My online journal sharing interests in photography, nature, coffee life, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, spirituality and asking deep questions.
cold feet even in socks
ms
my hands always cold
cold wintery morning
sky a mix of grays and blues
while the sun tries to shine
it’s warming rays upon us.
made hot Irish Oats
sprinkled with raisins and pecans
good start to the day
I give thanks for arriving
On Waking
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.
by John O’Donohue
forest fires destroy
leaving a path of darkness
yet new life will dawnit’s mysterious
the laws of nature baffle
senseless to logicms
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.
Smoke hovers over the city
The foul smell of smoke, now choking
The amber color uninviting, otherworldly
So quiet, birds sing in silence or elsewhereDespairing 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 pagesI 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 hopems
SOMETIMES
by David WhyteSometimes
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.
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
Mary Oliver
you very much.”
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
John O’Donohue from To Bless the Space Between Us
around the heart of wonder.