My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and the mystery of it all.
Stopping is an essential part of the spiritual life. If we cannot stop, we cannot see our True Nature. When we stop, we begin to see clearly, and we can appreciate the wonders of life. We can see that there is no separation between ourselves and the world, and we can marvel at the oneness of all things. To be fully present in the moment, we need to stop letting our mind race ahead to the future or dwell in the past. We need to let go of our distractions, our worries, and our busyness.
Thich Nhat Hanh
One thing about bicycling is the tendency to be more present to the now and not as much time in my head. So this cloud scene required me to stop this morning and take in the beauty and wonder of nature. And, I wasn’t late to the coffee shop.
“There is beauty in silence and there is silence in beauty and you can find both in a bicycle!”
Mehmet Murat ildan
The gift of riding. That’s a simple statement but I think it needs to be expanded on. I had been looking at bicycles because I began having issues with my back when I walked more than 5k steps. This August it will be two years since I purchased my e-bike. From that purchase a new world opened for me and the gifts began appearing. So here are some reasons I consider riding my red steed as a gift. It includes good cardio exercise since it does not bother my back. I do not have to deal with the insanity and congestion of traffic. I spend less money on gas, put fewer miles on my car and I pollute less. I am spending more time in the elements of nature. This was a surprise because the riding puts me in nature rather than being enclosed in a car. To enhance the experience of nature I enjoy taking the Spring Creek Trail, even though it’s a longer ride than across campus. In taking that trail I’m experiencing more of the sounds, sights and smells of nature. While riding I am in the midst of the beauty and the silence of nature. For me it is the gift of a spiritual experience and a wonderful way to start my day.
I bought the Trek Verve+ 1 bicycle. I did a lot of research into what I wanted before settling on this bike because I felt it met my needs as a Class 1. It has a small rear hub 250W motor with 40NM of torque. That easily gets me up any hills around here. The battery is rated at 250Wh, is integrated in the downtube, and lets me get about 32 miles on a charge. It has a Shimano 8 speed shifter, which has more gears than I need or use. I handed them my credit card after the return of my first test ride!
The original image for this scene was taken this morning on my bicycle ride home from the coffee shop. I am standing at a concrete detention wall that creates a small pond used for water control. I must say the bicycle ride home from the coffee shop, almost two hours later, was much hotter than the ride to the coffee shop. Today is expected to be in the upper 90s and I can feel it now. Same forecast for the next 5 days. And for anyone interested I found out Dairy Queen was closing about 45 franchises due to some franchise issues, primarily Alaska, Texas and Montana. Luckily the closures do not affect my area. Whew!! I hope you stay cool and calm today!
If we think of the Earth as a big warehouse of commodities, as mere objects, we claim a kind of privilege to exploit what we believe that we own. In that property mindset, how we consume doesn’t really matter because it’s just stuff and the stuff all belongs to us. There’s no moral constraint on consumption. And so we find ourselves in a time of ecological and spiritual depletion.
Robin Wall Kimmerer, The Serviceberry
My friend Jeff and I both just finished reading a book titled The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer. The above quote from her book stuck out for both of us and brought up a wonderfully enriching conversation this morning. Every once in a while we enter into such conversations which allows us to get to know and experience ourselves better at deeper levels. At least that’s true for me. I am aware of the amount of consumerism I partake in and have been practicing more moral constraint in my consumption the past few years. I am also aware of how much marketing is placed in front of me every day to increase my consumption. I took the above image this morning on my bicycle ride to the coffee shop. This is the same cottonwood tree elder as yesterday but looking from Stuart St. just before I turn onto Fisher Natural Area. I loved the clouds!! They say possible rain this afternoon so to help out I started dancing and rolled all the windows down in my car.
