My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and the mystery of it all.
“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!!!
“There are some places so beautiful they can make a grown man break down and weep.”
Edward Abbey
It has been a rather cool day, a pleasant change from the past three weeks. I had blood draw last Friday and met with my hematologist this morning to go over those numbers. She was pleased with my numbers because they are stable. So all is good. They are working on the parking lot so we have had constant noise now for two days. The email said they will be done tomorrow. Seems man sure does enjoy their noise machines.
“If we think we are our thoughts and feelings, we go through life simply reacting to what is going on around us, with little awareness that we are even doing this or that life could be otherwise.”
Martin Laird
Hope you are staying cool!!
Write only if you cannot live without writing. Write only what you alone can write.
Elie Wiesel
This is a beautiful glass blown fountain pen holder that was given to me as a gift. The fountain pen is a Meisterstück gold-coated 149 by Montblanc that was also given to me. It is a piston filling pen and has a handcrafted Au750 gold nib. The pen and nib are much bigger than my Pelikan so it’s not as comfortable a writing pen for me. I did clean it up today and put some Pilot Yama-guri ink in it. We will see how it feels using it for a while. It is going to be a hot weekend for us here in Colorado.
l have come to think that care of the soul requires a high degree of resistance to the culture around us, simply because that culture is dedicated to values that have no concern for the soul.
Thomas Merton, Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander – 1966
It is Tuesday and starting out as a much cooler day. They say it’s only going to reach 90 degrees. I’m okay with that. The cooler air made it another lovely morning for a ride to the coffee shop. I enjoy riding through the cool low lying areas along Spring Creek. The temperature changes perk me up. I am one of those bicyclists who meanders along the trails. My bicycle is considered a commuter/urban ride. Which means I’m not a rider racing to get somewhere as quickly as possible. There is too much to miss when speeding along. Nor, none of us are as safe at higher speeds. And that’s also true of our cars. The bicycle gets me around easily and economically, puts less stress on my lower back than walking does, allows me to get my cardio exercise, gets me closer to nature, and I have much less stress when I get to the coffee shop. And bicyclists who race along the trails seem to think a certain dress attire is required. I personally do not want to see what I’d look like in spandex tights. So, I meander along taking care of my soul and with the camera ready. Who knows when I may encounter dewdrops clinging to dogwood leaves and need to stop.
There’s always a story. It’s all stories, really.
Terry Pratchett
The sun coming up every day is a story. Everything’s got a story in it.
Change the story, change the world.
As photographers and creatives, I imagine we all hope that our images tell a story. On many of my blog posts, I also add content to express my experience of that moment, that morning, that evening, that day. In other words, I am telling a story. Was I cold? In a place of gratitude, or wonder? What birds were singing to me? What was I thinking or feeling? And hopefully the photograph, the content, or both have the potential to be a story capable of changing the world in some small way, including myself.