An online journal sharing my interests in photography, nature, coffee life, journaling, fountain pens, spirituality and asking deep questions.
After quiet time, prayer and meditation,
I made a french press of coffee, Heaven’s Blend
by name, then moved outside to sit in the sun.
In the warmth I read from Rilke’s Book of Hours,
and journaled thoughts. I focused on listening to
the sounds of nature, birds, wind, as their words
seem to soothe, heal and nurture me with a balm
rather than the pain brought on by the world’s news.
I think Gratitude is the word for this day.
Had a dusting of snow late yesterday then fog and a heavy frost early this morning. Things were white and sparkling in the sun when all covered with frost and snow. The air was sparkling with ice crystals. These frost crystals about a have inch long.The beauty of a Winter Wonderland.
“But no matter the medicinal virtues of being a true friend or sustaining a long close relationship with another, the ultimate touchstone of friendship is not improvement, neither of the other nor of the self, the ultimate touchstone is witness, the privilege of having been seen by someone and the equal privilege of being granted the sight of the essence of another, to have walked with them and to have believed in them, and sometimes just to have accompanied them for however brief a span, on a journey impossible to accomplish alone.” David Whyte
“Wisdom is knowledge deepened by love. The wise person knows more deeply by way of love than by way of argument because the eye of the heart can see the truth of reality. Hence the wise person is one who knows and sees God shining through everything, even what seems ugly or despised.” Ilia Delio
They are predicting snow for us beginning tonight or tomorrow and into Tuesday morning. Seems strange as we are at 71 degrees today. Anyway, I need to prepare for the cold and snow like my dad does, “… stock up on the chocolate and peanut butter and everything will be okay.” Done! As long as I’m stocked then I’ll take the beauty of a snowfall but let’s keep it under 3 inches.
“Life’s too short to wake up with regrets. So love the people who treat you right, forgive the ones who don’t and believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said it’d be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.” -Dr. Seuss
My sister and I are flying to Phoenix next Tuesday to spend Thanksgiving with my parents. Mom just turned 88 and dad will be 91 in January. They still live alone but we do see the decline in activity. We have been doing this for the past 5-6 years. We are enjoying as much time with them as we can.
As the days and nights get colder, nature brings its winter palette and paints with crystal brushes. It starts on the edges of leaves and works from there. The scientist asks why and tells us frost is water vapor, or water in gas form, that becomes solid. But I, and hopefully you, know that it’s really nature just making art for us to enjoy. I know asking why is important but so is the act of seeing the awe and wonder of natures beauty!
We had a light dusting of snow during the night and have a temperature of 27 degrees. Stay warm