To be a giant and keep quiet about it, To stay in one’s own place; To stand for the constant presence of process And always to seem the same; To be steady as a rock and always trembling, Having the hard appearance of death With the soft, fluent nature of growth, One’s Being deceptively armored, One’s Becoming deceptively vulnerable; To be so tough, and take the light so well, Freely providing forbidden knowledge Of so many things about heaven and earth For which we should otherwise have no word— Poems or people are rarely so lovely, And even when they have great qualities They tend to tell you rather than exemplify What they believe themselves to be about, While from the moving silence of trees, Whether in storm or calm, in leaf and naked, Night and day, we draw conclusions of our own, Sustaining and unnoticed as our breath And perilous also—though there has never been A critical tree—about the nature of things.
Howard Nemerov, The Tree from The Poetry of Presence
I read this poem yesterday and loved the message it brought to me. I thought I’d share it on this blog and maybe it will touch you, also. I knew immediately which tree I wanted to include with the post. So this morning on my ride to the coffee shop I stopped to take a moment and admire again this wise old cottonwood elder and take a photo of them. The tree is located along Fisher Natural Area and I have several images of it. You can see in the image we are still experiencing the effects of the forest fires. And, they say it will be hot again today.
This was the scene along Spring Creek Trail this morning. The fires west of here in Utah and Colorado are now affecting us. We are seeing ash settling on cars and you can smell it. Sadly I heard this morning at the coffee shop that 3 firefighters have died and 2 have been injured in the 28,000 acre Snyder-Mesa Fire. I am not sure but assume this is the fire where most of the smoke filled air is coming from. In spite of the sad news, may you enjoy your Sunday!
… I needed to stop and get on one knee again to get a photo of these asters (blanket flowers) along Spring Creek Trail. I did not ride the past couple days because of the rain and drizzle, so I really enjoyed this morning’s ride. And, in case you’re curious, I was able to get back up without help and there were no popping sounds!!
Altocumulus Clouds in the west from this morning’s ride to the coffee shop
When I opened my blinds this morning, I could see the crescent moon in the southern sky and it brought a smile to my face. After some quiet time and cereal I enjoyed an absolutely lovely bicycle ride to and from the coffee shop as can be seen in this image. Meg was my barista which brought another smile to my face. And the conversation at the coffee shop was as stimulating as the coffee. We even stayed longer than normal. I had my monthly luncheon with a few of my classmates later at a park in Loveland. And, again good conversations were shared! After I post this I plan on working on my dad’s photo book, getting in some journaling time and maybe a walk. I loved these altocumulus clouds on my ride this morning. These clouds were along both the east and west horizons and stopping for a photograph seemed mandatory.
We have a beautiful day here in Colorado. I mounted the red steed and took a bicycle ride along Spring Creek Trail out to Spring Canyon Park and back, about 7.6 mile round trip. Lots of people were out enjoying the weather so the trail was busy. And the park was busy with little kids’ soccer, and the pickle ball courts and tennis courts were full. I spotted a couple of young girls sunbathing in bikinis and almost rode off the trail. I’m gonna call it wildlife. No image but I did stop for this image on the way back because I like the idea that we can feel like we’re in a natural wooded area outside of the city while still in the city. I hope you are enjoying your Saturday!
The human soul is hungry for beauty; we seek it everywhere – in landscape, music, art, clothes, furniture, gardening, companionship, love, religion and in ourselves. No-one would desire not to be beautiful. When we experience the Beautiful, there is a sense of homecoming. Some of our most wonderful memories are of beautiful places where we felt immediately at home. We feel most alive in the presence of the Beautiful for it meets the needs of our soul.
John O’Donohue
What a beautiful morning for a bicycle ride along Spring Creek to Mugs for coffee and wonderful conversation. This is a good time of the year for images like this due to the timing of my ride and the rising of the sun. I’m sharing this image of what I get to experience on these morning rides. Alissia was my barista and an Old Town mocha was my drink. A few clouds have now moved in as a cold front arrives late tonight which I hope brings us moisture in the form of rain and snow early Friday morning. And, both Friday and Saturday nights could be below freezing. I will be okay with that if we also get moisture. May you enjoy this day!
