feel it in old bones
mws
a descending cold damp mist
tears for nourishment
Tears for Nourishment
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Our Love for the World
“If we can be fearless, and be with our pain, it turns. It doesn’t stay static. It only doesn’t change if we refuse to look at it. When we look at it, when we take it in our hands, when we can just be with it and keep breathing, then it turns. It turns to reveal its other face. And the other face of our pain for the world is our love for the world, our absolutely inseparable connectedness with all life.”
Joanna MacyThe morning I took this image the weather app said +19 degrees but my aging body felt like it was more like -19 degrees!! The number is insignificant as it was bitter cold for me on this March morning. The cold is more painful than in years past. However those blue skies, low lying clouds and sunshine called me to be fearless and venture out to Reservoir RIdge Natural Area. The experience was exhilarating both physically and spiritually. Yes, I do have a love for this world! More rain/snow possible in the morning with very high wind gusts of 80 mph. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
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It has me thinking…
Accepting time for coffee and journaling Somewhere in the past I read where we do not make images but receive them. That has resonated with me every since. And, I often reference that idea in some of my blog posts. I’ve personally heard myself give thanks when I have finished a photo session of a sunrise because I do feel I’ve received some kind of gift. Could be the romantic in me. Anyway, I also just read where someone suggests our transition from an agricultural society to an industrial society has shifted our vocabulary and thinking so that we talk about making rather than growing.1Let Your Life Speak by Parker J Palmer, page 97 Something else for me ponder. Just listen to how we speak: we make time, make love, make memories, make a photo, make money, make a living. I have caught myself saying I need to make time when in reality I can’t make time but I can set aside time for coffee and journaling. Anyway, it has me thinking/pondering about how I use the word make. When I think about it, it would make a great conversation over coffee. Gotta make time for that!!! 😂
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The Silence of Prayer
This mornings shadows in my bedroom I am learning to pray again, not in the way I was taught as a child, but in all the ways the desert has taught me to listen.
Terry Tempest WilliamsOver 20 years ago I was given the suggestion to learn how to pray in my own way, that maybe prayer was much more than I had been taught as a child. That suggestion has become a wonderful gift. So my life of prayer, the how, what and who of my prayer is, has become so experiential, personal and inclusive. It is always evolving, a conversation, yet without words. It has become more about listening to an inner voice and listening to nature. I include my journaling, listening for words, as a form of prayer, as is reading. Might as well include laughter as prayer. So is crying. Watching the sunrise. Taking in a deep breath is prayer. And, if we take the lesson, we will find nature teaches us silence to sit with. I’m learning to be silent in the silence of prayer.
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Showing off!
Understanding of the self only arises in relationship, in watching yourself in relationship to people, ideas, and things; to trees, the earth, and the world around you and within you. Relationship is the mirror in which the self is revealed. Without self-knowledge there is no basis for right thought and action.
Jiddu KrishnamurtiWell, Hannah out did herself, showing off again, this morning with her latte art. I wonder sometimes if the reason I order mocha lattes is because of the artwork or because I enjoy their flavor. Think I’ll just go with both!
We have clear blue skies and temperatures in the high teens but expecting it to warm up into the high 40’s. I love the mornings when the sun shines in my front room window, spreading its light across the floor and furniture. It is something I look forward to it each day. Depending on the time of year also determines the length of time I get to enjoy it.
Relationships have become a vital learning experience in my life over the past 20 plus years. I am learning how to improve them, how to nurture them and how to build relationships with others who are different from me. I am learning to embrace relationships I would not expect to have, such as all my baristas. I am learning to repair damaged and broken relationships. And with the advent of the internet I’m also learning to embrace virtual relationships. I must also include the relationship I have with God, this unknown HIgher Power, that something I cannot define or comprehend, as well as a renewed relationship with all of creation. And, I am learning to be someone healthy in a relationship. As this year comes to a close I find I have a grateful heart for the gift of relationships in the year.
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My Wishes for You…
When we live as if everything is sacred, which it is if you really think about it, we relate to the things in our environment in a much more responsible way.
Jane ReichholdNot sure I can adequately list all that I wish for you but here is a short one… Wishing you oodles of joy, happiness, peace, good health, Dove’s chocolates, the miraculous gifts of each new day (sunrises, sunsets, rainbows, butterflies), a heart bursting with love and hope, a heart of gratitude, family times, new adventures, DQ Blizzards (at least the small size), the gift of the songbirds morning canticle, innumerable hugs, moments of silence and stillness, listening to your inner voice or the sound of the wind or the quiet voice of silence, more time with nature, a book or poem that nurtures your heart and soul, the lyrics of a new or an old song that touches you at some new and deep level, new friends, times of quiet prayer and meditation, and to live as if everything is sacred!!! ❤️
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Our Individuality
A morning walk after a light snowfall at Blendon Woods (Ohio) – 2009 “Really all we have to offer the world is the gift of our individuality. We can never be just like any other person. Our journey through life is an extremely personal contribution to the work of being human.”
Jane ReichholdIt’s Christmas Eve. Weather app suggested snow overnight but we awoke to overcast skies and a cold north wind but no snow. After my quiet-time I made my way to Mugs in Old Town for some journaling and a mocha. Met a young woman who is an artist and storyteller. I truly do like her work and the idea of storytelling. Her website is called Twelve Little Tales. Faye you may want to checkout some of her watercolors.
What struck me about her was the passion she had for her art, and storytelling, and her energy to offer her gifts to the world. She epitomizes what Jane Reichhold says in her quote. She illustrates the individuality we are all given, our passion, that spark to create and give to this world. I found it exciting! When we choose to not be like other people and are able to let go of the voices of society attempting to tell us what and who are, let go of our self-doubts and fears, we find the gift of our individuality. Thank you Marna for sharing your gifts!
The above image was taken in 2009 while I was living briefly in Columbus, Ohio. I was blessed to live near a wonderful area that was a part of the Metro Parks in Columbus called Blendon Woods. Hoping you all have a wonderful Christmas with family!!! 🌲 🎅 Not sure about you but it’s now time to binge on food.
