• flowers,  Plants,  quotes

    Just Being There

    June 5, 2022

    Joanna Macy writes that until we can grieve for our planet we cannot love it—grieving is a sign of spiritual health. But it is not enough to weep for our lost landscapes; we have to put our hands in the earth to make ourselves whole again. Even a wounded world is feeding us. Even a wounded world holds us, giving us moments of wonder and joy. I choose joy over despair.

    Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass

    As I write this, threatening clouds have moved in. The wind has picked up and the trees are waving those arms adorned with new green leaves. I pray that it rains. I started the morning at a coffee shop, then moved on to one of the natural areas to journal and get in a walk. I’m one of those wandering souls always heading out the door, the wanderer who is committed to the adventure of seeing new places and discovering new things1 A quote the book Eternal Echoes by John O’Donohue. The wanderer cannot do that from their easy chair. I’m aware of my desire to spend more and more time in the company of nature. I find joy just being there.

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  • clouds,  landscape,  quotes,  rants,  writing/reading

    Dream World

    June 4, 2022
    On a drive down Rist Canyon I came upon this tree shrouded in clouds and mist.

    “Too often in the past our approach to truth has been to assume that we have it and others do not. Consequently, we have thought that our role is to tell people what to believe. We are being invited instead into a new humility, to serve the holy wisdom that is already stirring in the hearts of people everywhere, the growing awareness of earth’s interrelatedness and sacredness.”

    John Philip Newell

    I went to a local coffee shop to sit outside and journal but that did not happen. There was a group of men gathered around a couple tables talking loudly, wearing shirts that told you their political opinions, one of them packing a gun. We are faced daily with people telling us what to believe, their truth, from all different perspectives. It was not a comfortable place, so I left. I went where I could listen to the birds sing. They make more sense to me and I love their music.

    What would our world be like if people spent time in nature? Would there be an experience of the awareness of our interrelatedness and sacredness that Newell talks about? How would that change us? Maybe we’d realize we need to be students rather than know-it-alls. Or worse yet, think we need to change the world but not ourselves.

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  • landscape,  natural areas,  quotes,  Reservoir Ridge Natural Area,  seasons,  snow,  winter scenes

    Words to live by…

    January 22, 2022
    Afternoon walk at Reservoir Ridge Natural Area

    The Earth is everywhere. You may be used to thinking of the Earth as only the ground beneath your feet. But the water, the sea, the sky, and everything around us comes from the Earth. Everything outside us and everything inside us comes from the Earth.

    Thich Nhat Hanh

    Colorado does have some beautiful blue skies. We haven’t seen much of it for the past couple days. Today is one of them. May Thich Nhat Hanh’s words cause us to pause, reflect on the world around us and then let them set deep roots within us to live by. Have a wonderful weekend.

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  • landscape,  quotes,  seasons,  shadows,  snow,  winter scenes

    We have to change…

    January 18, 2022

    A lot of our fear, hatred, anger, and feelings of separation and alienation come from the idea that we are separate from the planet. We see ourselves as the center of the universe and are concerned primarily with our own personal survival. If we care about the health and well-being of the planet, we do so for our own sake. We want the air to be clean enough for us to breathe. We want the water to be clear enough so that we have something to drink. But we need to do more than use recycled products or donate money to environmental groups. We have to change our whole relationship with the Earth.

    Thich Nhat Hanh

    I guess if I were to have a resolution or goal for the coming year it would be to continue the change in my relationship with Mother Earth, not just in my thinking but in my actions.

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  • poems,  poetry,  quotes

    Connected to all things

    December 26, 2021
    Colorado sunrise from October of 2005

    If we look at the Path, we do not
    see the Sky..

    We are Earth People on a
    Spiritual Journey through the Stars..

    Our Quest, our Earth Walk..
    is to look within,
    to know who we are,
    to see that we are connected
    to all things, that there is no separation,
    only in the mind!

    Lakota Seer

    As a young man I spent a lot of time in nature which included walking and riding a bicycle almost everywhere. I spent almost no time in front of a television. I am grateful for that childhood. At some point I attained the coveted drivers license and life took on a new direction. I did less walking and driving and less time in nature. I then began chasing a career that put me in front of a computer, within a cubicle and less time in nature. I began to spend less and less time in nature to the point where I lost a connection to nature. I viewed it as separate from me. More than 20 years ago there was a shift in seeing that we are connected to all things. Getting back into photography and practicing a spiritual life were key elements in that shift. There is a desire within me to have more of that connection and thus the reason this poem strikes a chord with me.

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  • poems,  poetry

    To Pray

    December 12, 2021
    Predawn along Peralta Trail just east of Gold Canyon, Arizona, April 2014

    To pray you open your whole self
    To sky, to earth, to sun, to moon
    To one whole voice that is you
    And know there is more
    That you can’t see, can’t hear
    Can’t know except in moments
    Steadily growing, and in languages
    That aren’t always sound but other
    Circles of motion.
    Like eagle that Sunday morning
    Over Salt River. Circled in blue sky
    In wind, swept our hearts clean
    With sacred wings.
    We see you, see ourselves and know
    That we must take the utmost care
    And kindness in all things.
    Breathe in, knowing we are made of
    All this, and breathe, knowing
    We are truly blessed because we
    Were born, and die soon within a
    True circle of motion,
    Like eagle rounding out the morning
    Inside us.
    We pray that it will be done
    In beauty.
    In beauty.

    Joy Harjo

    If you’re interested you can listen to Joy Harjo recite the Eagle Poem here.

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  • clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  sunrises

    A Unified Whole

    April 23, 2021
    This morning’s sunrise

    “We must also take active steps to live in harmony with the rest of creation. This means that we cannot adopt attitudes or beliefs that place us above the natural world. We cannot see ourselves as having dominion over the land, the water, or the animals. We can’t even see ourselves as being stewards of the Earth. We are only keepers of a way of life that is in harmony with the Earth. Every day, we must act in ways that acknowledge that we are part of one living system, a unified whole.”

    Sherri Mitchell

    In case you do not know Sherri Mitchell is an Indigenous Rights attorney and the executive director of the Land Peace Foundation, an organization dedicated to the protection of Indigenous land and water rights and the Indigenous way of life. Mitchell has been actively involved with Indigenous rights in the U.S., Canada and abroad for more than 25 years. I had not heard of her before until I read this quote.

    This image is an envisioned scene I’ve had for a couple of weeks. This morning nature pulled together the elements so I could have this scene. I tried something similar back on April 19th but clouds did not allow it to happen. Happy Friday!

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