• clouds,  landscape,  quotes,  sunrises

    Seeing the World

    Allow yourself to be like a child, seeing the world through fresh eyes. Instead of trying to control life by making sense of it, embrace ambiguity and paradox as being the domain of the truest things.

    Mirabai Starr

    I’ve come to realize we can only experience the world when we are a part of it. Seeing it with fresh eyes. Feeling the cold. Listening to the silence. Smelling the tangy fragrance of pine. Watching the clouds constantly change shape. Realizing how a small a part we are within the cosmos. So, even at my age I desire to be childlike but not childish, seeing the world with fresh eyes, embracing ambiguity and paradoxes and letting go of the need to know the answers!

  • landscape,  natural areas,  quotes,  snow,  sunsets

    The Heart of Reality

    January 2022

    I am continually challenged to stop arguing with reality and instead soften into what is. Over time, I learned to find beauty, meaning, and wholeness in the heart of reality. Unpredictable, ever-changing, humiliating, and humbling reality.

    Mirabai Starr

    It began snowing last night and is still snowing as I write this evening. We do not have much accumulation, 3-6 inches, but roads are messy and slick. Morning will probably be worse. I met friends earlier this morning for brunch and have been inside the rest of the day. I am wrapped in a blanket and curled up in a cozy chair with a cup of hot tea. A day of reading, journaling, and grazing. That is the reality of my life. Stay warm and I hope you had a good day!

  • coffee life,  latte art,  quotes,  silence

    Ordinary Life Experiences

    Latte art (rosetta) by Dean

    The most ordinary life experiences become transcendent when you offer them your reverent silence, your mischievous laughter, your sacred rage.

    Mirabai Starr

    Another frigid morning below zero, where my car groaned when I turned the ignition. Almost like it was saying, “Do you really want to do this?” Clear blue skies and sunshine now bring some warmth. My morning included quiet time, a breakfast scramble, then a trip to the coffee shop filled with wonderful conversations and a mocha. I did not journal until after I came home and began laundry. Some may consider my life dull, boring, ordinary but for me there is nothing ordinary about this life I live. My life is full as long as I stay present, my eyes open! I must admit I live the good life! I see that everyone is dealing with this cold weather so I hope you are staying warm.

  • quotes,  shadows

    Everyday Miracles

    My dad’s wood carving of Madonna and child

    The intimacy our souls long for can happen only when we take off whatever stands between ourselves and union with the One. Our hunger for new cars and clothes, our reliance on other people’s opinions of us, our preconceptions about what it means to be spiritual, our attachment to habitual states of misery. Take it off. Peel it off and fling it off. Find your own subversive spirit and reclaim even the most challenging parts of your life as holy ground. Then everyday miracles will spring from beneath your bare feet to astonish you.

    Mirabai Starr

    A rather cold morning here in Colorado with last night bringing a hard frost. The middle of next week will be cold with the possibility of our first snowfall of the season. That will curtail my bicycle rides to coffee. I am intrigued by Mirabai’s suggestion to find our own subversive spirit because I have been on that path for several years now, and enjoying it. I am learning to see those everyday miracles and sometimes capture an image of them. And, I like how Kathleen Dowling-Singh suggests it is a gift to pursue a spiritual path while still in the midst of life.

  • Black and White,  quotes,  shadows

    The Holiness of the Moment

    “We forget that the path to God is bound up with our life in the world. Evidence of our spiritual mastery lies in our ever-deepening, continuously expanding humanity. The trick is to be as fully present as possible to the holiness of each moment.”

    Mirabai Starr

    I walk by this wall each morning on the way to and from one of my favorite coffee shops. I admittedly often pass, giving it only a mindless quick glance. At other times I can be more present, walking in my shoes rather than wandering aimlessly in my head. This morning I noticed! As it’s an east facing wall these shadows dance on the brick wall as the sun rises above the houses until mid day. Not only do these shadows create art on the wall, and a photo opportunity, they share with me the time of season. Soon to be filled with leaves these shadows will look differently. I’m hoping my noticing is a sign of being more present to life, expanding my humanity. So I accepted the holiness of the moment and sharing it with you. 

  • moon,  quotes,  spirituality

    I had another one…

    Last night’s moon

    “A mystic is someone who has an experience of union with The One—and The One may be God, it may be Mother Earth, it may be the cosmos. That experience is rare, but everyone has them I think, where you momentarily forget that you are a separate ego, personality, self, and you experience your interconnectedness with all that is.”

    Mirabai Starr

    Captivated by the moon on my walk last night, I grabbed my camera when I finished and took about a dozen images. I find myself standing in awe and wonder and gratitude when I experience moments like this. Something inside me agrees with Mirabai that everyone has had some mystical experience in their life. I know I’ve had those experiences in my life where I no longer needed to ask who I am or my purpose or any other question. I felt I was just where I was meant to be at that moment, maybe accepting a gift of interconnectedness. I had another one last night. Enjoy your Friday!

  • leaves,  quotes

    Holy Leaves

    It is in the darkest nights of our souls, when all we know is that we know nothing, that the presence of the sacred may quietly well up, mingling with our pain and connecting us to a love that will never die.

    Mirabai Starr

    There is something enjoyable about walking among trees while they drop their leaves on me and around me, whether in a local park, a natural area or my neighborhood. Next time you experience that just close your eyes, allow the trees to bless you with their holy leaves. It may be an opportunity to experience the presence of the sacred. More photos of leaves to come.

  • Plants,  quotes

    Living its purpose

    “Our challenge is not only to recognize the face of the Creator in the beauty of creation, but also to serve the Divine by taking care of the land, the air, and all beings that dwell with us here…”

    Mirabai Starr

    This has been a wet summer for us in Colorado. So, we’ve been blessed with mushrooms sprouting in the shady area of the grass. These mushrooms are harmless but play a natural part in our lawn’s ecosystem. They have an essential role in breaking down organic material, such as dead leaves, grass clippings, and tree roots, into nutrients that plants can use. So, that means they are taking care of the land, the air, and all beings that dwell with us in their own way. Seems man is bent on doing the opposite! With reverence for their lives I bow down on my knees to shoot at their level rather than looking down on them. Such beauty, living its purpose in the short time it has on earth.