My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and the mystery of it all.
It began as a seedling
mws
in the darkness of the soil.
And within that darkness
was found everything needed
to emerge as new life.
I noticed this plant growing among the rocks and wood chips outside the coffee shop this morning. It seemed fitting for today. Also fitting in my life as it seems after some of the darkest times there has emerged new life. I hope you have a wonderful Sunday.
What a blessing it is to outlive our self-judgments and harvest our failures.
Rachel Naomi Remen
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts I’m learning how to play the Native American style flute. I simply love its earthy sound and it’s so very simple. It does not require electricity or a battery, just my breath, intention and of course practice. I’m finding it to be a great teacher and helping me to let go of my negative self-judgement. It’s teaching me to be patient with myself and not be critical, and as the quote above suggests, to harvest my failures. I have much to learn in breath control, fingering exercises, learning mouth positioning, rhythm, and keeping squawks, squeaks and whistles to a minimum. Eventually I will learn a few songs as well as the ones found within me. More practice.
I see the Native American style flutes as beautiful works of art as well as musical instruments. This is an image of a second Native Sunrise flute I ordered made by Ron Stutz. My other one made by him is in the key of A and made of Spanish Cedar. This one is made of Cherry wood and in the key of G. To me they are works of art. I have a small rack to put these two flutes on along with the Joe Loftin flute and they become art in my home. Now back to practice.
Yesterday was such a beautiful day here in Colorado. It was surprisingly warm in the morning at 58 degrees. Blue skies dominated a few scattered clouds the rest of the day. Some would say it was a perfect day for football.
Sometime after midnight clouds and rain moved into the area. The rain, a light drizzle, is expected to let up by noon then partly cloudy the rest of the day. Tonight will be our coldest night of this season. The autumnal equinox arrived this morning at 8:44 a.m. ET, about two hours ago, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac. And, this morning it feels very much like autumn. I’m loving the fall colors mixed with rain and the cool damp chill that awakens my body to the change of season. Wisely, I put on a crockpot of chili soup before heading out to the coffee shop. Happy Sunday!
We do not want our lives to signify nothing. This would be the most profound and ungrateful ignorance: to remain childish in an aging vessel…Life’s longing for itself, is a path of grace.
Kathleen Dowling-Singh
I remember a morning when I was getting ready for work I felt tired, confused, probably hungover, unhappy, and questioning if this was all there was to life. I knew at that moment that I did not want the life I had. My life meant nothing to me. Somehow, and some will call it grace, I moved through that period to discover life is much more than I could foresee at that time. I found lifestyle changes that included letting go of some old thinking, believing, and most importantly an unhealthy lifestyle and career that was not fulfilling me. I look back at it now and see it was my time to let go of childish ways and begin living life’s longing for itself, growing up. Today, even with the challenges of everyday life in this aging vessel of mine, I want to live a path of grace.
We all know the signs of the approaching fall season. We have football games now on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. We put the shorts back in the bottom draw of the dresser. Starbucks comes out with their Pumpkin Spice Latte. Stores are putting out Halloween candy and Christmas decorations. We have cooler nights. The days begin to shorten. Squadrons Canada Geese are heading south. Leaves begin to change colors and fall from their branches. Fall is approaching.