My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, coffee life, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, spirituality and asking deep questions.
I was surprised to not see snow on the ground this morning. Yet the weather app says it’s still coming. Rain is now falling on the eastern plains but nothing along the Front Range, yet. I slept in late so my day has felt a bit behind. Journal time with my chai latte after quiet time is how I started this Saturday morning. Hoping you all have a great weekend. We need the moisture!
Update: 11:29 am – It is now snowing.
wind howls outside
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serene and calm within
listening for words
Blue skies, sunshine, cold and windy. Pretty much sums up the day so far. It’s a grab a book, make a homemade chai latte, wrap myself in a warm blanket in my recliner and possibly take a nap kinda day.
A morning of blank pages, empty and barren
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my mind wandering while I sit before them, staring.
Aware I refuse to face them, even turning away,
finding something else to do, even daydreaming.
I ask for a willingness to listen for inspiration,
alert to the inner voice seen through pen and ink.
Transformative words are not always found in books
but through whispers heard from a sanctuary within.
Two women talk at a table in the back, no masks. A man works on his laptop, his mask sits under his chin. Piped music fills the air. As I observe all this I’m aware of the different experiences between my mornings at a coffee shop and the serenity of my time in nature. I’ve come to prefer the chatter of the magpies, listening to the meadowlarks song, having a conversation with the cottontails and journaling in the natural world. An awareness.
Visited Mugs coffee shop this morning now that they are opened again. First time I’ve been there since the latest lockdown, late November or early December. Spent about an hour there and saw two customers. Not good for their business. I will not be coming here very often but this morning seemed to be a good day to go. I did not go the natural area because it began to snow just before I left the condo. We are suppose to have 1-2 inches of snow here with more in the mountains. I’m in for the day.
The contemplative life should liberate and purify the imagination which passively absorbs all kinds of things without our realizing it; liberate and purify it from the influence of so much violence done by the bombardment of social images. There is a kind of contagion that affects the imagination unconsciously much more than we realize. It emanates from things like advertisements and from all the spurious fantasies that are thrown at us by our commercial society. These fantasies are deliberately intended to exercise a powerful effect on our conscious and subconscious minds. They are directed right at our instincts and appetites and there is no question but that they exercise a real transforming power on our whole psychic structures. The contemplative life should liberate us from that kind of pressure, which is really a form of tyranny.
Thomas Merton
Yes, I am a very much aware how affected I am by consumerism and advertising. Show me an image of a fine fountain pen and the lust for it begins to grow. I am easily enticed. Over the past few years, through the practice of a contemplative life and simplifying my life I feel the lust is being curtailed. At least until Pelikan comes out with another marbled fountain pen color and in my price range. 😳
What is interesting to me in Merton’s quote is his use of the phrase ‘spurious fantasies.’ We all have watched how the power of our social media/news can affect people, stirring up anger, hate and rage in some, while drawing others to an awareness of our societal and world issues. For some it has meant making a healthy self-examination of ourselves then coming up with ways to change the unhealthy aspects we find, nurture them and sharing the healthy ones. But, for some it means pointing fingers and accusing rather than any self-examination.
For the past few weeks I have reduced my time on social media while staying as distant as I can from the news. This has allowed me to consciously spend more time in my journal, more reading, walks in nature and more prayer/meditation. The biggest impact has been the reduction of unhealthy images in my mind, both words and photographs. I much prefer reading words that nudge me to explore their meaning and to liberate and purify my imagination to create healthy vibes in the universe.
two new books to read
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words planted on blank pages
bearing fruit in souls