Silence gives answers…
Rumi
Silence provides answers whether I’m looking within during a time of prayer/meditation or the silence encountered during a conversation with a quiet winter snowfall.
Silence
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Saying Something
When ink joins with pen, then blank paper can say something.
Essential Rumi by Coleman BarksThis is my latest pen, a Pelikan M205 in Marbled Petrol. It is a swirly teal, blue and green, translucent resin body with a black cap and finial with silver trim. I have Pelikan Aquamarine colored ink in it, which I think matches nicely with the body. As with all my fountain pens and journals I believe there are words hidden within them. It is our task to pick them up and be a part of the process to say something on blank paper.
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Sometimes You Hear a Voice
Blue Flax Sometimes you hear a voice
Rumi
through the door calling you.
as fish out of water
hear the waves,
or a hunting falcon
hears the drums
Come back. Come back.
This turning toward
what you deeply love saves you.
Read the book of your life,
which has been given you.
A voice comes to your soul saying,
Lift your foot. Cross over.
Move into emptiness
of question and answer and question. -
Some questions
Longs Peak at sunrise seen from Running Deer Nature area “I want to sing like the birds sing
Not worrying about who hears
Or what they think.”
RumiI wonder what went through the minds of our ancestors who were physically, mentally and spiritually closer to nature then we are? I ask because I come to these nature areas to find distance from the noise of the city but find my mind is consistently distracted. Were they capable of being more present than I seem to be? I’m aware the more time I spend out here the more present I can be. After a period of settling in, adjusting to this place, I hear, then see, the osprey soaring in the wind drafts, being pursued by a pesky crow. Next I notice a goldfinch that just perched on a bush nearby, singing it’s soft and delicate “swee-eet” song. I watch and am amazed at how quickly the birds can fly from here to there, silently. If you do not know what I write about then spend a morning in a nature area, listen, watch, be present, bring a journal and use it, and please leave your phone at home. Just some questions.
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Finding the quiet
A nice light fresh snowfall along the Poudre River and cold 
A small group of trees along the Foothills “Don’t think the garden loses its ecstasy in winter.
Rumi
It’s quiet, but the roots are down there riotous.”Maybe 2 inches of snow fell yesterday. I made a drive north of town on Larimer County Road 19 and stopped at the North Shields Natural Ponds where I took this image of the Poudre River. I continued north and one more of the trees. It is snowing in the mountains and the reason you cannot see them in either image. It was clear blue skies a couple miles north of this image. As I returned to town so did the cloudy skies and snow. One reason I headed north was to find the quiet. And I did.
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Shadows
Shadows “A shadow cannot ignore the sun that all day creates and moves it!”
Rumi -
Natures Creations
Natures Creations “The soul has been given its own ears to hear things the mind does not understand.”
RumiThe biggest percentage of my images from October have been leaves. Evidence I’ve been walking with my head down. But they are the images I’ve enjoyed the most.
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Big Leaf Maple
Big Leaf Maple “Sorrow prepares you for joy. It violently sweeps everything out of your house, so that new joy can find space to enter. It shakes the yellow leaves from the bough of your heart, so that fresh, green leaves can grow in their place. It pulls up the rotten roots, so that new roots hidden beneath have room to grow. Whatever sorrow shakes from your heart, far better things will take their place.”
Rumi -
Don’t go back to sleep
“The breezes at dawn have secrets to tell you, don’t go back to sleep.”
RumiRumi is not talking about rolling over and going back to sleep but about falling asleep to life. We can sleep through life by spending time in front of television, time on the computer, alcohol and drugs, overeating, gambling, etc. There is no need to make a list. We all can make our own list, as we are all susceptible to falling asleep. There are many tools and practices to help us with staying awake: mindfulness, meditation, contemplation, our breathing, prayer words, yoga, tai chi, daily walks. I’ve come to experience the practice of meditation and contemplation, helps me to stay awake to life. As Christine Valters Paintner says, “Most meditation practices are, at heart, about staying awake to life, being fully present to our experiences, and becoming aware of our own preconceived ideas and expectations that obscure our vision.”
Photography is another practice that keeps me from falling asleep to life. It’s taken me a few years to understand its impact in helping me stay present. I seldom take a walk without a camera around my neck which is combining more than one practice. When taking each walk my intent is to repeat a prayer word in rhythm with my breathes and steps, while the eyes of the heart and soul stay awake to what life is presenting. No preconceptions, just looking for secrets Rumi suggests we can find.
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Storm Clouds
“Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull of what you really love.”
RumiThe cold wind is blowing right through my coat causing goosebumps and chills. I’m shaking. But nature is sharing its light show as the setting sun shines on the foreground in contrast to the dark and ominous clouds on the eastern horizon. Something pulls me to stay and take it all in. It can’t be explained but it feels good inside my soul to be outside the noisy city. I’m cold.
