My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and the mystery of it all.
“…drink in the beauty and wonder at the meaning of what you see.”
Rachel Carson, The Sense of Wonder
Since I began practicing a simple and slower life, which means being awake and present to the moment and spending less time in my head, it seems I experience much more awe and wonder in life. And it’s the simplest things that catch my attention. This morning it was hearing the robins singing outside my bedroom window gently urging me to get up. And a couple weeks ago it was noticing the life giving drops of moisture on a leaf outside the coffee shop. With life getting shorter there is a desire within me to see and experience more of the beauty and wonder of nature.
Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.
Lao Tzu
Early Sunday morning we had a nice .25 inch of rain. Around 2:31 am the rain began beating on my window and waking me from much needed beauty sleep. It was cool and damp when I headed out the door for my ride to Mugs. Everything was wet. When sunlight touched any of the dewdrops there was a sparkle. Just outside the coffee shop I noticed the dewdrops clinging to leaves and sparkling. For the fun of it I used the WordPress AI for the first time to add enhancement and using their Anime theme. I hope everyone had a good Mother’s Day. And please spread some Kindness!
“Every form of insentient existence – plants, stones or utensils – has its individual feelings similar to those of men. When we observe calmly, we discover that all things have their fulfillment.”
Basho, The Essential Haiku by Robert Hass
We awoke to a dusting of snow. Since then it has switched between a constant drizzle and snow, sometimes rather large snowflakes. It is actually quite beautiful. It is moisture we desperately need, so bring it on. And, I want to believe every plant, including these leaves outside the coffee shop, is probably excitedly soaking it all up and singing its own silent song of happiness.
“Here is a summertime truth: abundance is a communal act, the joint creation of an incredibly complex ecology in which each part functions on behalf of the whole and, in return, is sustained by the whole. Community not only creates abundance – community is abundance. If we could learn that equation from the world of nature, the human world might be transformed”
Parker J. Palmer
I have enjoyed this summer-like day. I sat on my porch and journaled this afternoon. A cool breeze blew and enticed the trees to dance with it. I watched two small robins, who I think were juveniles, chasing one another around the old tree stump. I watched two baby squirrels jumping from branch to branch in their game of tag. These simple games most young ones play. A blackbird sang its song from the far edge of the pond. And the geese continue to practice in their attempt at a song, unsuccessfully I must add. As I look up I see the blue sky with puffs of clouds silently and slowly drifting by. For me it was a cool summertime day with an abundance of community around me. I feel my day has been full. I hope your day was a full.
I returned home Tuesday evening and slept in my own bed, without a machine beeping at me, without a nurse taking my vitals every 4 hours or a phlebotomist drawing blood. Bliss, I tell you! I had a physical therapist visit me Wednesday morning to give me instructions on taking care of myself and recover quicker She thinks I doing very good and doesn’t think I need her assistance but will check on me next week. I have done laundry and made myself both breakfast and lunch for two days now. It’s a slow shift back to normal. Today’s achievements have been emptying my bladder and a healthy bowel movement. That is exciting at my age and just after surgery. I am still sore at the incision but expecting that for now. We have had a light dusting of snow today just enough to cover the ground so I am not up to venturing out. This image is from 2015. Again, thank all of you for checking on me through your comments on this blog, the text messages, and your emails. They are all part of my recovery. I hope you have a wonderful day!
Autumn leaves don’t fall, they fly. They take their time and wander on this their only chance to soar.
Delia Owens
As I sat in my chair journaling this morning I glanced out my bedroom window to check out the action of autumn. The wind was gusting up to 17 mph so it was inviting the last of the leaves their chance to soar. I smiled as I watched them let go and lift off. There was no rhyme or reason to their flight patterns as they allowed the wind to let them wander on. I wonder, do they smile or squeal with glee as they are caught up in their chance to soar? And that caused me to smiled again. I hope you are enjoying your weekend!
The gift of a ladybug and yes, they do have a heart.
There is a quiet light that shines in every heart. It draws no attention to itself though it is always secretly there. It is what illuminates our minds to see beauty, our desire to seek possibility and our hearts to love life. Without this subtle quickening our days would be empty and wearsome, and no horizon would ever awaken our longing. Our passion for life is quietly sustained from somewhere in us that is wedded to the energy and excitement of life. This shy inner light is what enables us to recognize and receive our very presence here as blessing. We enter the world as strangers who all at once become heirs of a harvesting of memory, spirit and dream that has long proceeded us and will now unfold nourish and sustain us. The gift of the world is our first blessing.
The contemplative life is not a way of knowing. It is not the path of certitude. In fact, that’s what makes it so alive, so necessarily active.
Cassidy Hall
I did not ride to the coffee shop this morning as the 23 degrees convinced me driving the car was a warmer option. Maybe tomorrow. We have blue skies, sunshine and not expecting it to get above 55 degrees. I guess you can say I fit into a contemplative life since I am not into the path of certitude, and shun away from those who are walking that path, and I do say “I don’t know” more often.
We are having wonderful fall weather here in Colorado. However, next week we will see colder weather. Late yesterday morning I stood on my porch enjoying a glazed donut and glass of milk, soaking up the sun’s warming rays and watching the constant falling of leaves, twisting and spinning on their short journey. It’s a mesmerizing experience to be aware of my breath while being a witness to nature changing, creating. I felt filled with gratitude. And this morning is just as lovely of a fall morning. As soon as I stepped out the door into the darkness I was met with a captivating quiet and stillness. I then accepted the gift of the sunrise colors over the CSU campus as I rode to Mugs for a wonderful Old Town mocha made by my barista Ethan, then conversation and laughter with Jeff.
Sunrise colors over campusFall colors at the CSU Oval
On the way home I rode through the CSU Oval listening to the sound of my tires rolling through the fallen leaves. Again, I felt filled with gratitude. Yet, I am aware that not all of the world has this state of silence, peace, and serenity. Nor are are all my days this way. Chaos, death, fear and suffering fills their days instead. My heart cries for them and I grapple with my feelings of helplessness. So even though I do not understand prayer or the prayer as I was taught in my youth, I do as Joyce Wilson-Sanford says, “I pray anyway.” Somehow, someway the prayer is given. May you enjoy this Sunday!
