• clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  sunrises

    filled with mystery…

    I no longer feel that life is ordinary. Everyday life is filled with mystery. The things we know are only a small part of the things we cannot know but can only glimpse. Yet even the smallest of glimpses can sustain us. Mystery seems to have the power to comfort, to offer hope, and to lend meaning in times of loss and pain. In surprising ways it is the mysterious that strengthens us at such times…

    Rachel Naomi Remen

    I changed up my morning routine. I got up early, made my necessary trip to the bathroom, made the bed, made a chai latte then headed up to Pineridge Natural Area for sunrise. As I pulled into the parking lot, I was greeted by two coyotes. I told them I was here to witness and photograph the sunrise and share the quiet of this sacred place with them and they could go ahead and continue their hunting. They turned and scampered up the ridge. After a few minutes of quiet time in my car I moved out to a location where I have another uncomfortable rock to sit on and where I like to take photographs. It was almost the perfect temperature and I loved the refreshing breeze. I enjoyed the singing of the meadowlarks and robins and the clouds were stunning. All of this reminded me of the blessing it is to live where I do and the gift of life. When I returned home, I had my meditation time, then mounted the red steed and rode to Mugs. Adriana made me my Old Town mocha and I enjoyed conversations with Jeff, Curtis, Terri, and Joan. I do not consider my life ordinary in the least but feel it is filled with mystery.

  • landscape,  quotes,  sunrises

    Grand Mysteries

    Sunrise along Weld County Rd 13 – 2021

    We no longer coordinate our human celebrations with the great liturgies of the heavens… We have silenced too many of those wonderful voices of the universe that spoke to us of the grand mysteries of existence.

    Thomas Berry

    We are now moving into longer nights and shorter days which means I will be getting out to celebrate the morning sunrise more often. In all honesty I have missed participating and photographing these morning liturgies, listening to voices of the universe and the grand mysteries of existence. So this is a warning that you may see more sunrise photos in the coming weeks.

  • clouds,  horizons,  landscape,  nature,  quotes

    Refrains of Nature

    Panorama of four images

    Those who dwell, as scientists or laymen, among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life. Whatever the vexations and concerns of their personal lives, their thoughts can find paths that lead to inner contentment and to renewed excitement in living. Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of the birds, the ebb and flow of the tides, the folded bud ready for spring. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature–the reassurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.

    Rachel Carson in THE SENSE OF WONDER
  • clouds,  landscape,  quotes

    Nature’s Wildness

    All Nature’s wildness tells the same story. Storms of every sort, torrents, earthquakes, cataclysms, ‘convulsions of nature,’ etc., however mysterious and lawless at first sight they may seem, are only harmonious notes in the song of creation, varied expressions of God’s love.

    John Muir
  • landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  quotes,  sunrises

    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
  • landscape,  sunrises

    The mystery of infinite possibilities

    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.

  • landscape,  natural areas,  quotes,  reflections,  sunrises

    The Love of Sunrise Reflections

    It was unusually quiet this morning at Pineridge. Seemed like everyone slept in late. Almost no one at the natural area and no traffic sounds from the city. A few magpies and blackbirds along the shore were excitedly chatting about the colors in this mornings sunrise. It was a peaceful and silent time to me. I was loving and being loved by the reflections in the water.

    Just as the sun broke the horizon, a light breeze out of the northwest sent small waves across Dixon Reservoir. Yet, the water still offers it’s reflection. I stood in awe and wonder as a lone pelican gracefully and silently flew over the water. How do they do that? Nature is amazing. After allowing nature to fill me with love and refreshing my soul I headed home. I had my prayer and meditation time, put on a crockpot of 16 bean soup, then rode the bicycle to meet Jeff for coffee and conversation.

    “Love is the inheritance of mystery that we leave to the universe—the proof that consciousness is more than chemicals and fire, but rather a song that sings the why and how of all creation. Love sings it now and will sing it until the end of time.”

    Steven Charleston
  • coffee life,  quotes

    Extraordinary Freedom

    The range of the human mind, the scale and depth of the metaphors the mind is capable of manufacturing as it grapples with the universe, stand in stunning contrast to the belief that there is only one reality, which is man’s, or worse, that only one culture among the many on earth possesses the truth. To allow mystery, which is to say to yourself, “There could be more, there could be things we don’t understand,” is not to damn knowledge. It is to take a wider view. It is to permit yourself an extraordinary freedom: someone else does not have to be wrong in order that you may be right.

    Barry Lopez

    I’m about to push publish as I sit on my porch watching flashes of lightning and listening to thunder. We are receiving the gift of a refreshing and much needed rain. I watch and listen with a feeling of gratitude as it’s been hot and dry here. Hope you are enjoying your Friday! I started my day with the above Americano. And, Mr Barry López is spot on!

  • quotes,  street photography

    Lost in the mist…

    “Mystery surrounds every deep experience of the human heart: the deeper we go into the heart’s darkness or its light, the closer we get to the ultimate mystery of God.”

    Parker J Palmer

    I see scenes like this quite often on my walk across the CSU Oval. The back lit light of the sprinklers always grabs my attention. So, I stopped for a couple of images. I find mystery in this image because it includes the cyclist, lost in the mist, riding on the sidewalk down the center of the oval as if they were within the spray. The wind continues to blow this morning, so my hair is a mess, but we have clear skies and sunshine. I am happy to see more and more green. The semester is over, finals are done and most students have headed home. Hope you have a wonderful day.