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

    Living in the present…

    August 1, 2024

    If you are depressed you are living in the past.
    If you are anxious you are living in the future.
    If you are at peace you are living in the present.

    Lao Tzu

    It’s O’dark thirty or about 5:21 am. I’ve been up since about 3:33 am. After prayer and meditation, I am now sitting at Pineridge Natural Area. Bats quickly and silently feast above me. Smoke sits in low lying areas of the eastern horizon while a pink and blue glow rises above them. A Waning Crescent Moon hangs delicately in the sky. It is quiet and peaceful here. The new washer and dryer arrives today. Finally, clean underwear. May you shine your light brightly just as this moon this morning. I am so grateful to be living in this beautiful present moment.

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  • Art,  lifestyles,  quotes,  shadows,  spirituality,  still life

    …everyday life

    March 18, 2023

    In the end, the only thing that will matter will be how well we loved. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is to pay attention to the person we encounter, more so, to be attentive to the ones we love (and often take for granted). To be present in the moment, heart and soul, attentive to the sounds of life in the midst of anxiety, laughter, sorrow, and wonder…. The moral of the story is that grace is everywhere and love abounds, but it must be received and celebrated. This is the sacrament of everyday life.

    Ilia Delio, The Hours of the Universe

    Looks like snow and cold in the upper Great Lakes while rain in the southeast. Clear and sunny here but cold and windy. I do believe in her words that grace is everywhere and love abounds. However, far too many aren’t aware of it or don’t believe in it or don’t live life as if it is. I wonder could it be that each of us must fan that flame to live it. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, enjoying the sacrament of everyday life we each have, no matter the weather!

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  • leaves,  Plants,  quotes

    Good advice for us all…

    August 1, 2022
    After the rain at Inniswood Gardens

    If there is meaning in the past and in the imagined future, it is captured in the moment. When you have all the time in the world, you can spend it, not on going somewhere, but on being where you are. So I stretch out, close my eyes, and listen to the rain.

    Robin Wall Kimmerer
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  • animals,  haiku,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  writing/reading

    Morning Visitor

    April 15, 2021

    morning visitor
    give one another distance
    keeping eye contact

    ms

    A cloudy and cold morning at Pineridge Natural Area. No wind, no bird songs, all was quiet. I was the only one there this morning. Seemed everyone else stayed in bed or had a second cup of coffee. There were several cottontails checking me out: Are you friend or foe? They have that alertness, always present to where they and you are. Where we seem to wander in thought, seldom staying present. I stayed more present this morning as I let them teach me.

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  • clouds,  haiku,  landscape,  natural areas,  sunrises,  writing/reading

    Predawn Mystery

    March 25, 2021

    in stillness and silence
    colors begin to appear
    predawn mystery

    ms

    I sit in the upper parking lot at Pineridge Natural Area for this morning’s sunrise. Below me the city slowly stirs awake. Here, in this natural area, nature has already begun stirring as chattering magpies sit atop cottonwood tree branches. The geese and ducks make small waves across the reservoir. The wind is still. In the cold I listen to the silence and experience a calming that I will carry into my day. This is becoming an integral part of my morning prayer and meditation. A few years ago I couldn’t imagine spending mornings like this. Now, living in the present is how I choose to begin my day. For each new dawn offers the mystery of this day’s events that only we can live and experience in the present moment.

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  • clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  sunrises

    Enjoy Your Saturday

    January 16, 2021

    There was no sun cresting the eastern horizon this morning due to clouds. However, it was an amazing 43 degrees with a steady breeze from the north. In the above image you can see the wind reshaping the clouds continuously. Stopped and grabbed a mocha on the way home and did something unusual for me. I walked in, greeted the baristas and then ordered without realizing I did not have my mask on. I ran back out to the car and put it on. It’s moments like that when I know I’m not doing a very good job of staying present to life but somewhere else in my head. I’m going to enjoy my Saturday and hope you do as well.

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