My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, coffee life, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, spirituality and asking deep questions.
You have countless opportunities to grow through life’s challenges—in other words, to become an ever more fully, deeply human human being. This is the meaning of the Yiddish word mensch. Someone whose humanity shines through the darkness of this world. Someone who believes in the fundamental goodness of life and embodies it. Not despite challenging experiences, but as the result of having practiced facing them with courage and kindness.
Mirabai Starr, Ordinary Mysticism
If it is true that we are made out of love to be love then our possibilities can be infinite…
mws
I have always been an early riser but with aging and the shift in my circadian rhythm, I invariably rise before the sun rises. I’m okay with that. But, that also means I post a lot of sunrise images. It is in these hours of silence, solitude and fatigue that I am learning to fully listen to the voice of love within me. It even seems to be louder and more persistent as time goes on. I hope I’m not rattling people’s cages when talking about love in our current political environment of hatred, self-interest and chaos. Many are in a place of grief, fear, and dismay. I can find myself going there quickly but thankfully not camping there, finding more restful and peaceful places to live. Writing this out is one of my tools. The above quote rattled around in my head last night and would not let me go back to sleep until I got up and wrote it down. I am at a place where possibilities are beyond and greater than my imagination, and maybe yours, also. I find myself full of questions and almost no answers while experiencing an unexpected gift of contentment, some inner okayness. And the questions come. What if a change in people’s hearts “is” a real possibility? What if the voices of hatred, chaos, drama, fear, greed can be silenced through love? What if letting go of our old patterns of thinking that power, money and privilege will bring peace, community, justice and the end of war? Because it never has! What if we let go of our finite thinking, which is often based in fear, and embrace the possibilities we’ve never dreamed of? What if we are made with love to be love? What if we let go of what we think are the only possibilities and embrace the mystery of infinite possibilities? Thanks for listening and I hope this has not been too confusing.
As I stepped out the door this morning I was greeted with a chorus of robins announcing the new day. Now a gentle rain falls, spreading it’s refreshing scent into the lives of all of creation. In these moments I feel alive, renewed, as I enter into the mystery of this new day. This day began with quiet prayer and meditation time, an Old Town Mocha made by Adriana, then coffee and conversation with Jeff. My intent for the day is to live with some peace and calm, separate from the chaos and drama that society seems addicted to. I know of no better teacher and friend to experience this serenity with than staying close to nature. Did I mention I love the scent of the rain?
I took a stroll around Big Bass Pond at Arapaho Bend Natural Area yesterday afternoon to enjoy the silence and solitude of that sacred place. Behind me were a couple of nesting eagles. I want to believe their shrill calls are shouts of happiness for the egg or two sitting in their nest. May you have a wonderful Friday!
How we think ripples out to how we behave.
Robin Wall Kimmerer
I keep imagining how the time of collapse and chaos can also be a radical period of re-imagination and potential renewal… precisely in the midst of chaos each of us may be closer to finding a particular thread that gives our life genuine meaning and also gives us something to contribute to the re-imagining and reweaving of the world.
Michael Meade
My hope “is” in the re-imagining and reweaving of the world. The old way of thinking has never worked. Hope you have a wonderful day!
Sometimes I can be overwhelmed when too many conversations are going on in my head. These disruptive conversations can be a distraction from the present moment. It reminds me of the intense chatter of the magpie sitting on the fence post near me as I witness the sunrise. It seems their only focus is about grabbing my attention, pulling me away. And, that chatter is so different, an irritating noise, rather than the songs of the heart I hear from the meadowlark or chickadee, which for me is more of an invitation to watch and listen. I am finding it a gift in learning to let go of my mind’s chatter and be more receptive to listening to my inner “silent land.” I hope you have had a wonderful Monday.
… anyone who notices the world must want to save it.
Rebecca Baggett
“The body is a great reservoir of wisdom. Something as simple as bodily stillness and breathing make a contribution of untold value to discovering the unfathomable silence deep within us.”
Martin Laird
A light rain fell during the night leaving the air soaked in moisture. I found it very invigorating to me when I stepped out the door and ventured into the new day. I witnessed the gift of sunrise at Pineridge Natural Area. As I looked east the foothills behind me had a dusting of light snow while low hanging clouds blanketed their peaks. But the warm colors of the rising sun and the golden glow on the rabbitbrush was where my photographer’s eye focused. I love the silence, the stillness of early mornings. Spring is quickly coming and change is inevitable. Hoping you have a wonderful day!
In the early morning hours
mws
I sit in silence with the meadow and
allow her to embrace me.
I share the dawn of this new day
while listening to the owl’s cry
echo through the meadow.
This shared intimacy with the meadow
has a way of giving birth to new life
in the ground of my being.
… I am, therefore, never the same!
And, I hear in this sacred place
an unspoken invitation to return again
each time bringing an awareness that
each short visit is but a passing moment.
So, whenever and while I still can
I will sit with the meadow
until only the meadow remains.1This was inspired from a poem written by Li Po (Zazen on Ching-t’ing Mountain) in the book Poetry of Presence: An Anthology of Mindfulness Poems.