• flutes,  quotes

    Harvesting My Failures

    August 25, 2025

    What a blessing it is to outlive our self-judgments and harvest our failures.

    Rachel Naomi Remen

    As I’ve mentioned in previous posts I’m learning how to play the Native American style flute. I simply love its earthy sound and it’s so very simple. It does not require electricity or a battery, just my breath, intention and of course practice. I’m finding it to be a great teacher and helping me to let go of my negative self-judgement. It’s teaching me to be patient with myself and not be critical, and as the quote above suggests, to harvest my failures. I have much to learn in breath control, fingering exercises, learning mouth positioning, rhythm, and keeping squawks, squeaks and whistles to a minimum. Eventually I will learn a few songs as well as the ones found within me. More practice.

    I see the Native American style flutes as beautiful works of art as well as musical instruments. This is an image of a second Native Sunrise flute I ordered made by Ron Stutz. My other one made by him is in the key of A and made of Spanish Cedar. This one is made of Cherry wood and in the key of G. To me they are works of art. I have a small rack to put these two flutes on along with the Joe Loftin flute and they become art in my home. Now back to practice.

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  • flowers,  Plants,  poems

    There is this Invitation

    July 22, 2025

    Toward Peace

    Clematis

    Perhaps some part of me still believes
    peace is a destination,
    a place we arrive, ideally together.
     
    I notice how shiny it is, this belief,
    like a flower made of crystal,
    beautiful, but lifeless,
     
    devoid of the dust and scuff
    that come from living a real day.
    Meanwhile, there is this invitation
     
    to grow into peace the way real flowers grow—
    in the dirt. With blight and drought,
    beetles and hail.
     
    Meanwhile this invitation
    to live in the tangle of fear and failure,
    to be humbled by my own inner wars
     
    and wonder how to find a living peace
    right here, the peace that arrives
    when we take just one step through the mess
     
    toward compassion and notice
    as our foot rises our heart also rises
    and in that lifted moment
     
    still scraping along in the dirt,
    there is a peace so real we become light,
    become the momentum that is the change.

    Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, Toward Peace
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  • fountain pens,  journal,  musings

    To Be Fully Alive

    August 4, 2024
    Pilot Custom 74

    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

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  • landscape,  natural areas,  quotes,  Reservoir Ridge Natural Area,  storm clouds

    An Artist of Our Days

    May 29, 2024
    Clouds on my walk at Reservoir Ridge Natural Area.

    Each of us is an artist of our days; the greater our integrity and awareness, the more original and creative our time will become.

    John O’Donohue

    It’s taken a few years to see myself as any sort of an artist. That was primarily because I believed in that voice telling me I wasn’t. And yet, I always had those dreams of what could be. So, I can regretful, remorseful for listening to that negative voice or be the artist of my remaining days. I am doing what I can to be the creative I can be. And, I do that one day at a time, learning from each failure. I also believe everyone is an artist of their days! It is through your shares and your blogs that I know some of you are painting, gardening, flying drones, learning new forms of art, traveling and more. Happy Wednesday!

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  • flowers,  Photography,  Plants,  quotes

    Maya Knows

    September 19, 2021

    “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”

    Maya Angelou

    Personally some defeats in my life knocked me down and I stayed down: defeated. Yet for some defeats I was able to get back up, try again, and more often than I want to admit, sometimes failed again. I remember when I labeled my defeats as who I was, a failure, and in many areas of my life. But, over time we do begin to grow up and with the help of others I’ve since learned I am not my failures. Each of those defeats has been a lesson in life when I pay attention and vitally needed for my growth. Maya knows what she’s talking about. Have a super Awesome Sunday!

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  • architecture,  Photography,  quotes

    Trusting Yourself

    November 12, 2009
    The Lock

    “The creative process can start to open up once you just trust yourself. If you empower yourself to try something different and give yourself permission to fail, you become more creative. Don’t make the metrics of success or failure the guidelines by which you proceed. Instead make experimentation, expression and joy the metrics.”

    Scott Bourne

    Here us a good read by Scott Bourne where he said somethings impacting me and my life. We have the opportunity to unlock the door to our creative process: the key of trust.

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