My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, coffee life, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, spirituality and asking deep questions.
Let me embrace each dawn as gift. Let me walk the hours of day unafraid With grace and faith unbounded.
Let evening find me close to those I love Warming my soul by the fires of their laughter.
Let me sleep believing tomorrow will be a blessing.
Steven Charleston, Spirit Wheel
We had our first snowfall last night. I awoke to a heavy fog and mist this morning. There was a dusting of snow on rooftops and frost on windshields. I agree each morning is a blessing whether a brilliant sunrise or fog and mist. And, my walk through today will include lunch with my oldest daughter, Christine, reading a new book and journaling time. Seems to be that kind of day. Happy Halloween!
The wind has blown hard today, gusting up to 30 mph. The blue sky is filled with an infinite number of yellow, gold, brown, red, pink, and multi-speckled leaves. And, all are being invited to dance and sing with the wind. Yet some hold on, not ready to let go, even though it’s an essential part of their journey. I must confess, I do love the music that they make together, this chorus after chorus of rustling leaves and wind. Their music is one of the primary reasons I enjoy this time of the year. This image is taken outside my front door where the wind swirls leaves into a delightful blanket of beauty just for me. It is all a miracle!!!
A touch of pink
Somewhere along the way, you realize that no one will teach you how to live your own life — not your parents or your idols, not the philosophers or the poets, not your liberal arts education or your twelve-step program, not church or therapy or Tolstoy. No matter how valuable any of that guidance, how pertinent any of that wisdom, in the end you discover that you make the path of life only by walking it with your own two feet under the overstory of your own consciousness — that singular miracle never repeated in all the history and future of the universe, never fully articulable to another.
Maria Popova
This quote by Maria Popova is from a wonderful blog post which you can read here.
This time of the year the leaves become eye candy for me. On my walk I knelt down to see what compositions I could find. While kneeling the wind would blow, bringing down more leaves, and moving those already on the ground. It becomes a continuous creation of new compositions. And there seems to be an infinite number of leaves of different shapes, sizes and colors for nature to work with. However, they are more than eye candy because their life cycle includes decomposing, restocking the soil with nutrients and making up part of the spongy humus layer of the ground that absorbs and holds rainfall. They also become food for numerous soil organisms vital to the ecosystem. Yes, they are more than eye candy. How beautiful life is!
In every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks.
John Muir
I can just as easily replace the word walk in this quote with bicycle ride. As I rode through this one area I noticed a scene that I noticed a scene I wanted to photograph. I took several images but was not satisfied with any of them. I turned to get back on the bike and noticed this scene. It is a busy image but the colors, eclectic shapes and patterns caused me to squat down beside the water and accept the image. Because I took the time to stop and squat a woman walking by also stopped to see what I was seeing. She thanked me and we both smiled as we received nature’s tapestry. Taken on my bicycle ride yesterday along Spring Creek Trail.
Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement… to get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; never treat life casually. To be spiritual is to be amazed.
Fall colors while waiting at the bus stop this morning.
There is such a powerful eloquence in silence. True genius is knowing when to say nothing, to allow the experience, the moment itself, to carry the message, to say what needs to be said. Words are less important, less effective than feeling. When you can sit in perfect silence with someone, you truly know how to communicate.
Richard Wagamese, Embers: One Ojibway’s Meditations
Yesterday was such a beautiful day here in Colorado. It was surprisingly warm in the morning at 58 degrees. Blue skies dominated a few scattered clouds the rest of the day. Some would say it was a perfect day for football.
Sometime after midnight clouds and rain moved into the area. The rain, a light drizzle, is expected to let up by noon then partly cloudy the rest of the day. Tonight will be our coldest night of this season. The autumnal equinox arrived this morning at 8:44 a.m. ET, about two hours ago, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac. And, this morning it feels very much like autumn. I’m loving the fall colors mixed with rain and the cool damp chill that awakens my body to the change of season. Wisely, I put on a crockpot of chili soup before heading out to the coffee shop. Happy Sunday!
