My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and the mystery of it all.
This robin was quite busy as it made several trips gathering worms a couple days ago. I never saw them fly away without a beak full of worms so I assume there was a nest nearby with hungry nestlings. I am heading out to have brunch with my youngest grandson at a place called Snooze. Enjoy your Sunday.
Instead of bracing yourself for the perils of the unknown,
Michelle D. Rosado
embrace the joy that is here, in your present moment.
Enjoying a mocha latte and journaling is one of my ways to stay in the moment. And, at the moment, it is 90 degrees here.
No writing on the solitary, meditative dimensions of life can say anything that has not already been said better by the wind in the pine trees…or the silence and peace that is “heard” when the rain wanders freely among the hills and forests. But what can the wind say where there is no hearer?
Thomas Merton, THOUGHTS ON SOLITUDE
So maybe our task is to be present and listen or what Merton refers to as the hearer.
I fear that future generations will judge us harshly for our failure to place proper value on wildness, diversity, open space, spirit, solitude, and other treasures of the natural world still available to us today. May they at least know that some of us tried.
Guy Tal
I am grateful this community I live in has placed value on the wildness of nature and have established several Natural Areas that are set aside as treasures. I am thankful no wealthy developer will be able to destroy the beauty of this morning sunrise scene. My prayer today is that everyone, including rich developers, will come to see the beauty and priceless value of this sunrise as a gift for all of us without a monetary value. And, I need to know I was one of those who tried.
When you decide to walk the path of the mystic,
Mirabai Starr
the mundane shows up as miraculous,
the boring becomes fascinating,
and your own shortcomings
turn out to be your greatest gifts.
On my way to the library today I turned too soon and found myself in the Dairy Queen parking lot. Being the wise old geezer I am, and not wasting the opportunity, I bought and ate a mini Butterfinger Blizzard, my mom’s flavorite. After the deed was done I did find my way out of the parking lot, made it to the library and got in some journaling time. As I left the library a large thunderhead, a towering cumulonimbus cloud, was sitting out over the eastern plains in all it beauty. These clouds were providing some much needed moisture around the Pawnee Grasslands. So I grabbed a shot of the thunderhead cloud as I was pulling out of the parking lot. May you have a wonderful weekend and be safe!
I have been spending more time at Harmony Library to hang around the books and because I find it a good place to journal and people watch. There are several people who come in the afternoon to read the wide selection of newspapers and periodicals the library carries. They will get a coffee at the shop outside the library in the lobby then find their place inside. I spent some time there this afternoon and took this image. It is edited with the Jetpack image editor. I hope you are enjoying your day!
Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.
Desmond Tutu
I hope everyone had an enjoyable long weekend. I stayed out of trouble except for over indulging in food.
“Never has America lost a war … But name, if you can, the last peace the United States won. Victory yes, but this country has never made a successful peace because peace requires exchanging ideas, concepts, thoughts, and recognizing the fact that two distinct systems of life can exist together without conflict. Consider how quickly America seems to be facing its allies of one war as new enemies.”
Vine Deloria Jr.
May you enjoy this extended weekend with family and loved ones.
“I believe that reading and writing are the most nourishing forms of meditation anyone has so far found. By reading the writings of the most interesting minds in history, we meditate with our own minds and theirs as well. This to me is a miracle.”
Kurt Vonnegut