My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and the mystery of it all.
The job of the peacemaker is to stop war, to purify the world, to get it saved from poverty and riches, to heal the sick, to comfort the sad, to wake up those who have not yet found God, to create joy and beauty wherever you go, to find God in everything and in everyone.
Muriel Lester
“If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.”
On Tuesday I heard of separate tragedies that ripped the lives of two families apart. I’m unable to put my feelings into words. So, after my prayer and meditation I bundled up, grabbed my camera and headed to the bus stop. A spirit of gratitude began to arise with each step I took. I no longer was aware of the cold but yet very present to the moment. I began to see so much of the world around me and not just with a photographer’s eyes. Today the sun arose on both those families but their lives will never be the same. Yes, I’m living in gratitude.
What a beautiful day we had yesterday. The temperature got up to 74 degrees so I got in both a walk and a bicycle ride. Everyone else seemed to have the same idea as bicyclists, skateboarders, runners, walkers were out in shorts and t-shirts. I decided to head out east of town and look for clouds as they were predicting a cold front moving in in the evening. I took this image about 6:00 pm. It had already dropped down to 50 degrees in about 2-3 hours. This morning, about 12 hours later, it is snowing and expected to continue into tomorrow with colder temperatures over the next couple days.
I have been interested in these two trees for a long time but have only been out here once before. These trees sit just off the frontage road of Interstate 25. so the traffic of the interstate is probably 40 feet directly behind me, the primary reason I don’t come out here. I like this scene but not necessarily its location. Hope everyone has a great Sunday and stay warm.
“Perhaps you have noticed that even in the slightest breeze you can hear the voice of the cotton tree; this we understand is its prayer to the Great Spirit, for not only men, but all things and all beings pray to Him continually in different ways.”
Black Elk
“Recently, photography has become almost as widely practiced an amusement as sex and dancing – which means that, like every mass art form, photography is not practiced by most people as an art. It is mainly a social rite, a defense against anxiety, and a tool of power.”
Susan Sontag
Interesting to note that she wrote this back in 1973.
Nature creates with chaos and man creates with order, or so it seems. Both make use of lines and curves to create. Architecture feels mostly ordered, static and has a rigid feeling to it. Nature feels more flexible, relaxed, in constant movement, never static and is free flowing.
I leave in the morning for my sabbatical to spend time in reading, writing, studying, prayer/meditation, quiet, learning to listen to the other within me. I have been uncovering, discovering, discarding the stinking thinking I had about myself and the world around me. Hoping this time with others on similar paths will continue in that process. Nervous and yet excited. What will I discover? I’m heading into this with as much openness as I am capable of. Yesterday was my 69th birthday so this is like a gift I’m giving to myself.
I do not expect to post much or read many of your amazing posts but will check whenever I can. They have a couple of computer on site for checking email so what access to the internet will be with my phone’s cellular data or some coffee shop I may find on a weekend. I’m actually looking forward to some time away from the internet, much like our friend Cedric just had for 2 months. I’m aware I spend too much time on it. See ya later.
“Perhaps for the first time we have a limited sense of what it means to be silence, instead of actively seeking or longing for the silence we think we lack and trying to make space for silence in our lives, as if this silence were not already silence but some sort of object to be sought and found.”
Martin Laird
This is from yesterday afternoon on a walk at the Environmental Learning Center along the Poudre River. I go there for the quiet, probably not often enough. I found three young people who had strung hammocks among a grove of trees, were playing music and staring at their phones. We were not using the ELC I read earlier in the day that we do not seek silence as much as we are to be silence. I like that idea and will need to ponder that for awhile, in silence. You”ll find the reading below.
Storm clouds filled the sky to the south and west but no rain. Teh clouds and a cool breeze made it almost a perfect temperature. Loved the musty smell of the woods and all the birds singing. The Poudre River was full and running hard from the spring runoff. I was glad to see few mosquitos or flies.
This is an image of tall grasses, 3-5 feet tall, which are planted in a raised flowerbed. So probably a total of 7-8 feet tall. I have found myself just staring at this image for awhile because of the patterns they make silhouetted against the blue sky, puffy clouds and the starburst. It’s impact has come after pressing the shutter.What caused me to see this and then compose, frame and press the shutter? This is so simple but I just keep looking and thinking about it. It’s impact on me has come after pressing the shutter. It’s gotta be Cedric’s writings.
Clear cloudless blue skies today. A beautiful Colorado fall day. Noticed these shadows on campus as I returned from Mugs coffeehouse and felt a desire to share them. I’m off to help a friend move a few things today. Hoping today brings wonderful surprises and gifts your way.
Lost for words.