My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, coffee life, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, spirituality and asking deep questions.
“The fact that religions through the ages have spoken in images, parables, and paradoxes means simply that there are no other ways of grasping the reality to which they refer.”
Niels Bohr
Seems my feeble attempt at finding the words and images of what I see regularly falls short of expressing the reality of what I experience. I saw this leaf outside the coffee shop this morning and was taken by its simplicity and beauty. I excitedly took a few images but was not satisfied with what I saw on my LCD or my monitor. Primarily because the image cannot express or grasp what I experienced. It reminds me of that idiom, “Ya had to be there to actually experience it (reality).” And yet, I will continue to try with both images and words…
Yes, this is my second posting today since it is my blog!
A small part of our amazing winter wonderland this morning
I stand in the midst of creation’s wheel And watch in wonder the quiet majesty of its turning. We are in the care of a love without limit or definition Under the protection of a love that never looks away.
Steven Charleston
It is Monday morning and we have fresh snow on the ground, clear blue skies and sunshine. I am grateful to be a witness to this beautiful winter wonderland. Today I am missing my mother who would have been 92 today. I also can say I miss her with a love that is without limits. Not sure I would have said that as a teenager which makes me grateful for my growing maturity. I’m also grateful for the belief that there is a caring love (and I speak of love as an action word, not a noun) that never looks away. I have experienced such love in family, friends and nature. So, I pray today for the gift of sharing with a love I’ve experienced which is without limits and never looks away.
“Love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is done well.”
Vincent Van Gogh
Every fall, the leaves of deciduous trees undergo a dramatic color change before forfeiting their newfound hues, fading to brown and dying. It’s a process all of nature takes on. Needles and leaves that fall decompose and restock the soil with nutrients and make up part of the spongy humus layer of the forest floor that absorbs and holds rainfall. Fallen leaves also become food for numerous soil organisms vital to the forest ecosystem. That is some of the science of why leaves fall but as a photographer I am drawn to the shapes and colors of fallen leaves. They offer a promise for more life. What a gift of love these leaves offer.
It is our coldest morning this fall at 24 degrees. It is still dark and with the cold I have that thought of going back to bed. Yet there is day ahead with possible adventures. What will it bring? I’ll start by seeing what I can find at a coffee shop.
I find myself referring to this site as a blog rather more often than a website, whether in conversations or writing. I began to wonder what the difference was. Seems the only real difference between a blog and a website is that blogs are updated on a regular basis with new content, which is displayed in reverse chronological order. While typical websites are static in nature where content is organized in pages, and they are not updated frequently. I place myself in the blog category. Some people have blogs that are just a part of a larger website. Some photographers I know have blogs within their website. And some have a separate website and a separate blog.
A bit of research on Dr. Google shows that blogs evolved primarily from personal online diaries and journals in the mid-90s. Then someone built a couple of blogging platforms, Blogger.com and later WordPress.com. Now there are a multitude of platforms that can be used to create both a website and a blog.
I knew almost nothing about a blog until a friend suggested I start one when I began working as a flight attendant. I laughed him off. Then something happened in October 2008 and now look at me some 15 years later! I can easily spend an hour or two a day writing and reading blogs. Much more over the past few weeks while “remodeling” this site. Anyway, I am quite comfortable referring to this website as a blog.
Got my COVID vaccination yesterday and feel achy and tired this morning. No morning sunrise or visit to a coffee shop. Slept in late. Today will be a rest and recovery day.
What fills the heart with happiness, ironically enough, is not what we get out of the world; it’s what we put into it. Being about something worthwhile, spending our lives on something worth spending a life on is what, in the end, makes us happy.
Joan Chittister
My barista this morning was Stephen. I hadn’t seen him for a while and discovered he’d taken some time off while his father was out here visiting. It sounds like their time together made them happy.
I consider myself a happy person. My greeting by Stephen this morning enriched my happiness. Having said that it seems to take more to upset me than in the past. However, I must admit that drivers can test my peace, serenity and happiness. At this stage in my life happiness does not come so much from what I do as when I was pursuing a career, gathering the things the world told me I needed and so on. For me happiness comes from the lifestyle I attempt to live, a spiritual lifestyle which includes starting my day with prayer and meditation. I call this quiet time, center myself for the day. Happiness comes from how I treat and respect all of life that shares this world with me. Happiness comes from what creative acts I offer as a gift, such as photography or my blogging. Happiness comes from listening and being present to a friend or stranger. Happiness comes from times in nature, watching the sunrise or sunset or the changing colors of the fall season. Happiness comes from building relationships with my family, friends, strangers and the natural world around me. I could go on but instead I invite you to share with us some things that bring happiness in your life and the life of those around you. I told you there would be more leaves!
It is in the darkest nights of our souls, when all we know is that we know nothing, that the presence of the sacred may quietly well up, mingling with our pain and connecting us to a love that will never die.
Mirabai Starr
There is something enjoyable about walking among trees while they drop their leaves on me and around me, whether in a local park, a natural area or my neighborhood. Next time you experience that just close your eyes, allow the trees to bless you with their holy leaves. It may be an opportunity to experience the presence of the sacred. More photos of leaves to come.
The governor resigned his exalted office and came to the Master demanding to be taught. ”What is it you wish me to teach you?” asked the Master ”Wisdom.” was the reply. ”Ah, my friend! How gladly would I do that were it not for one major obstacle.” ”What?” ”Wisdom cannot be taught.” ”So there’s nothing I can learn here.” ”Wisdom can be learned. But it cannot be taught.”
The intention of a photographer is to capture the beauty in places, obvious or hidden, in which modern age and technology cause us to dismiss.
Kassadi Collins
I suspect that each of us could walk around our neighborhoods for a half hour and find a multitude of images that we would call keepers. For it is my belief that natureis creating scenes at all times, just for the joy of it. We just need to look and see, just for the joy of it. Yet we can walk through the day with our technology close at hand and miss much of the beauty this world offers. Maybe we need to ask ourselves the question that Kassidi is referring to; What is my intention today?
