• fountain pens,  journal,  writing/reading

    This is not unusual…

    September 20, 2023

    It’s approximately a 40 foot walk from my front door to my car. This morning I had a half dozen thoughts racing through my head and at least two conversations by the time I reached the car. This is not unusual. Nor do I want these thoughts to go away, they are part of my humanity. However, what I desire is to let them pass on, allowing me to stay present to this world I am a part of. On those mornings when I do stay present, letting those thoughts pass on, I receive the gifts offered in being awake. When that happens I notice the squirrel hanging upside down on the tree, their eyes silently fixed on me. Or maybe I notice the small dew-drop globes of the spider’s web reflecting the morning sunlight. Or I notice the multicolored leaves-of-fall blanketing the grass. And, if I listen I can hear the jeers and clicks of a nearby blue jay. Those mornings when I stay present are so much more enjoyable to me. Today was not one of them. However, I think I was much more present to the mocha latte.

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  • coffee life,  coffee shops,  fountain pens,  journal,  quotes,  writing/reading

    Depths of Meditation

    September 10, 2023

    The truth is that we can venture into meditation only in our willingness to be, at times, perplexed. What is more, we must be willing to befriend our perplexity as a way of dying to our futile efforts to grasp the ungraspable depths that meditation invites us to discover.

    James Finley

    I’m heading out meet my daughter at a Greek restaurant and I’m assuming to over eat, again. Also, expecting rain later this afternoon. Let it begin.

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  • clouds,  fountain pens,  grass,  horizons,  journal,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  Plants,  quotes,  writing/reading

    Who I’m Becoming

    September 7, 2023

    … the truth is that we simply don’t know — we don’t know where life ultimately leads, we don’t know what we want or what to want, and we don’t really know ourselves. 

    Maria Popova

    I’ve mentioned before my belief of how little I think I think I know. Yet there are times when some sense of knowing does rise within me. This knowing is not about having an answer or solution to a problem. It’s a knowing that somehow changes my perspective on life, this world, people, and myself. I find this knowing to be one of the adventures in life, a place of growth. I am slowly learning small bits of who I’m not and who I’m becoming.

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  • Art,  clouds,  coffee life,  coffee shops,  fountain pens,  journal,  landscape,  latte art,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  quotes,  sunrises

    Then we can be here

    April 27, 2023
    I was present here…
    … now I am present here.

    When we become quiet, less filled with ourselves, the incessant noise of our thoughts and feelings then we can embrace the here and now (or there), open to seeing the Divine in all of creation. Which is the only place we can be. 1These words are mine based on a writing by Richard Rohr. “All we can do is become quieter, smaller, and less filled with our own self and our constant flurry of ideas and feelings. Then God will be obvious in the very now of things, and in the simplicity of things. To sum it all up, we can never get there, we can only be there.”

    ms
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  • coffee life,  coffee shops,  fountain pens,  journal,  quotes,  writing/reading

    Gathering Wisdom

    April 8, 2023

    The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.

    Isaac Asimov

    There are many who are wise and do not have degrees or a data bank full of information. My experience has taught me that the only source for wisdom is not to be found in a book, wikipedia, social media, the college campus, Dr. Google or listening to my ego. It’s rather easy to gain information, or misinformation, but gaining wisdom primarily requires the lessons learned from life experiences, plus knowledge. The failures, mistakes, pain, suffering, self-examination and a dose of humiliation have been my greatest teachers. I’ve heard it said the wise know they don’t know the answers. They do not tell us what they know, they will only share their experiences of life with us. Then for us to be wise we will need to listen to those who are wise and learn from them. Sure rings true for me. I’ve come to see how those who have a practice of prayer and meditation, spending time in solitude, silence, and nature, have learned to listen to the voice of their innermost self. Makes me wonder if that is the source of our deepest wisdom? Have a wonderful weekend!

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  • coffee shops,  consumer,  fountain pens,  journal,  journaling,  writing/reading

    Lifestyle Changes

    February 17, 2023

    The Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, is quoted as saying “change is the only constant in life.” I believe he’s right. Some lifestyle changes we make on our own while some changes are forced upon us. Lifestyle changes can happen when we change jobs, move to another community, decide to marry, retire, live a non-consumer lifestyle, get rid of the TV, new eating habits and more. Yet, there are some changes that come upon us unexpectedly and unwanted, such as divorce, death of spouse, parent, child, natural disasters, health issues, war and more. Each time we face one of these changes we are given the opportunity to make choices on how we respond. How we respond to them is the bigger question. 

    I’m at a place where I’m facing lifestyle changes due to health issues. The reality of my mortality is very real today. Since the present is where I must live, I’m given the opportunity to face these lifestyle changes and make choices that can be rewarding. My hope is to live life with a new and positive attitude, no matter what. Pretty sure I’m preaching to the choir but I needed to write it and maybe it is a thought provoking post.

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  • coffee life,  coffee shops,  fountain pens,  journal,  journaling,  writing/reading

    Something New

    January 29, 2023

    It is bitter cold this morning. My weather app said it was 3 degrees and my car’s dashboard said 3 degrees when I left for the coffee shop at 7:02 am. Two hours later it says zero degrees. It’s going the wrong way. We are looking at 2-3 days of this cold. I’m home and in for the rest of the day!!! Okay, enough about the cold and on to something new.

    This something new is a new Pelikan M205 Apatite Special Edition Demonstrator fountain pen. This past year Pelikan announced the Edelstein Apatite ink for 2022. Since I’ve been pleased with the seven Pelikan pens I already have, I didn’t even know this new ink or pen had come out until a week ago. After all, I can only write with one pen at a time. 😳 Needless to say, I fell in love with this color immediately. The pen is the newest in a series of eight demonstrator pens they have come out with since 2015. I only have one other demonstrator, the Smoky Quartz, which came out in 2017. All my other M200x pens are a marble swirl. Pelikan calls the Apatite color a Turquoise-Blue and is part of the M205 series which has the silver trim rather than gold. It is also a part of their gemstone inspired models that have been a popular mainstay of the company’s annual line-up. Apatite is a phosphate mineral which was first discovered in 1786 by the German geologist A.G. Werner. As a demonstrator pen you are able to see the internal piston and ink which I like. 👍 Being a special edition the price was higher than I wanted but…. So far I like the looks of the pen, the nib (medium) writes wonderfully and the ink shades well while pleasing to my eyes. So, my task now is to find all the words hidden within this pen by putting pen to paper in my journals. Enough gibberish from me. Stay warm and enjoy your day!!

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