• clouds,  landscape,  mountains,  quotes,  reflections,  sunsets

    The Substance of Silence

    Late afternoon at Lake Loveland

    But there is greater comfort in the substance of silence than in the answer to a question.

    Thomas Merton

    When I was younger my friends and I would ride our bicycles to Lake Loveland and fish. Our quest was for crappie and perch that gathered along the trunks of the trees in the water. If memory serves me we would use simple little jigs and it was pretty easy pickings. I have very good memories of those days. And amazingly we did not have smartphones to document it. Nor did mom send us a text message telling us dinner was ready. There seemed to be more silence back then. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

  • horizons,  landscape,  mountains,  quotes,  silence

    Solitude

    An afternoon along Weld County Road 90

    Solitude is a state of hospitality, a welcoming of all that needs attention. Solitude offers a ground that is embracing and inclusive. Everything can be made welcome in the broad arms of solitude, even fear. For as long as humans have sought counsel with the sacred, much of it has happened in a space set apart from others. Here, in silence and nourishing aloneness, we can become receptive to the influence of soul…

    Francis Weller

    Even more so since Covid I intentionally seek out times and places for solitude. I also am now prone to shun away from large crowds, being more comfortable with one on one situations for coffee or lunch. I am more welcoming to those broad arms and hospitality of solitude.

  • clouds,  landscape,  quotes,  sunsets,  trees

    Sitting Quietly

    All of humanity’s difficulties stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.

    Blaise Pascal

    This is a snapshot of Mike watching the sunset at Turquoise Lake, Colorado, while on our motorcycle camping trip in 2006. It was one of those moments to just sit quietly and soak it all in.

  • flowers,  nature,  Plants,  quotes

    Serenity

    Solitude… is what sustains me and protects me from my mind. It renders me fully present. I am desert. I am mountains. I am Great Salt Lake. There are other languages being spoken by wind, water, and wings. There are other lives to consider: avocets, stilts, and stones. Peace is the perspective found in patterns. When I see ring-billed gulls picking on the flesh of decaying carp, I am less afraid of death. We are no more and no less than the life that surrounds us. My fears surface in my isolation. My serenity surfaces in my solitude.

    Terry Tempest Williams

    The Oxford Dictionary defines solitude as: the state or situation of being alone. I relate to her quote because there are times when enjoying my coffee life, surrounded by people in conversations, baristas foaming milk, and piped music, I can feel isolated. A major contrast to the city’s natural areas which provides a place for me to be in solitude. Yet, I am never really alone as I am surrounded by plants, birds, animals, clouds, and people, who add their presence and sounds to my solitude. So, while I’m in solitude with nature, I too find serenity. Happy Friday!

  • Avian,  landscape,  meadowlark,  poems

    For Solitude

    A meadowlark perched on the fence sings from the light of its soul

    May you recognize in your life the presence,
    power and light of your soul.

    May you realize that you are never alone,
    that your soul in its brightness and belonging
    connects you intimately with the rhythm of the
    universe.

    May you have respect for your own individuality and
    difference.

    May you realize that the shape of your soul is
    unique, that you have a special destiny here,
    that behind the facade of your life
    there is something beautiful and eternal happening.

    May you learn to see your self
    with the same delight,
    pride, and expectation
    with which God sees you in every moment.

    John O’Donohue from “To Bless the Space Between Us”
  • clouds,  horizons,  landscape,  trees

    Turning to Another Door

    At the beginning of the twenty-first century, to feel alone or want to be alone is deeply unfashionable: to admit to feeling alone is to reject and betray others, as if they are not good company, and do not have entertaining, interesting lives of their own to distract us, and to actually seek to be alone is a radical act; to want to be alone is to refuse a certain kind of conversational hospitality and to turn to another door, and another kind of welcome, not necessarily defined by human vocabulary.

    David Whyte

    I like solitude. Yet, I also need contact with people, which is one of the primary reasons why I include coffee life with my mornings. Yesterday was a funky day inside my head. Felt frustrated, restless, irritable, even lost. I wanted to be left alone. So, through habit or need, I chose to find a place in nature. So, I spent time with the meadowlarks, the silent clouds, the whisper of the wind, and my good friend, this solitary tree I visit on a regular basis. The setting sun casts a warm glow over the grass. My funk faded and a calm settled within me, but sure it will return at another opportune time. I’m glad I’m unfashionable and turned to another door! Hope everyone stays warm and dry. I awoke during the night with a sore throat and now have a niche little head cold. It will be a day for rest and soup.

  • landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  quotes,  reflections,  silence,  sunrises

    Resting in Solitude…

    Resting in solitude, I could sit in the silence of my own being and drink deeply from the well spring of divine love that sustained me.

    Ilia Delio

    Nothing like sitting in silence while taking in a beautiful predawn sky over Dixon Reservoir. Well, to be honest with you, I was not resting in solitude so much as freezing my buns off! I took this image last week.

    I spent part of yesterday afternoon sitting along Strauss Cabin Road, watching a bald eagle and journaling. There is power in being with others, getting outside of myself, while there is also power in solitude, being with myself. I pray for the balance! 🙏 Have a wonderful Monday.

  • clouds,  landscape,  silence,  sunrises

    The Grandeur of God

    “The world is charged with the grandeur of God.”

    Gerard Manley Hopkins

    This scene was taken along Weld County Road 90. I drove around this morning in search of new locations to experience and photograph sunrises which offer wide open spaces, solitude, and silence. As I stood there knee high in grasses, a Dove cried out its mournful sad song while a Meadowlark sang to me. A coyote crossed the road and I must have seen a dozen Red Tailed Hawks. And one proud white tail buck stared me down. It is quite isolated, which is one thing I am looking for. I may have found what I was looking for. So be warned you may see more images from this location. Since it’s about 35 miles round trip it’s not going to be a daily visit. Anyway, I am grateful for this morning’s sunrise and the visible grandeur of God. Hope you have a wonderful day!

    Sorry for placing the horizon so close to the center (Well not that sorry.). 😂