• Black and White,  clouds,  journal,  landscape,  musings,  prairie,  rants,  writing/reading

    Looking for Awe and Wonder

    March 22, 2018
    Afternoon Clouds on the Farm
    Afternoon Clouds on the Farm

    I have always carried stress in my shoulders. It’s there now. There is a feeling of restlessness. I find my mind wandering to unknown places in the universe. Feel I’m not listening to the inner voice within me but the chatter of my ego and the noise of the world around me. Maybe if I share myself more on this blog, hear what you have experienced, take more action, the stress will lessen. 

    Now in my retirement there is a life to live full of excitement and adventures, images to receive, words to write in my journals, blog posts to write, places to visit, people to meet and a chance to discover more creativity within me. I find this exciting. However, this requires me to take action and not just dream of them. In the past I have only dreamed. There are no excuses. As I’ve heard, “Dreams without action are only fantasy.” I hope and pray I live the rest of my life with excitement, without fear of failure or success, looking for awe and wonder all around me.

    Read More
  • architecture,  Cityscapes/Urban,  Documentary/Street,  musings,  quotes,  writing/reading

    Give’em a Smile

    October 24, 2015
    The path on campus
    The path on campus

    “In order to move forward, you will have to stumble along the way, but every falter in your stride just makes your next step even stronger.” ― Lindsay Chamberlin

    I stumbled on one of my walks this past week. Of ocurse the first thing I did was check to see who saw me. Luckily, there were no witnesses. I then looked down to see what I’d tripped over but there was nothing. I literally stumbled over nothing. I just failed to properly place one foot in front of the other as I walked. And, no, I was not looking at my phone but my mind had fluttered off somewhere. I had moved away from being mindful and present to my walk. Nor, can I tell you where it fluttered. Happens more often than I want to admit.

    Stumbling can unexpectedly bring us new discoveries, excitement, joys and lessons. And, sometimes stumbling can unexpectedly bring pain, sadness, regret and lessons. But, when we stumble and fall, it’s vital to get back up and dust off the pants, check for witnesses, take note of the reason we stumbled and hopefully learn from any lessons. Stumbling and falling are lessons.

    Anyway, if the next time you stumble and there is a witness, give’em a smile and tell them you intended to do that. 🙂

     

    Read More
  • Black and White,  Travel,  writing/reading

    This is My World

    June 8, 2010
    My World

    Wow, I’m sneaking up on my 60th birthday this summer. Gasp!  Where has the time gone? Even at this age I ask the questions about where I’m at in life and where I’m going. The life I live is not what I dreamed or envisioned in my youth. I know I cannot live in the past nor in the future but every once in a while I venture to those places. The only life I can live is the present. I must always remind myself to stay here.

    I’m nomadic at this time in my life. After my divorce and selling the house I drove away from that chapter of my life with all my belongings in the back of a small pickup. It was a freeing moment. Of course, I’ve since added a few items to carry around with me so I may need two truck now. I spend half my month living in hotels and flying with passengers in a long metal tube. For the past year I’ve started carrying a laptop, an iphone and my journal along with my camera wherever I venture. I search out images of the world in front of me, the people or places or objects or patterns I see. This is the present, this is my world.

    Read More
  • Art/Design,  writing/reading

    White knuckles

    November 15, 2009

    20091027-_DSC6661-Edit
    Tight Grip

    Working as a flight attendant I get to see people who are afraid to fly. They will have a tight grip on the armrest, breathing is short, eyes are open wide and constantly searching all that is around them, ears are alert to every sound. Once the aircraft lifts from the ground their bodies tighten and become rigid. Fear is in control.

    Fear runs ramp-id in our world, cheating some of us from living life to its fullest. The biggest regrets in my life have been those times I failed to try due to fear of failure, which is failure. I wonder how many images I have missed because I was white knuckling it. Each day I have the chance to experience life outside my comfort zone and maybe learn something wonderful. It’s all about letting go and trusting.

    Read More
  • Plants

    Changes: In our lives

    October 3, 2009

    Fall Colors
    Fall Colors

    Nature goes through the seasons of changes. In early autumn, in response to the shortening days and declining intensity of sunlight, leaves begin the processes leading up to their fall. The veins that carry fluids into and out of the leaf gradually close off as a layer of cells forms at the base of each leaf. These clogged veins trap sugars in the leaf and promote production of anthocyanins. Once this separation layer is complete and the connecting tissues are sealed off, the leaf is ready to fall. The end of one season.

    We to, go through changes every day of our lives. I am also going through changes in my life. I am getting another roommate as my other roommates have new base assignments. There is the chance I may also move in the next few months.

    As the leaves change colors and fall from their branches during the autumn season it reminds me of the changes in my life. I look forward to both the fall colors and changes that will transpire in my life. How about you?

    Read More
  • Art/Design

    Never a Straight Path

    September 30, 2009

    Barb-wire Fence
    Barb-wire Fence

    Have you ever notice how man builds things using straight lines while nature does not? Just take a walk in nature then a walk around the block in New York City. Our journey on the path of life is never a straight path. I’ve discovered experiencing the reality of life is only blocked when one expects it to be a straight line. When that happens, we can get bent out of shape.

    Read More
  • Plants,  quotes,  spirituality

    A Spiritual Way of Life

    April 30, 2009

    20090427-_dsc9512
    Spiritual Light

    “If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through. We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know  peace, No matter how far down the scale we have  gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others, That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows. Self-seeking will slip away. Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change. Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us. We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us. We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.” Alcoholics Anonymous

    Read More