In humility, with wisdom and compassion, we make a more spacious world, where the experience of our communion and connection has fewer barriers and becomes more possible.
Kathleen Dowling-Singh
A More Spacious World
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A cold and frost covered sunrise – October 2012 -
Weathering
When I left the condo this morning it was 36 degrees, clear skies and dry so it was a morning to bicycle to the coffee shop. A bright waning crescent moon hung in the southern darkness. The wind was blowing causing flags on campus to stand erect into the eastern sunrise and also made my bedaling tougher. The lovely Winter was my barista this morning and made me a spicy chai to start my day. A beautiful day is taking shape here in Colorado.
“This tells me two fundamental truths: one, that in order to evolve and grow, we must be prepared to face the erosive aspects of life. Two, it’s the weathering that creates the finest landscape of our lives, shaping us and defining us over time.”
Ruth AllenThere is a knowing within me that I am evolving. The obstacles of life, the weathering, has shaped who I am. And, I would venture to say everything else in the universe. The weathering of my life’s storms is allowing me to experience the inner landscape of my life. Grateful for this time in my life and my inner landscape! Have a wonderful day!!!
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Knowing When to Say Nothing
Fall colors while waiting at the bus stop this morning. There is such a powerful eloquence in silence. True genius is knowing when to say nothing, to allow the experience, the moment itself, to carry the message, to say what needs to be said. Words are less important, less effective than feeling. When you can sit in perfect silence with someone, you truly know how to communicate.
Richard Wagamese, Embers: One Ojibway’s Meditations -
Stillness and Quiet
Time and again, we miss out on the great treasures in our lives because we are so restless. In our minds we are always elsewhere. We are seldom in a place where we stand and in the time that is now.
John O’DonohueWe can discover in the latter years of our life that moments of stillness and quiet can be great friends. If we embrace these friends we can experience less restlessness and spend less time caught up in our heads, a sometimes formidable neighborhood. The less time in our heads the less likely we are to miss out on some part of the journey through life. When I can stand in the now, I can receive the great treasure of a starburst.
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Those Black Eyes
I read the other day that God finds a thousand ways to tell us that we are sought after. In many ways I’d like to believe that. And please don’t ask me to define what God is because I can’t. All I can do is share my experiences where I have moments with a something bigger than me.
While out shooting the sunrise last week at Pineridge Natural Area I was startled by some movement at my feet. When there’s movement that close to me, I am startled because we do have rattlesnakes in the area. However, looking down, I watched this baby cottontail move closer and closer to me, seemingly a bit quizzical about me and unafraid. As I looked into those black eyes, with no words needing to be exchanged, I felt something, a connection. Was I being sought after? I went home clearly touched in some way by Nature and those gifts she offers. I’m grateful to say the God of my youth has evolved into the God I can experience today through the black eyes of a cottontail. I wonder, who sought who? Have a wonderful Monday and a great week.
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After the Last Note
I leave the chaos to enter the sanctuary of nature,
mws
aware this spiritual life is about our experiences.
I listen as the meadowlark sings from their heart,
the wind carrying their notes to all who will listen.
I learn, after the last note fades into the past,
to stay present, just as the meadowlark,
listening to the gift of silence.I saw two extraordinary events yesterday afternoon at Pineridge Natural Area. While scanning the area with my binoculars I watched a large raptor, which I believe was a Golden Eagle, flying straight at me with a prairie dog in their talons. Golden Eagles are common in the area but this was my first sighting of one. Later, while journaling on the bench about the eagle there was an increase of chatter among the magpies just below me. I looked up from writing and see a bobcat. This was the first one I’ve seen in this area even though there are several in the area. I took no photos, just memories that remain in the present! Enjoy your weekend!
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Lost in the mist…
“Mystery surrounds every deep experience of the human heart: the deeper we go into the heart’s darkness or its light, the closer we get to the ultimate mystery of God.”
Parker J PalmerI see scenes like this quite often on my walk across the CSU Oval. The back lit light of the sprinklers always grabs my attention. So, I stopped for a couple of images. I find mystery in this image because it includes the cyclist, lost in the mist, riding on the sidewalk down the center of the oval as if they were within the spray. The wind continues to blow this morning, so my hair is a mess, but we have clear skies and sunshine. I am happy to see more and more green. The semester is over, finals are done and most students have headed home. Hope you have a wonderful day.
