• gratitude,  poems,  window,  writing/reading

    expressing gratitude

    morning sun enters through my window
    warms my soul with its abounding grace
    grateful and blessed for this life I live
    filled with love of family and friends

    solitude and silence the foundations of my life
    it’s the staff I need to walk through life
    raises me up when I fall, again and again
    where I discern my chatter from your words

    prayer and meditation my daily practice
    a lifeline to grasp when I begin to wander
    lifting the spirit when life weighs heavy
    opens a door to knowing beyond thinking

    it’s been said that if the only prayer we say
    is thank you, that would suffice
    so I’m thankful for this wonderful life
    happy thanksgiving to you!

    mws
  • fall season,  frost,  leaves,  Plants,  poems,  seasons,  writing/reading

    Running Away

    This morning we had a comfortable 42 degrees with overcast skies that offer a feeling of dreariness. That feeling matched my mood. In my journaling this morning I wrote that I wanted to run away and not face the muck and mire of life as it is. But I have no idea where away is which makes it impossible to go there. I find it difficult to live in a place of unknowing but I’m getting used to that. In my past I would numb myself with alcohol but hard learned lessons taught me that was not how to face life. Deep down inside of me is a knowing that running away is not the answer but rather hold onto some hope, facing the day with all the tools, knowledge and trust I have. I accomplish nothing by wanting to live in the future, or worse yet, my imagination. My life is only lived here, now, in the present. So, after prayer and meditation, I decided to grab my camera and see how nature is handling the day. I pray for this country as we are in a place of transformation and hopefully healing. There’s no need to run away.

    the news…
    the airways are a buzz
    the news is spreading
    we now know who won

    a prayer…
    of thanks to all who voted
    for those who feel they lost
    for the healing that now begins

    mws
  • clouds,  Documentary/Street,  John O'Donohue,  Plants,  poems,  poetry,  sunrises,  Transportation,  trees,  writing/reading

    The New Day

    Pink sunrise from 2 days ago

    I give thanks for arriving
    Safely in a new dawn,
    For the gift of eyes
    To see the world,
    The gift of mind
    To feel at home
    In my life,
    The waves of possibility
    Breaking on the shore of dawn,
    The harvest of the past
    That awaits my hunger,
    And all the furtherings
    This new day will bring.

    On Waking
    by John O’Donohue

  • landscape,  natural areas,  Plants,  poems,  poetic journal,  writing/reading

    It’s Mysterious

    Taken on my walk around Dixon Reservoir this evening

    forest fires destroy
    leaving a path of darkness
    yet new life will dawn

    it’s mysterious
    the laws of nature baffle
    senseless to logic

    mws

    The Lewstone fire is at 100% containment. People returned home yesterday. The Cameron Peak fire is over 21,000 acres and 0% containment. But yesterday evening they had a few showers which helped them. Today the skies are much clearer. We can see the mountains again.

    This afternoon I took the 1.8 mile walk around Dixon Reservoir. Eerily quiet for the first half hour I was there. I was able to finish John O’Donohue’s book today, Walking in Wonder. Plan on starting a Mary Oliver book of poems next. Hope you have a great evening and wonderful day tomorrow.

  • Fujifilm X-T3,  Fujifilm XF35mm f2.0,  landscape,  rants,  sunrises,  writing/reading

    We do not give up hope

    This morning’s sun wanting to shine through

    Smoke hovers over the city
    The foul smell of smoke, now choking
    The amber color uninviting, otherworldly
    So quiet, birds sing in silence or elsewhere

    Despairing mood in this darkened world
    Close my eyes, pray for a brighter day
    Open my eyes, but nothing changed
    I go for a mocha, stare at blank pages

    I sit in the quiet, seek the light within
    Wishing it will shine on this gloomy day
    Now write words, they keep me in the present
    Even in this blackness we do not give up hope

    mws
  • landscape,  natural areas,  poems,  sunsets

    Sometimes

    An late afternoon walk at Arapaho Bend Natural Area in 2017

    SOMETIMES
    by David Whyte

    Sometimes
    if you move carefully
    through the forest,
    breathing
    like the ones
    in the old stories,
    who could cross
    a shimmering bed of leaves
    without a sound,
    you come to a place
    whose only task
    is to trouble you
    with tiny
    but frightening requests,
    conceived out of nowhere
    but in this place
    beginning to lead everywhere.
    Requests to stop what
    you are doing right now,
    and
    to stop what you
    are becoming
    while you do it,
    questions
    that can make
    or unmake
    a life,
    questions
    that have patiently
    waited for you,
    questions
    that have no right
    to go away.

  • bees,  flowers,  insects,  Mary Oliver,  Plants,  poems,  prayer

    My Way of Praying

    The pink rose displayings beauty and accepting a very tiny visitor

    How I go to the woods

    Ordinarily, I go to the woods alone, with not a single
    friend, for they are all smilers and talkers and therefore
    unsuitable.

    I don’t really want to be witnessed talking to the catbirds
    or hugging the old black oak tree. I have my way of
    praying, as you no doubt have yours.

    Besides, when I am alone I can become invisible. I can sit
    on the top of a dune as motionless as an uprise of weeds,
    until the foxes run by unconcerned. I can hear the almost
    unhearable sound of the roses singing.

    If you have ever gone to the woods with me, I must love
    you very much.” 

    Mary Oliver
  • architecture,  Barn,  John O'Donohue,  landscape,  quotes,  sunsets

    The Heart of Wonder

    Setting sun at the Arapaho Bend Natural Area. I took this image back in 2013. Since then this old barn/shed has been taken down. I’m glad I have this image so I can remember it’s presence.

    For Presence

    Awaken to the mystery of being here
    and enter the quiet immensity of your own presence.

    Have joy and peace in the temple of your senses.

    Receive encouragement when new frontiers beckon.

    Respond to the call of your gift and the courage to
    follow its path.

    Let the flame of anger free you of all falsity.

    May warmth of heart keep your presence aflame.

    May anxiety never linger about you.

    May your outer dignity mirror an inner dignity of
    soul.

    Take time to celebrate the quiet miracles that seek
    no attention.

    Be consoled in the secret symmetry of your soul.

    May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven
    around the heart of wonder.

    John O’Donohue from To Bless the Space Between Us