My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, coffee life, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, spirituality and asking deep questions.
Now is the season to know
Hafiz (translation by Daniel Ladinsky)
That everything you do
Is sacred.
This is a ridge along Horsetooth Reservoir after the night’s dusting of snow. And, it was bitter cold. And, I see that it is cold on the east coast and cold up north, also. Please stay warm!
The most ordinary life experiences become transcendent when you offer them your reverent silence, your mischievous laughter, your sacred rage.
Mirabai Starr
Another frigid morning below zero, where my car groaned when I turned the ignition. Almost like it was saying, “Do you really want to do this?” Clear blue skies and sunshine now bring some warmth. My morning included quiet time, a breakfast scramble, then a trip to the coffee shop filled with wonderful conversations and a mocha. I did not journal until after I came home and began laundry. Some may consider my life dull, boring, ordinary but for me there is nothing ordinary about this life I live. My life is full as long as I stay present, my eyes open! I must admit I live the good life! I see that everyone is dealing with this cold weather so I hope you are staying warm.
May the light of your soul guide you; May the light of your soul bless the work you do with the secret love and warmth of your heart; May you see in what you do the beauty of your own soul; May the sacredness of your work bring healing, light and renewal to those who work with you and to those who see and receive your work; May your work never weary you; May it release within you wellsprings of refreshment, inspiration and excitement…
John O’Donohue
My coffee life this morning had a special perk to it. I was pleased to see Emma at the coffee shop when I arrived. Let me tell you about it. So Adriana, in the background, is one of the current baristas, a full time student at CSU and a manager at Mugs. Emma, in the foreground, worked at Mugs for many years while a student at CSU. She now lives in Massachusetts after graduation and is in town for a visit. These two were roommates for several years and two of the most beautiful people on the earth. They both have made a lot of my mornings better by their presence, offering their smiles, their morning greetings and making my mocha lattes. My life has been enriched because of the gifts they are and I believe the world is richer because of their presence. Even though I am much older, they inspire me through the lives they live! I also consider them adopted granddaughters. They are at the top of my gratitude list! Even though I knew Emma was going to be here, it was still a wonderful surprise to see her. I’m still smiling!
Imagine how different life would be right now if Christianity could become a place for sacred conversations; a place to explore possibilities and express doubts and disagree and encourage voices on the edges.
Victoria Loorz
I was told yesterday I have a very active social life.
But maybe it’s really a multitude of sacred conversations.
“Honor the sacred. Honor the Earth, our Mother. Honor the Elders. Honor all with whom we share the Earth: Four-leggeds, two-leggeds, winged ones, Swimmers, crawlers, plant and rock people. Walk in balance and beauty.”
Native American Elder
My Thanksgiving dinner was roasted vegetables and a piece of blueberry pie. It was 20 degrees this morning so no bicycling but when it warmed up to 39 degrees I went on a 7.7 mile bicycle ride to Spring Creek Park. Later just as the sun was setting I drove to Fossil Creek Park to see about sunset colors over Portner Reservoir. I love the pastel colors in this image and also enjoyed being photobombed by a flock of Canada Geese coming in from the fields. Not the best photo because it was handheld at 1/25th of a second.
Today is Native American Heritage Day. It is was setup to celebrate the vibrant cultures, traditions, and heritages while recognizing Native Americans’ many contributions. Seems to me the Native Americans knew how to honor the sacred, who we share the earth with, and live in harmony with it. While we are arrogantly destroying the sacred and arrogantly still considered them less than us. Our arrogance keeps us from being students of life. And, we have so much to learn!!
The remembrance of the sacred is like a central note within life. Without it something fundamental to our existence is missing.
Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, Seasons of the Sacred
Sacred wisdom is deep in our nature. The journey to wholeness is about awakening to this wisdom deep within and seeking it everywhere, in every culture and every religion.
John Philip Newell
The snow finally let up about 11:00 this morning. My guess is 6-8 inches of snow with a fine layer of ice beneath the powdery snow. Restless by noon I took the Number 2 bus to campus then walked over to Mugs. This snowfall has been beautiful, a winter wonderland that excited this photographer’s shutter finger. I like how snow can hide something or highlight it. I pretty much had the coffee shop to myself as many students are still on break and the snow kept many people home. Therefore my baristas, Emma and James, spoiled me. I had my Old Town Mocha and one of their November Specials, a bowl of butternut squash soup. It hit the spot.
I really like Newell’s quote above. He touches on four things that have become important in my journey of life. They are sacred, wisdom, nature and awakening. I say that because I’m awakening to some knowing deep within me that every human being, creature, plant, all of creation is sacred. I am also wakening to the idea that maybe we are all made from the same speck of stardust of our creator. Anyway, here are a few images from this afternoon’s journey to wholeness and some damn good butternut squash soup on this rather frigid Saturday.
“… we will recover our sense of wonder and our sense of the sacred only if we appreciate the universe beyond ourselves as a revelatory experience of that numinous presence whence all things came into being. Indeed, the universe is the primary sacred reality. We become sacred by our participation in this more sublime dimension of the world about us.”
Thomas Berry
I upgraded the fonts plugin so I could change the title font and size. Whadda ya think?
