An online journal sharing my interests in photography, nature, coffee life, journaling, fountain pens, spirituality and asking deep questions.
listen to the muse
ms
trade a blank page for words
always time well spent
Cold and light snow falling. Laundry is almost done. Will meet Joe in a few minutes for coffee. Plan to read and journal later. It’s a simple day, a simple post. And, you’ve not seen a post of my journal and fountain pens since March 28th. Way overdue! 😁
There is a secret hidden in the heart
Meister Eckhart’s Book of Secrets
a treasure as close to us as our breath
a mystery living in the midst of our soul.
Finding it is simple, but may be hard,
since to do so we must abandon the self
we thought we were and seek the gift
that is always ours: this inner spark
that no darkness can finally extinguish,
though it keeps us from knowing it.
This gift is always present to us, if only
we have eyes to see. And when we do,
we will find its radiance in everything,
and at all times, this light that blazes
on in a darkness that cannot put it out,
this secret that finds us when we risk
abandoning ourselves to this presence.
We received about 4-5 inches of snow yesterday evening and through the night. I heard that the Denver Metro area received as much as 10 inches. I cleaned off the car then drove out into the winter wonderland.
The above poem is the prologue from a new book called Meister Eckhart’s Book of Secrets by Mark Burrows and Jon Sweeney. It is a followup book to one called the Book of the Heart. It is their work of converting Eckhart’s writing into poetic meditations. Eckhart did not write poetically but in many ways, as they suggest, “his thought was profoundly poetic.” The romantic in me and my spiritual path have allowed me to enjoy the first book so giving this one a chance.
A gracious mind has compassion and sensitive understanding. It is without greed; rather than concentrating on what is absent or missing, it is able to celebrate and give thanks for what is present.
John O’Donohue, Beauty: The Invisible Embrace
It’s 10 degrees outside. Drove to the natural area for the quiet and to journal. Did not stay long, though. Grateful to be warm and inside. Overcast sky and a few snowflakes have been sited. It has that cold wintery feel. And, it’s going to be cold for the next 4 days or so, very cold. I have coffee, chocolate, peanut butter, a new book of poetry (Devotions by Mary Oliver) and plenty of fountain pen ink. I’m good and giving thanks. Stay warm.
The above image was shot with the Fujifilm Acros film simulation. The Fujifilm website describes Acros as: a recently introduced black & white mode that’s richer in clarity and sharpness, and was inspired by our NEOPAN 100 ACROS film, which was known for its fine grain, rich gradation, and outstanding sharpness. Like the MONOCHROME mode, it’s also available in yellow, red, and green versions, but ACROS also has an embedded graininess that matches the film emulsion original. I like it.
On Meditating, Sort Of
Mary Oliver (From Blue Horses)
Meditation, so I’ve heard, is best accomplished
if you entertain a certain strict posture.
Frankly, I prefer just to lounge under a tree.
So why should I think I could ever be successful?
Some days I fall asleep, or land in that
even better place — half asleep — where the world,
spring, summer, autumn, winter —
flies through my mind in its
hardy ascent and its uncompromising descent.
So I just lie like that, while distance and time
reveal their true attitudes: they never
heard of me, and never will, or ever need to.
Of course I wake up finally
thinking, how wonderful to be who I am,
made out of earth and water,
my own thoughts, my own fingerprints —
all that glorious, temporary stuff.
an open journal
ms
blank pages fill with words
new fountain pen
Cloudy and overcast skies with possible snow flurries later today. May be one of those days for a hot chocolate or tea and a good book. Or, writing with a new fountain pen.
two new books to read
ms
words planted on blank pages
bearing fruit in souls
“Teach the children. We don’t matter so much, but the children do. Show them daisies and the pale hepatica. Teach them the taste of sassafras and wintergreen. The lives of the blue sailors, mallow, sunbursts, the moccasin flowers. And the frisky ones–inkberry, lamb’s quarters, blueberries. And the aromatic ones–rosemary, oregano. Give them peppermint to put in their pockets as they go to school. Give them the fields and the woods and the possibility of the world salvaged from the lords of profit. Stand them in the stream, head them upstream, rejoice as they learn to love this green space they live in, its sticks and leaves and then the silent, beautiful blossoms. Attention is the beginning of devotion.”
Mary Oliver
I bought a new used book which arrived on Saturday. It’s title is Upstream by Mary Oliver and a series of essays. So far I’m liking it and relate to her spiritual connectedness to nature. So, fair warning you may see a few quotes from the book.