• quotes,  shadows

    Everyday Miracles

    October 25, 2024
    My dad’s wood carving of Madonna and child

    The intimacy our souls long for can happen only when we take off whatever stands between ourselves and union with the One. Our hunger for new cars and clothes, our reliance on other people’s opinions of us, our preconceptions about what it means to be spiritual, our attachment to habitual states of misery. Take it off. Peel it off and fling it off. Find your own subversive spirit and reclaim even the most challenging parts of your life as holy ground. Then everyday miracles will spring from beneath your bare feet to astonish you.

    Mirabai Starr

    A rather cold morning here in Colorado with last night bringing a hard frost. The middle of next week will be cold with the possibility of our first snowfall of the season. That will curtail my bicycle rides to coffee. I am intrigued by Mirabai’s suggestion to find our own subversive spirit because I have been on that path for several years now, and enjoying it. I am learning to see those everyday miracles and sometimes capture an image of them. And, I like how Kathleen Dowling-Singh suggests it is a gift to pursue a spiritual path while still in the midst of life.

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  • quotes,  shadows,  sunsets

    The Day’s Starburst

    October 19, 2024

    “What gift might I bring to this day?”

    Brother David Steindl-Rast

    This was taken earlier in the week. It is a very different scene today as we are overcast where gray clouds block the sun and it’s cold. When I left this morning for coffee around 8:45 it was 43 degrees. on my ride home an hour and a half later it had warmed to 46 degrees. The question in this quote would be a good way to start each/any/all day. The gift may be a poem, painting, photograph, giving someone a hug or compliment, just being present and awake, or the gift of who we truly are, not a shadow self or the persona self but the true essence of who we are. It could even be a good question to ask before going to bed. Stay warm and enjoy your weekend!

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  • coffee life,  quotes,  shadows

    A Divine Masterpiece

    September 21, 2024
    Meg’s shadow at the coffee shop

    Behind each face there is a unique world that no one else can see. This is the mystery of individuality. The shape of each soul is different. No one else feels your life the way you do. No one else sees or hears the world as you do. The creation of the individual is a divine masterpiece.

    John O’Donohue
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  • poems,  poetry,  shadows

    Keeping my eyes open

    September 5, 2024

    Each day offers moments enticing me to keep my eyes
    open and aware of the world around me.

    No matter how familiar the world may appear to my senses
    may these brief moments surprise me as never before.

    Oh, to see the sacredness, simplicity, and beauty
    of shadows spreading across on my bedroom wall.

    mws
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  • clouds,  landscape,  quotes,  shadows

    May we not forget…

    August 13, 2024

    Spiritually ecology is a recognition that at the root of our present ecological crisis is a spiritual crisis, and that the essence of the spiritual crisis is a forgetfulness of the sacred nature of creation.

    Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, Seasons of the Sacred

    I am enjoying a nice cool morning here in Colorado. I’m leaving in a short while to meet my classmates for our monthly luncheon picnic. I took this photo last month on my way back from Red Feather Lakes area. I loved how the pre-sunset light presented parallel lines across the landscape. It was another one of those spiritual moments to enjoy.

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  • animals,  coffee life,  flowers,  shadows

    My Commute

    April 12, 2024

    I am not sure how many days I commuted to and from work but I am grateful I no longer commute to work. However, this morning on my walk/bus ride to the coffee shop I was aware I still commute, yet it does not seem like a commute. While commuting to work, my mind was already at work, figuring, planning, scheduling, arguing, and already building resentments. This meant I was not mentally present for the commute. Wonder how many gifts nature was offering me and I missed them?

    So I’m going to share with you a bit of my commute to coffee this morning. (Sorry if it bores you.) We had a cloudless blue sky. Apple blossoms reminding me it’s spring. A squirrel watching my every move. A cottontail checking out their reflection in the car. Early morning shadows. Spring flowers and new leaves on campus. Heard the cooing of a morning dove and the cry of a hawk. And then when I arrived at Mugs my barista, Emma, offered her wonderful smile and made me a mocha. Yes, I still commute but it’s different. I have an open slate on my calendar, so I plan to do a bit of reading and writing, in the sun. Enjoy your Friday.

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  • Black and White,  quotes,  shadows

    The Holiness of the Moment

    March 4, 2024

    “We forget that the path to God is bound up with our life in the world. Evidence of our spiritual mastery lies in our ever-deepening, continuously expanding humanity. The trick is to be as fully present as possible to the holiness of each moment.”

    Mirabai Starr

    I walk by this wall each morning on the way to and from one of my favorite coffee shops. I admittedly often pass, giving it only a mindless quick glance. At other times I can be more present, walking in my shoes rather than wandering aimlessly in my head. This morning I noticed! As it’s an east facing wall these shadows dance on the brick wall as the sun rises above the houses until mid day. Not only do these shadows create art on the wall, and a photo opportunity, they share with me the time of season. Soon to be filled with leaves these shadows will look differently. I’m hoping my noticing is a sign of being more present to life, expanding my humanity. So I accepted the holiness of the moment and sharing it with you. 

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