days.”
Sue Monk Kidd
… even salsify.
“In a gift economy, wealth is understood as having enough to share, and the practice for dealing with abundance is to give it away. In fact, status is determined not by how much one accumulates, but by how much one gives away. The currency in a gift economy is relationship, which is expressed as gratitude, as interdependence and the ongoing cycles of reciprocity. A gift economy nurtures the community bonds that enhance mutual well-being; the economic unit is “we” rather than “I” as all flourishing is mutual.”
Robin Wall Kimmerer, The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World
It looks to me like the Foxtail Barley has a better grasp of the meaning of “We” than we do.
Grandfather says this: in life there is sadness as well as joy, losing as well as winning, falling as well as standing. I do not say this to make you despair, but to teach you that life is a journey sometimes walked in light and sometimes walked in shadow.
Joseph Marshall III in KEEP GOING
As I waited outside the coffee shop the other morning I noticed this small plant making its way up through the cracks in the sidewalk. When we pay attention we can watch nature as it perseveres to grow against what seems like great odds. I found this definition of perseverance: it is the continued effort to achieve something despite difficulties, failures, or opposition. I believe this plant is living that definition and is a great teacher if we pay attention. It is another hot day here as well in the east coast. Stay cool!!
We can make a difference when we draw on our courage and creativity to stand up for our beliefs. Our small actions carry a cumulative power that can shift the planet onto a more positive course. We only need to tap our innate creativity and connect with expression not only through a particular medium like paint or clay or words; the other medium we all have to express our creativity is our lives. As human beings, we’re innately creative, capable of great love, and creatures of community. When we draw on our natural gifts and act together, we have enormous power to ease suffering and invent new possibilities for a better world.
Kim Ridley
I post a lot of quotes here. I struggle sometimes to post long ones because too many words can confuse, distract and make a difference in how the reader understands what the author intended. The above quote is an example. What I was moved by in the quote was the fact that mankind is capable of great love, while knowing in my mind mankind is also capable of great hatred. But, I will keep my focus on hope and belief in great love! I hope you are having a great day!!!
“If we think we are our thoughts and feelings, we go through life simply reacting to what is going on around us, with little awareness that we are even doing this or that life could be otherwise.”
Martin Laird
Hope you are staying cool!!
Back in August of 2015 I house sat for some friends for a week. It was a strawbale house on 20 acres in the eastern plains and a lovely place of solitude. This was one of the sunsets I enjoyed while there. I’ve heard the sunset is the sun’s fiery kiss to the night. Seems appropriate for this late posting. May you sleep well tonight!
l have come to think that care of the soul requires a high degree of resistance to the culture around us, simply because that culture is dedicated to values that have no concern for the soul.
Thomas Merton, Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander – 1966
It is Tuesday and starting out as a much cooler day. They say it’s only going to reach 90 degrees. I’m okay with that. The cooler air made it another lovely morning for a ride to the coffee shop. I enjoy riding through the cool low lying areas along Spring Creek. The temperature changes perk me up. I am one of those bicyclists who meanders along the trails. My bicycle is considered a commuter/urban ride. Which means I’m not a rider racing to get somewhere as quickly as possible. There is too much to miss when speeding along. Nor, none of us are as safe at higher speeds. And that’s also true of our cars. The bicycle gets me around easily and economically, puts less stress on my lower back than walking does, allows me to get my cardio exercise, gets me closer to nature, and I have much less stress when I get to the coffee shop. And bicyclists who race along the trails seem to think a certain dress attire is required. I personally do not want to see what I’d look like in spandex tights. So, I meander along taking care of my soul and with the camera ready. Who knows when I may encounter dewdrops clinging to dogwood leaves and need to stop.
I enjoyed a few raindrops on my ride to the coffee shop this morning. It was not even close to being called rain. As I ride onto campus off Center Ave I always see these blanket flowers but I’ve never stopped. But this morning I changed that. Their beauty was blanketed with drops of water from the sprinklers that probably ran during the night or early morning. So I quickly turned around and went back to accept this photo. It is hot today with a minimal chance of rain this afternoon or evening. I hope you are staying cool!!