My online journal sharing interests in photography, nature, coffee life, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, spirituality and asking deep questions.
“A mind devoid of insight into its own nature is a chaotic mind, a mind of unease.”
Kathleen Dowling-Singh
Yesterday was one of those evenings where I wanted nature’s touch of silence and light. I arrived early and did some journaling in the quiet. Then, just as the day gave way to night, I setup my camera and tripod and pressed the shutter.
Perfect does not mean perfect actions in a perfect world, but appropriate actions in an imperfect one.
R.H. Blyth
Two years ago today my mother died in her sleep after a couple weeks in hospice. So, of course I’m thinking about her today, as are my sisters and dad. There are moments of sadness but there are those good memories mixed in. I must say I am grateful for the foundation she laid for the person I have become, although I’m far from being perfect. Hopefully I live with appropriate actions and words, seeds she planted. Thanks mom!! I miss you!!
Living in a consumer society, as a consumer, means I am bombarded daily with the idea I do not have enough. And, that’s simply not true! The Rule of St. Benedict counsels contentment, that what we have is enough. But, along with being content is the idea of gratitude. I have the practice within my journals of writing a gratitude list on a regular basis. Along with that practice I also include a simple pray of thanks throughout my day as I look for the gifts offered. When I look back over those lists I see less and less material goods and more of the intangible things in life and includes so many of the simple things. So this morning I was grateful for time at Pineridge Natural Area and this predawn scene. It was a good start to this day and reminds me that everything is a gift! Sorry it’s a bit blurry but I shot it handheld at 1/20 sec in the wind and at 20 degrees. Grateful for my old gloves! Happy Sunday!
Waking early I took my camera to Pineridge Natural Area to watch the sun rise. It was cold this morning at 36 degrees. A frigid breeze was enticing the brown grass of the meadow and rabbit brush to joyfully dance together. I was greeted with a meadowlark singing its song of happiness, then joined by a second meadowlark. A couple of robins perched themselves on the fence in front of me and joined in with their glad tidings. I watched a goose smoothly paddle across the reservoir leaving behind its v-shaped wake. A pair of mallards circled above as if not sure where to go. A half dozen white pelicans used their webbed feet to silently float along the north end of the reservoir in search for food. I wonder if that’s where the big fish are?
I offer thanks as I am never disappointed with the gifts nature gives me at these sacred places and times. I like to call these times gifts but they seem to be more than that. Could it be nature’s invitation to share our presence in all of creation? Maybe these times are the most natural thing we can do with nature. By now my hands were cold and I could picture in my mind wrapping them around a hot mocha latte. It has been a good start to a wonderful Sunday! May you have also have a wonderful Sunday!
We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share. This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity.
Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
There are moments throughout my day where I do not feel like it is a precious moment. It feels like a struggle to face the next moment, let alone the one I’m presently in. Yet I find taking a deep breath, saying some form of prayer, even a simple word such as thanks or help, and I can walk through the moment. Even then it may not feel like a precious moment but I believe I lived within the parentheses. How about you?
A gracious mind has compassion and sensitive understanding. It is without greed; rather than concentrating on what is absent or missing, it is able to celebrate and give thanks for what is present.
John O’Donohue, Beauty: The Invisible Embrace
It’s 10 degrees outside. Drove to the natural area for the quiet and to journal. Did not stay long, though. Grateful to be warm and inside. Overcast sky and a few snowflakes have been sited. It has that cold wintery feel. And, it’s going to be cold for the next 4 days or so, very cold. I have coffee, chocolate, peanut butter, a new book of poetry (Devotions by Mary Oliver) and plenty of fountain pen ink. I’m good and giving thanks. Stay warm.
The above image was shot with the Fujifilm Acros film simulation. The Fujifilm website describes Acros as: a recently introduced black & white mode that’s richer in clarity and sharpness, and was inspired by our NEOPAN 100 ACROS film, which was known for its fine grain, rich gradation, and outstanding sharpness. Like the MONOCHROME mode, it’s also available in yellow, red, and green versions, but ACROS also has an embedded graininess that matches the film emulsion original. I like it.