My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and the mystery of it all.
Love is what shines from our eyes,
Charles “Tom” Brown
beats from our heart,
speaks with our voice,
and meets itself everywhere.
Sooner or later, love will reclaim us all.
But to let that happen now,
to die into love now,
before the body dies … Ah!
What makes us human
Henri Nouwen
is not our mind, but our heart,
not our ability to think
but ability to love.
There was a wonderful feeling of fall this morning on my ride to the coffee shop. A light fog settled over the grass at Rolland Moore park and this tree was showing signs of the color changes. But the most telling was the coolness in the air. It felt and smelled like fall. It will not be long and I will be wearing heavier clothing on my ride. I hope you’re having a good day!
“The most significant gifts are the ones most easily overlooked. Small, everyday blessings: woods, health, music, laughter, memories, books, family, friends, second chances, warm fireplaces, and all the footprints scattered throughout our days.”
Sue Monk Kidd
… even salsify.
“In a gift economy, wealth is understood as having enough to share, and the practice for dealing with abundance is to give it away. In fact, status is determined not by how much one accumulates, but by how much one gives away. The currency in a gift economy is relationship, which is expressed as gratitude, as interdependence and the ongoing cycles of reciprocity. A gift economy nurtures the community bonds that enhance mutual well-being; the economic unit is “we” rather than “I” as all flourishing is mutual.”
Robin Wall Kimmerer, The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World
It looks to me like the Foxtail Barley has a better grasp of the meaning of “We” than we do.
Grandfather says this: in life there is sadness as well as joy, losing as well as winning, falling as well as standing. I do not say this to make you despair, but to teach you that life is a journey sometimes walked in light and sometimes walked in shadow.
Joseph Marshall III in KEEP GOING
“A bird does not sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.”
Chinese Proverb
It has been a hot day for us but clouds did move in to cool us down and it has turned into a lovely evening.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
I am a traveler on a sacred journey through this one shining day.
Richard Wagamese, Embers
Within each of us there is a silence, a silence as vast as the universe.
Gunilla Norris
And when we experience that silence, we remember who we are.
I have not been to Pineridge Natural Area in quite some time so I changed that this morning. It is supposed to rain later today, which means there would be a chance for colors with clouds at sunrise. I parked, turned off the car and was met with silence. I was given a bit of pink color along the horizon and the air was clear of smoke. Dixon Reservoir was calm and offered a nice reflection. I took a few photos then left to meet Jeff at the coffee shop. Sunrise and silence, coffee and conversation with a friend, always a nice start to the day.
I am learning to pray again,
Terry Tempest Williams
not in the way I was taught as a child,
but in all the ways the desert has taught me to listen.
We can make a difference when we draw on our courage and creativity to stand up for our beliefs. Our small actions carry a cumulative power that can shift the planet onto a more positive course. We only need to tap our innate creativity and connect with expression not only through a particular medium like paint or clay or words; the other medium we all have to express our creativity is our lives. As human beings, we’re innately creative, capable of great love, and creatures of community. When we draw on our natural gifts and act together, we have enormous power to ease suffering and invent new possibilities for a better world.
Kim Ridley
I post a lot of quotes here. I struggle sometimes to post long ones because too many words can confuse, distract and make a difference in how the reader understands what the author intended. The above quote is an example. What I was moved by in the quote was the fact that mankind is capable of great love, while knowing in my mind mankind is also capable of great hatred. But, I will keep my focus on hope and belief in great love! I hope you are having a great day!!!