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

    This Colorful Display

    July 23, 2024

    “Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding.”

    Ralph Waldo Emerson

    For three days now we have had unusual colors in the sky because the smoke and ash from forest fires in Wyoming and Montana are drifting our way. The colors are eerie. I got up early this morning and headed to Pineridge Natural Area. I was hoping that after the sun had risen I could expect some reflection of the sun in Dixon Reservoir. Geese and ducks fed along the waters edges. In between the cross talking magpies, I could hear the robins and meadowlarks singing. And, I was not the only one out with their cameras for this colorful display by nature. The tables outside the coffee shop had a light dusting of ash on them. Air quality warnings are out for today. And, I pray for world peace!

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  • cattails,  Plants,  quotes

    Learning to let go

    February 7, 2024

    We let go of what we have been told to believe about ourselves. We listen to a different voice, one that comes to us from deep within our own soul. That is the voice of love. It is the spirit telling us we are worthy and that we can overcome our problems, even if those problems seem as overwhelming as darkness.

    Steven Charleston

    I believe Charleston is correct because over time I am learning to let go of what I was told about myself, what I told myself about myself and listen to a different voice. Some of those voices, including my own, were telling me things through a lack of understanding and knowledge while some were lies to control and manipulate. I have found it easier to tell someone “I believe in you” rather than say that to myself and believe it. However, I’m learning to listen and trust this voice of love that resides deep within me. I believe in this voice of wisdom. And, because I’m listening and trusting this voice, I’m beginning to experience life and all of creation in new and enriching ways. I see with a new set of eyes and see more each day. Life is much more beautiful when I began to understand how connected we all are in the many threads and fabrics of life we are. I wonder if love could be the thread that binds us? I kinda like this voice of love!!!

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  • clouds,  landscape,  mountains,  quotes,  sunsets

    The Truth

    January 7, 2024
    Colorado sunset

    A teacher cannot give you the truth. The truth is already in you. You only need to open yourself – body, mind, and heart – so that his or her teachings will penetrate your own seeds of understanding and enlightenment. If you let the words enter you, the soil and the seeds will do the rest of the work.

    Thich Nhat Hanh

    Quotes have a way of sitting with me. I sometimes ponder the words, letting them sink in and take root. Sometimes I memorize them, because they truly are seeds for understanding and enlightenment. When I have been open to words of truth I can be changed by them! I am grateful for the teachers in my life who have shared words of wisdom. Have a wonderful Sunday !

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  • clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  quotes,  sunrises

    Just Beyond Our Understanding

    December 28, 2023

    The God of our understanding is just that: the God of our understanding. What we need is the God just beyond our understanding.

    Rami Shapiro

    As I set up my tripod this morning, the full moon was setting behind me and the sun had not yet risen. Predawn or twilight are the names we call this time of day. It is a favorite time for me. An orange glow sat along the horizon, a color I have come to know as the gift offering of the day’s mysteries. And today I think I will call those mysteries: adventures. As I returned home and walked to my front door the sky above me became filled with the sight and sounds of hundreds of Canada Geese. I just stood there with a bag of groceries in one hand and 12 roll package of toilet paper under the other arm. I watched them zig and zag in their attempt to keep perfect formation. And, as always there are those one or two or three that wander off course, then hustle to get back in formation or join another formation. I watched the rising sun begin lighting them with its glow against the clear blue sky. I accepted another of the day’s offerings!

    When younger I did not use the name God in any form or shape of reverence or awe, but usually out of anger or frustration with life. I’ll just say it was profanity. I could not understand a God that would cause or allow the pain and suffering I saw in life. However, I reached a point in life where, as Rami Shapiro suggests, I began to seek a God just beyond my understanding. As I experience moments of reverence or awe like this morning, I have a sense this is what God is all about. Yes, it is just beyond my understanding. Hoping you have a wonderful day!

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  • John O'Donohue,  landscape,  quotes,  sunrises

    Understanding

    December 9, 2021
    Sunrise on Weld County Rd. 15

    “Love allows understanding to dawn, and understanding is precious. Where you are understood, you are at home. Understanding nourishes belonging. When you really feel understood, you feel free to release yourself into the trust and shelter of the other person’s soul.”

    John O’Donohue

    When I first read this quote my mind pictured myself in relationship with another person. But, after reading it several times I believe that it also can be in the relationship we have with ourselves. It seems to me when we have a healthy love for ourselves we also will have a better understanding of ourselves. Actually all of creation. ❤️

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  • fog,  landscape,  Plants,  snow,  trees

    Just beyond what we vaguely see…

    October 16, 2019

    I recently read  from a book by Janet Ruffing that said “theology is nothing more than faith seeking understanding.” Much of my life has been spent looking for understanding of something I cannot define or even comprehend. It’s been many years since I prayed to the old man in the sky, a theology of a God defined by others and one I was expected to accept. Yet, that theology had to be discarded and I needed to enter in a journey of seeking a new understanding. For me that is the essence of the spiritual journey: the seeking. Seeking an understanding is like looking into a foggy wintery scene. The visible details are vague, yet there is more just beyond what we vaguely see.

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