This beautiful field of sunflowers is now a high school with a huge parking lot, three baseball fields, a half dozen tennis courts, and a massive football stadium. And, directly behind me is over a mile of houses (Starting in the low $400s the signs say). Along with the houses comes buried sewer lines, water lines, gas lines, electrical lines, paved streets, concrete sidewalks, all required infrastructure needing years of constant maintenance against nature’s attempt to reclaim it’s world. And there’s a quick stop place for our gas guzzling cars and to purchase unhealthy foods. For such a large area it would be almost impossible to actually touch the earth as most of it is covered with concrete and asphalt.. The farmer that previously owned this field would alternate the sunflowers with onions yearly. Personally, I preferred the sunflowers over the onions but I will take the onions over what is now there. Saturday morning on my way to meet Eric for coffee I realized how much I miss those sunflowers, even the onions.
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The Voice
There is a voice inside of you
Shel Silverstein
That whispers all day long,
“I feel this is right for me,
I know that this is wrong.”
No teacher, preacher, parent, friend
Or wise man can decide
What’s right for you–just listen to
The voice that speaks inside. -
He Inspires Me
I attended a wonderful program last night at CSU. A friend and fellow coffee shop regular, John Barnhardt, told his story of his 27 years as a cinematographer. He shared how he has wanted to make movies since he was about 9 years old. Through hard work and dedication he has/is achieving that dream, which includes winning an Emmy for some of his work. I was impressed with his openness and his vulnerability in telling his a story. I left inspired by his story, the journey he has taken, the challenges he has faced, developing his talents and gifts as a photographer and cinematographer, and how he inspires the students at CSU to believe in themselves and work towards their passions, finding their purpose, and offering their creativity to the world. I encourage you to check out his website.
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morning’s delight…
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To be nobody-but-yourself…
A poet is somebody who feels, and who expresses his feelings through words.
E. E. Cummings
This may sound easy. It isn’t.
A lot of people think or believe or know they feel — but that’s thinking or believing or knowing; not feeling. And poetry is feeling — not knowing or believing or thinking.
Almost anybody can learn to think or believe or know, but not a single human being can be taught to feel. Why? Because whenever you think or you believe or you know, you’re a lot of other people: but the moment you feel, you’re nobody-but-yourself.
To be nobody-but-yourself — in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else — means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting. -
Storm Clouds
Breathe in, breathe out,
Julia Fehrenbacher
breathe until you feel your bigness,
until the sun rises in your veins.
Breathe until you stop needing
anything to be different.I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
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Embrace living…
Life isn’t something you leave home to do. It’s what you accomplish within the walls of your haven. That’s what allows you to greet the world with an open heart and reach out and embrace living in all its richness, variety, and staggering wonder.
Richard Wagamese, EmbersOne way for me to greet the world with an open heart, then reach out and embrace living in all its richness, is setting aside time to put pen to paper in my journals. I find it a great way to begin the new day, as well as end the day, while staying in this present moment. Hope you had a good day and I hope you stagger in wonder tomorrow!!
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Only the meadow remains…
In the early morning hours
mws
I sit in silence with the meadow and
allow her to embrace me.
I share the dawn of this new day
while listening to the owl’s cry
echo through the meadow.
This shared intimacy with the meadow
has a way of giving birth to new life
in the ground of my being.
… I am, therefore, never the same!
And, I hear in this sacred place
an unspoken invitation to return again
each time bringing an awareness that
each short visit is but a passing moment.
So, whenever and while I still can
I will sit with the meadow
until only the meadow remains.1This was inspired from a poem written by Li Po (Zazen on Ching-t’ing Mountain) in the book Poetry of Presence: An Anthology of Mindfulness Poems.