My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, coffee life, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, spirituality and asking deep questions.
Never look down to test the ground before taking your next step; only he who keeps his eye fixed on the far horizon will find the right road.
Dag Hammarskjold
A cold, biting breeze blew out of the west this morning at Pineridge Natural Area. I felt the chill deep within my body as the red and pink sky hugged the eastern horizon. Yet, I had no desire to be anywhere else. Hope you have had a good day.
The coyotes were howling in the lower meadow area. A light breeze blew from the north and a touch of pink in the eastern sky. Now sitting at the dealership as I have some work done on the car. Hope you had as good a start to this day as I have.
When I started my adventure in photography, I was suddenly introduced to the world around me. I can’t believe I have been so blind for too many years.
Laura Tate Sutton
I so relate to her quote. Anyway, the weather forecast is for rain beginning mid morning and continuing through the day. So with that forecast in mind I rose early and headed to Pineridge Natural Area. I sat on that same rock, the hard one, hoping nature would offer bright colors among clouds. I was not disappointed. I think of that old adage, Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning. Hope you have a wonderful day.
Warning: Here comes a rant. Just over 22 years ago a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center began a devastating war, and I use the word war loosely here. This two decade long conflict has had a huge cost in money and lives. In this post I will set aside the money numbers with my rant focused on the human costs. In terms of human costs the numbers are staggering and these numbers are estimates. One report states the total number of deaths is 167,000 people killed by direct war violence in Afghanistan. I find that to be 167,000 too many. Which brings up my focus of this post: violence does not bring peace.
I read from the Save the Children website that almost 33,000 children have been killed and maimed in Afghanistan over the past 20 years, an average of one child every five hours. Even if that number was half as many it’s shockingly too high. Again: violence does not bring peace.
September is National Suicide Prevention Month so I thought I’d mention a few numbers on suicides of veterans. Since Sept. 11, 2001, just over 30,000 veterans have died by suicide — four times more than the number of U.S. military personnel who died in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. That also comes out close to one veteran every five hours. I find it dumbfounding that we can support the idea of putting a uniform on a young person then training them to kill, placing them in combat situations and not expect them to have psychological trauma. Once again: violence does not bring peace.
Even if the numbers presented here are incorrect by 90% they are way too high. They affect me at a deep level. Not sure it was a good idea to write this post but searching for these numbers has reinforced my conviction that: violence does not bring peace. Let’s try something else!
When people ask me what they should do,
Meister Eckhart’s Book of Darkness & Light
I tell them this: Love others as much as
you love yourself. If you find
that you don’t love some people as
much as you love yourself, then this
is because you’ve not yet learned
to love yourself fully.
For what you do not love in others
you’ve not yet learned to love in yourself;
work on this and you’ll begin to discover
what it means to love as God loves.
I’m enjoying this third book by Jon M. Sweeney and Mark S Burrows, Meister Eckhart’s Book of Darkness & Light. I use it in much the same way I used their first two books, where I read a poem at a time and sit with it. I almost always find one word or a short line that resonates with me. I may write one of the poems or line or two in my journal because it helps me to retain it in my old memory banks. And, hopefully somehow these words will take seed and therefore potentially change the world, or at least change how I react to it. I would add to make a comment about he last line of this poem. I’ve read somewhere that if the God you know only loves the people you love, then maybe that God is too small. Because that group of people we can love is most likely a rather small group in relation to the population of this world.
one way to learn patience
mws
is to become a photographer, here’s how
first…
arrive early at a favorite location
set up your camera and tripod
and don’t forget to bring along
a hot cup of your favorite coffee or tea
then enjoy the calm waters, the cool breeze
receive all the gifts nature is offering
next…
awaken to the miracles she offers, such as
small wavelets drifting on the open waters
the great blue heron who stalks the shoreline
a glimpse of a hungry fish rising to the surface
clouds constantly reshaping themselves
with the pink then red then orange colors
then…
be sure to pay attention to the whispers
rising within you, they are very important
some call it prayer, some call it meditation
why not call it both
now…
say thank you and listen as your words
of gratitude drift to the far shore,
so, there’s no need to pray for patience
just become a photographer
and let nature teach you patience
The great Way is easy,
Tao Te Ching – Verse 53
yet people prefer the side paths.
Be aware when things are out of balance.
Stay centered within the Tao.
When rich speculators prosper
While farmers lose their land;
when government officials spend money
on weapons instead of cures;
when the upper class is extravagant and irresponsible
while the poor have nowhere to turn-
all this is robbery and chaos.
It is not in keeping with the Tao.