My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and the mystery of it all.
“A bird does not sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.”
Chinese Proverb
It has been a hot day for us but clouds did move in to cool us down and it has turned into a lovely evening.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
We can make a difference when we draw on our courage and creativity to stand up for our beliefs. Our small actions carry a cumulative power that can shift the planet onto a more positive course. We only need to tap our innate creativity and connect with expression not only through a particular medium like paint or clay or words; the other medium we all have to express our creativity is our lives. As human beings, we’re innately creative, capable of great love, and creatures of community. When we draw on our natural gifts and act together, we have enormous power to ease suffering and invent new possibilities for a better world.
Kim Ridley
I post a lot of quotes here. I struggle sometimes to post long ones because too many words can confuse, distract and make a difference in how the reader understands what the author intended. The above quote is an example. What I was moved by in the quote was the fact that mankind is capable of great love, while knowing in my mind mankind is also capable of great hatred. But, I will keep my focus on hope and belief in great love! I hope you are having a great day!!!
“Respond to the call of your gift and the courage to follow its path.”
John O’Donohue
We awoke to a light mist that hung around until about 8:30 am. From then on the clouds slowly gave way to blue sky and sunshine, making it a beautiful day. I drove to Pineridge Natural Area about 4:32 pm to journal and listen to the Magpies chatter. The opening blue sky and scattered clouds filled my gratitude bucket. I always seem to feel respect for nature and move into a place of silent prayer. Before I left, a meadowlark sang a simple song for me. I believe it knew I needed one. My day was made complete. I hope you had a good weekend and enjoy your coming week!
In the stillness of the quiet, if we listen,
Dr. Howard Thurman
We can hear the whisper of the heart
giving strength to weakness,
courage to fear,
hope to despair.
I took this image at noon today at Red Fox Meadows Natural Area which is a 40-acre urban wildlife refuge that is less than half mile from my condo. It also is an important stormwater detention area for the city. It truly is a corridor for wildlife as I have seen fox and deer here on many occasions. There are plenty of hawks feasting on mice that consider this their home. Yet, there are houses and traffic to the north and south of me but with the right composition I can pretty much eliminate any sign of man’s intrusion. I really need to visit more often for its stillness and quiet, for the photography, a place to journal and I can practice my flute there. Have a wonderful Monday!
Silence has many dimensions. It can be a regression and an escape, a loss of self, or it can be presence, awareness, unification, self-discovery. Negative silence blurs and confuses our identity, and we lapse into daydreams or diffuse anxieties. Positive silence pulls us together and makes us realize who we are, who we might be, and the distance between the two. Hence, positive silence implies a choice, and what Paul Tillich called the “courage to be.”
Thomas Merton
After my meditation and quiet I ventured up to Pineridge Natural Area to spend time in the silence I find in this sanctuary. Baby cottontails greeted me as I arrived. Rabbitbrush and sunflowers danced with the light wind. No words in this silence but so much is said and heard. To me this is positive silence. As I stood there and watched the sun break through the clouds a light rain began to fall. The light rain was refreshing with both its feel and fragrance. May you have a wonderful Sunday and the “courage to be.“
Wonder – that edge state on the rim of understanding, where the mind touches mystery – is our best means of loving the world more deeply.
Maria Popova
This is sunrise 3 days ago. This morning we had 61 degrees, 99% humidity and overcast skies so it looks much different today. It made for an invigorating bicycle ride to the coffee shop, but well worth it. Those clouds have burned of slightly, a bit of sunshine is out but rain is expected later today. Yes, the wonder it all!
So I can’t save the world—
Because from The Unfolding by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
can’t save even myself,
can’t wrap my arms around
every frightened child, can’t
foster peace among nations,
can’t bring love to all who
feel unlovable.
So I practice opening my heart
right here in this room and being gentle
with my insufficiency. I practice
walking down the street heart first.
And if it is insufficient to share love,
I will practice loving anyway.
I want to converse about truth,
about trust. I want to invite compassion
into every interaction.
One willing heart can’t stop a war.
One willing heart can’t feed all the hungry.
And sometimes, daunted by a task too big,
I tell myself what’s the use of trying?
But today, the invitation is clear:
to be ridiculously courageous in love.
To open the heart like a lilac in May,
knowing freeze is possible
and opening anyway.
To take love seriously.
To give love wildly.
To race up to the world
as if I were a puppy,
adoring and unjaded,
stumbling on my own exuberance.
To feel the shock of indifference,
of anger, of cruelty, of fear,
and stay open. To love as if it matters,
as if the world depends on it.
You have countless opportunities to grow through life’s challenges—in other words, to become an ever more fully, deeply human human being. This is the meaning of the Yiddish word mensch. Someone whose humanity shines through the darkness of this world. Someone who believes in the fundamental goodness of life and embodies it. Not despite challenging experiences, but as the result of having practiced facing them with courage and kindness.
Mirabai Starr, Ordinary Mysticism
Do I use age as a reason for not following my heart’s desire?
mws
Do I search for motives to avoid living my life?
Do I look for excuses to spare myself the struggle required?
Do I run away when I face something challenging or new?
Do I have the courage to venture towards each new horizon?
Someone shared a quote with me by Mother Teresa that says “to be holy is to be fully alive.” Seems as I’m aging I am becoming more alive, maybe even fully alive! But, being holy is another story. Anyway, my experiences in becoming fully alive has required me to rely on courage. I remember a time when I prayed for courage, believing it was something I didn’t have, not realizing it’s already a part of who I am. And, I believe a part of who we all are. I’ve learned that looking at my failures as lessons rather than condemning myself has required courage. Asking for help requires courage. It takes courage just to believe that I can grow in my creativity, in my spiritual life, to face the reality of life and, yes, to be fully alive.
Read this morning that the Alexander Mountain FIre is at 9,680 acres and now at 32% containment. Smoke is still bad so air quality is very poor. We are hoping to have rain showers and cooler temperatures for the next 7 days. Should help with containing the fires. Happy Sunday