• coffee life,  gratitude,  I am learning...,  latte art,  quotes

    Showing off!

    Understanding of the self only arises in relationship, in watching yourself in relationship to people, ideas, and things; to trees, the earth, and the world around you and within you. Relationship is the mirror in which the self is revealed. Without self-knowledge there is no basis for right thought and action.

    Jiddu Krishnamurti

    Well, Hannah out did herself, showing off again, this morning with her latte art. I wonder sometimes if the reason I order mocha lattes is because of the artwork or because I enjoy their flavor. Think I’ll just go with both!

    We have clear blue skies and temperatures in the high teens but expecting it to warm up into the high 40’s. I love the mornings when the sun shines in my front room window, spreading its light across the floor and furniture. It is something I look forward to it each day. Depending on the time of year also determines the length of time I get to enjoy it.

    Relationships have become a vital learning experience in my life over the past 20 plus years. I am learning how to improve them, how to nurture them and how to build relationships with others who are different from me. I am learning to embrace relationships I would not expect to have, such as all my baristas. I am learning to repair damaged and broken relationships. And with the advent of the internet I’m also learning to embrace virtual relationships. I must also include the relationship I have with God, this unknown HIgher Power, that something I cannot define or comprehend, as well as a renewed relationship with all of creation. And, I am learning to be someone healthy in a relationship. As this year comes to a close I find I have a grateful heart for the gift of relationships in the year. 

  • coffee life,  journal,  journaling,  quotes

    The Gift-Experience

    The gifts of journaling and a mocha

    The experience of spirituality involves recognizing new and different realities, especially the qualities of the gift-experience, appreciating not only the gift itself but also the sheer freedom and generosity contained in a genuine gift. We need to give ourselves gifts.

  • fall season,  leaves,  quotes

    Yet, I continue to try…

    Leaf outside the coffee shop

    “The fact that religions through the ages have spoken in images, parables, and paradoxes means simply that there are no other ways of grasping the reality to which they refer.”

    Niels Bohr

    Seems my feeble attempt at finding the words and images of what I see regularly falls short of expressing the reality of what I experience. I saw this leaf outside the coffee shop this morning and was taken by its simplicity and beauty. I excitedly took a few images but was not satisfied with what I saw on my LCD or my monitor. Primarily because the image cannot express or grasp what I experienced. It reminds me of that idiom, “Ya had to be there to actually experience it (reality).” And yet, I will continue to try with both images and words…

    Yes, this is my second posting today since it is my blog! 😁

  • leaves,  love,  poems,  shadows,  snow

    … and never looks away

    A small part of our amazing winter wonderland this morning

    I stand in the midst of creation’s wheel
    And watch in wonder the quiet majesty of its turning.
    We are in the care of a love without limit or definition
    Under the protection of a love that never looks away.

    Steven Charleston

    It is Monday morning and we have fresh snow on the ground, clear blue skies and sunshine. I am grateful to be a witness to this beautiful winter wonderland. Today I am missing my mother who would have been 92 today. I also can say I miss her with a love that is without limits. Not sure I would have said that as a teenager which makes me grateful for my growing maturity. I’m also grateful for the belief that there is a caring love (and I speak of love as an action word, not a noun) that never looks away. I have experienced such love in family, friends and nature. So, I pray today for the gift of sharing with a love I’ve experienced which is without limits and never looks away. 

  • flowers,  musings,  Plants,  quotes,  writing/reading

    A life-giving act

    White Prickly Poppy

    Listening is always a life giving act.

    Joan Chittister

    I’ve learned that when positioning my next words in a conversation I am no longer listening. I’ve proven that too many times. I’ve also seen in the eyes of another when they are no longer listening. I have also experienced the gift of fully listening to another as well as knowing the gift of being listened to. Seems that those life giving conversations happen when both are experienced by both. My reflection and journaling on her quote have lead me to see other areas in my life where listening is important such as prayer, or when an author or poet expresses in words what I needed to hear, or a bird’s song of joy, or the whisper/howling of the wind, or the words written in the pages of my journal or the knowing voice deep within. I agree that every moment of listening is a life-giving act for both parties. Hope you enjoy your Sunday!

  • clouds,  haiku,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  reflections,  sunrises,  writing/reading

    Simple two notes

    two simple notes
    drifting over the meadow
    a chickadee sings

    ms

    Much like the snowflake, every morning sunrise is different. It seems to me that no two morning sunrises will ever be experienced the same. Each new dawn Nature provides a new canvas and uses every tool at her disposal in her creative task. Using the wind, temperature, light, the chickadees song, cloud shapes and patterns, maybe even knowing my intention and attitude that morning, she continuously offers an experience. We never know what she will offer. Maybe that mystery alone is what draws me out here.

  • Avian,  quotes

    The Experience of This Moment

    Red-winged blackbird and Yellow-headed blackbird

    I want the experience of being alive in this moment, and I want to know I am having it. The breeze on my skin. Air moving in and out of my lungs. Light in the trees. The songs of birds. A human touch, skin to skin. I want these things because I know now, after more than a half century of living, that in these simple, ordinary moment-to-moments, the Sacred comes out to play. It is in the air, the light, and the song that heaven makes a home. To have the experience of this moment, and to know I’m having it, is to be alive with the One who made the moment.

    Margaret D. McGee

    At this time in my life I find I enjoy the multitude of moments life offers, and even look for them. Where in my youth I overlooked them, never knowing that I was missing out on some of the best parts of this life. I sat at Reservoir Ridge Natural Area yesterday afternoon/evening where I was able to experience the breeze on my skin and applaud the song birds. And, as she states, I want to be alive, knowing I’m also in the presence of the One who made the moment. Don’t wanna miss them!

  • Bench,  clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  Reservoir Ridge Natural Area,  seasons,  snow,  storm clouds,  winter scenes

    Happy Earth Day

    These storm clouds were taken last night out on the eastern plains. A rather large storm was raging so I thought I may be able to capture some drama in the clouds and drove out that way.

    The point of living a creative life – rather than just engaging in creative pursuits on occasion – is not merely to produce aesthetically pleasing artifacts, but to bind one’s creative work and living experience as two dimensions of the same life in all its details, always unfolding and evolving in parallel. 

    Guy Tal

    Each of us is a creative soul. Some have tapped into that creativity while some are unaware they have it or deny they have it. As a photographer I see it as a gift to create/capture images that are pleasing, draw out emotions (yours and mine), and show the beauty of nature through photography. And, we all can do that. I really like the word “bind” that Guy Tal uses in his quote. So, as a prayer this morning I would ask for the binding of my creative works with my living experiences.

    A favorite bench at Pineridge Natural Area this morning

    Well Nature decided to share with us a few more snowflakes before officially moving into spring. As you can see the bench I sit on to journal is not quite as inviting this morning. Have a wonderful day and Happy Earth Day! Stay warm.