My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, coffee life, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, spirituality and asking deep questions.
“A Mystic sees beyond the illusion of separateness into the Intricate Web of Life in which all things are expressions of a Single Whole. You can call this Web God, the Tao, the Great Spirit, the Infinite Mystery, Mother or Father but it can be known only as Love.” Joan Borysenko
“When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.”―
And, for those who need to know it’s National Ice Cream Day, which happens the third Sunday of every July. Put it in calendar!
“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.”―
“The unknown evokes wonder. If we lose our sense of wonder, we lose the sacramental majesty of the world. Nature is no longer a presence, it is a thing.”
John O’Donohue, Eternal Echoes
When we are alone on a starlit night; when by chance we see the migrating birds in autumn descending on a grove of junipers to rest and eat; when we see children in a moment when they are really children; when we know love in our hearts; or when, like the Japanese poet Bashõ we hear an old frog land in a quiet pond with a solitary splash – at such times the awakening, the turning inside out of all values, the “newness,” the emptiness and the purity of vision that make themselves evident, provide a glimpse of cosmic dance.
Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation
“I am still a consumer; the consumer world was the world I emerged into, whose air I breathed for a very long time, and its assumptions still dominate my psyche—but maybe a little less each year….There are times when I can feel the spell breaking in my mind….There are times when I can almost feel myself simply being.”
I must confess consumerism has been a struggle most of my life. I easily fall prey to the daily bombardment of marketing, always suggesting I purchase something I don’t need and can’t afford. There, also, has been a long history of buying today with tomorrow’s check. Mix these two together and we have trouble. For the past several years I buy only with money I already have and for things that are needed rather than wanted or enticed with. It’s taken a few years but I feel the spell is also breaking in my mind. So, I relate to his quote.
Happy Father’s Day!
“It is no surprise that in our loss of connection with Nature, we have forgotten how to pray. We even believe that we do not need to pray.”
John O’Donohue
Joan and I met for a walk/talk session at Pineridge Natural Area this morning. We took the shorter route around the reservoir which is not quite 3 miles. They were predicting a beautiful day after yesterday’s overcast skies and rain, so a lot of people were out to enjoy it. After our walk we ate brunch on the patio of a new restaurant called the Chicken Coop, which serves American Mexican breakfast and lunches. We will need to go back and try other things on the menu and definitely include another walk.
Time in nature is time in prayer.