• Plants,  quotes,  trees

    Stillness and Quiet

    Time and again, we miss out on the great treasures in our lives because we are so restless. In our minds we are always elsewhere. We are seldom in a place where we stand and in the time that is now.

    John O’Donohue

    We can discover in the latter years of our life that moments of stillness and quiet can be great friends. If we embrace these friends we can experience less restlessness and spend less time caught up in our heads, a sometimes formidable neighborhood. The less time in our heads the less likely we are to miss out on some part of the journey through life. When I can stand in the now, I can receive the great treasure of a starburst.

  • clouds,  haiku,  landscape,  natural areas,  sunrises,  writing/reading

    Predawn Mystery

    in stillness and silence
    colors begin to appear
    predawn mystery

    ms

    I sit in the upper parking lot at Pineridge Natural Area for this morning’s sunrise. Below me the city slowly stirs awake. Here, in this natural area, nature has already begun stirring as chattering magpies sit atop cottonwood tree branches. The geese and ducks make small waves across the reservoir. The wind is still. In the cold I listen to the silence and experience a calming that I will carry into my day. This is becoming an integral part of my morning prayer and meditation. A few years ago I couldn’t imagine spending mornings like this. Now, living in the present is how I choose to begin my day. For each new dawn offers the mystery of this day’s events that only we can live and experience in the present moment.