Hope begins in the dark,
Anne Lamott
the stubborn hope that if you just show up
and try to do the right thing,
the dawn will come.
Pink Clouds of Hope
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Pre-dawn over campus on my bicycle ride this morning to Mugs -
Fitting into me…
Age has given me what I was looking for my entire life – it has given me me . It has provided time and experience and failures and triumphs and time-tested friends who have helped me step into the shape that was waiting for me. I fit into me now. I have an organic life, finally, not necessarily the one people imagined for me, or tried to get me to have. I have the life I longed for. I have become the woman I hardly dared imagine I would be.
Anne Lamott, Plan B: Further Thoughts on FaithYesterday afternoon we reached a lovely 46 degrees, were basking in warm sunshine and blue skies. Then within about four hours we were at 18 degrees, inundated with cloudy skies and a wind blowing at 11 mph. This morning isn’t much warmer. We don’t have the wind, but we have clear skies, sunshine but single digits. As I write this post I see we reached 22 degrees. Woo-hoo!!
I like her idea of stepping into the shape that’s waiting for me. I have used the phrase “becoming who I was created to be” but I like this “fitting in to me” metaphor. So fair warning, I’ll probably be using both. I also like her use of organic as a way of life.
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Ain’t No Sunshine…
“We begin to find and become ourselves when we notice how we are already found, already truly, entirely, wildly, messily, marvelously who we were born to be.”
Anne LamottWell, if it did get above zero yesterday it had to have only lasted for a couple blinks of eye. I heard a handful of people say they saw it, then it was gone. I wasn’t one of them. I took this image just outside my door. It is warmer this morning at -5° but there is no sunshine. And, we are expecting clouds and light snowfall all day and maybe a high of + 7°. It will be a soup kinda day along with reading and journaling.
I like how Anne Lamott does not say that we find and become ourselves but that we begin. This makes it a journey. I never thought about deep questions like that when I was younger, my focus was on things rather than my very nature. But there came a day when questions like who I am and what’s my purpose began popping up on my radar. Thankfully, I can report that for me finding who we were born to be has become quite the adventure. I find it exciting and makes life enjoyable for me. I’ve heard it said that life’s journey is to uncover, discover and discard all that keeps us from becoming who we already are. What a beautiful journey to walk! Thanks for listening and stay warm!
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The Mystery of Grace
I do not understand the mystery of grace — only that it meets us where we are and does not leave us where it found us.
Anne LamottI have a morning routine that over time has evolved into what it is this morning. Some parts of my routine I seldom, if ever, change, and it’s not that I haven’t thought about changing them. Anyway, after my morning routine, I put on a crock pot of soup, then enjoyed sitting on a favorite rock at Pineridge Natural Area soaking up the sunrise. Laundry is almost done then meeting a friend at noon for lunch. This morning I am grateful for the breath of life and this mystery of grace. May you have a blest day!
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Maybe love is the answer
Not sure what type of mushroom this is but I ain’t gonna eat it. “Hope is not about proving anything. It’s about choosing to believe this one thing, that love is bigger than any grim, bleak shit anyone can throw at us.”
Anne Lamott, Plan B: Further Thoughts on FaithEach day I move towards believing this at deeper and deeper levels. Hatred and violence just are not the answers. Let’s try living the idea that love is the answer. Not just talk about it but truly love! It means learning how to open our hands and offer love to others.
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Believing in Love
“Hope is not about proving anything. It’s about choosing to believe this one thing, that love is bigger than any grim, bleak shit anyone can throw at us.”
Anne LamottI began writing this post yesterday after returning from the coffee shop where I enjoyed the above mocha latte. Felt the need to write with this keyboard and not just in my journal or bring what I journal to these pages more. Anyway…
After quiet time I drove to Pineridge Natural Area to enjoy the predawn colors. I never took my camera out of the bag but sat in the silence taking in as much as I could. Guess you could call it recharging. The eastern sky was cloudless with the exception of one fluffy patch to the north. They predicted snow to begin overnight and continue into today. They were right on as it is snowing now.
I’ve read a couple of Anne Lamott’s books and find her able to express in words some of the bleak shit of my life experiences better than I can. But, I also find that true with other authors I quote on this blog. Not everyone will relate to their words or mine and I’m beginning to feel comfortable with that. Hoping you can bare with me as I continue to put my words and images out into the cyber world. And hopefully you may notice some improvement in both my writing and photography. After all, my barista did not make latte art like this on her first attempt.
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Feeding the Soul
The Center of Attention “Writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation. They deepen and widen and expand our sense of life: they feed the soul.”
Anne Lamott -
Being Changed
Arches “Prayer is not asking for what you think you want, but asking to be changed in ways you can’t imagine.”
Anne Lamott -
Snow Along Poudre River
Snow Along Poudre River “Prayer is not asking for what you think you want, but asking to be changed in ways you can’t imagine.”
Anne LamottWe finally are warming up, expecting 40 degrees today and 50 tomorrow. Took this image about an hour ago along the Poudre River. Stay warm! 🙂
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The View From My Sanctuary
Morning Sunrise from my Bedroom “Churches are good for prayer, but so are garages and cars and mountains and showers and dance floors.”
Anne LamottAs the sun moves more to the south it begins to rise between the two buildings on the opposite side of the pond. I like this time of the year when I sit in my wicker rocker and have quiet time before beginning the day. The sunrise adds to the day. I am also grateful I have a warm house to wake in, some people don’t. Hope you have an Awesome Day!
