When you decide to walk the path of the mystic,
Mirabai Starr
the mundane shows up as miraculous,
the boring becomes fascinating,
and your own shortcomings
turn out to be your greatest gifts.
Walking the Path
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Clouds on a walk at Riverbend Ponds -
A Miracle
“I believe that reading and writing are the most nourishing forms of meditation anyone has so far found. By reading the writings of the most interesting minds in history, we meditate with our own minds and theirs as well. This to me is a miracle.”
Kurt Vonnegut -
The point is…
I see that the life of this place is always emerging beyond expectation or prediction or typicality, that it is unique, given to the world minute by minute, only once, never to be repeated. And this is when I see that this life is a miracle, absolutely worth having, absolutely worth saving. We are alive within mystery, by miracle.
Wendell BerryCactus are adapted at living in very dry environments and because of this show many adaptations to conserve water. The cactus spines prevent cactus from losing water by reducing air flow around the cactus which can help reduce evaporation. The trapped air around the cactus can also create a buffer zone with slightly more moist air. In areas of fog cactus spines can also help collect dew, which will drop onto the dirt near the cactus and be absorbed by the roots. Cactus spines help preserve water by providing a bit of shade. Since a given cactus can easily have thousands of spines, the little bits of shade adds up. One of the most obvious benefits of cactus spines is that they keep predators away. Lots of desert herbivores love chomping on cactus just to get at the water stored inside so the spines can reduce this. The point is they help the plant survive in its harsh environment. And, the point of this post is… life is a miracle and worth saving!
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seeing miracles…
“The more you turn inward, the more available the sacred becomes. When you sit in silence and turn your gaze toward the holy mystery you once called God, the mystery follows you back out into the world. When you walk with purposeful focus on breath and birdsong, your breathing and the twitter of the chickadee reveal themselves as miracles…”
Mirabai Starr -
The miracle is…
I sit quietly on a rock looking out over the meadow and Dixon Reservoir.
mws
I feel gratitude for this morning sanctuary, this sacred and holy place.
With my journal and pen in hand, I try to express what I am seeing and experiencing.
My sense of hearing is alert to the chatter of the magpies and the songs of robins and meadowlarks.
I feel the gentle but cool breeze that reminds me it’s still early spring.
I’m noticing the color green beginning to dominate in the trees and grasses of the meadow.
I watch the ever changing and beautiful clouds along the eastern horizon
as they add a feeling of mystery to this moment.
Within me is a knowing that what I’m experiencing is an expression of the Divine
and the miracle is that we are here at all.This was inspired by the quote “The miracle is that we are here at all” by Richard Wagamese, Embers: One Ojibway’s Meditations -
Loving the world…
Loving the sunrise – January 2021 …but in this moment, loving the world changed me—
Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
made me more than my fear and sadness,
turned me again toward the miracle. -
Miracles Everywhere
Snow covered foothills at Reservoir Ridge Natural Area I was sad
Joyce Wilson-Sanford, I Pray Anyway
Mad
Big things going wrong
Big
Asked for a miracle
Nope
Screamed for it
Nope
Then looked around
Miracles everywhere
Just not the one I so badly wantedIt has been overcast and cold all day. The snow stopped around mid-morning. I made a drive to Reservoir Ridge Natural Area this morning knowing it was closed due to wet conditions but hoping to get a photo of the snow sitting atop the foothills from the gate. What a miracle it is to be alive and live in this beautiful world. In my quiet this morning I took a book down from my shelf called I Pray Anyway and thumbed through a few of her poems until I came across this one. Sometimes a poet will just say what I need to read. Her poem speaks to me because so many miracles that didn’t/don’t/won’t happen the way I want them to. She reminds me to look around at all the other miracles in my life and let go of what I think outcomes need to be. And then I can make a gratitude list of miracles everywhere in my life!!
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It is all a miracle!!!
The wind has blown hard today, gusting up to 30 mph. The blue sky is filled with an infinite number of yellow, gold, brown, red, pink, and multi-speckled leaves. And, all are being invited to dance and sing with the wind. Yet some hold on, not ready to let go, even though it’s an essential part of their journey. I must confess, I do love the music that they make together, this chorus after chorus of rustling leaves and wind. Their music is one of the primary reasons I enjoy this time of the year. This image is taken outside my front door where the wind swirls leaves into a delightful blanket of beauty just for me. It is all a miracle!!!
A touch of pink Somewhere along the way, you realize that no one will teach you how to live your own life — not your parents or your idols, not the philosophers or the poets, not your liberal arts education or your twelve-step program, not church or therapy or Tolstoy. No matter how valuable any of that guidance, how pertinent any of that wisdom, in the end you discover that you make the path of life only by walking it with your own two feet under the overstory of your own consciousness — that singular miracle never repeated in all the history and future of the universe, never fully articulable to another.
Maria PopovaThis quote by Maria Popova is from a wonderful blog post which you can read here.
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Learning To See The Miracles
If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.
Buddha -
a silent miracle
dancing sunlight through a window
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unpredictable, playfull, offering delight
suddenly emerging, spreading its gift
the eyes see, the heart recognizes
a silent miracle of the familiarInspired by a John O’Donohue Poem
