My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and asking deep questions.
There’s a difference between seeing something and beholding it.
Martin Shaw
The sun shines, the wind blows, the leaves on the trees dance wildly, robins sing happily, squirrels chase one another, a flotilla of pelicans float on the reservoir, and white clouds drift across the blue sky. There is so much beauty around us to see and behold. They all grab my attention, maybe even calling to me. I hope you had a wonderful Friday and may you have a wonderful weekend!!!
I spent part of late yesterday afternoon at the CSU Flower Trial Gardens. With my camera and tripod I meandered around for awhile. It is still early in the season so they do not have much planted. And, even though it was a beautiful day there were not many people there. But, I left with the hope of what is to come and the desire to spend more time there this summer. It is not that far of a bicycle ride and there will always be little gems to find. And for me there is also a gift that flowers offer with their beauty, peace and silence. And in today’s competitive world more time among Creation’s gifts is needed for the spirit.
“A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it. It just blooms.”
Koshin Ogui
When we focus our attention on our breath,
Thich Nhat Hanh
we find out very quickly that we are a living reality,
present here and now,
sitting on this beautiful planet Earth.
It may be a product of getting older
Steven Charleston, Spirit Wheel
But sometimes I want to stop time.
I want to make the sunsets last just a little longer.
I want the quiet mornings to go on and on
The laughter at the dinner table
To stretch out into a whole evening
The beauty of the clouds as they race
Across the valley to never end.
It is not that I want to freeze reality, just slow it down.
I want life to move as slowly as I do.
For I have learned that life moves far too fast as it is.
It is a joy that endures but briefly
Made of moments that pass as quickly as hummingbirds.
Let me linger in the love I feel.
Let me see the light for as long as I can.
I stopped on my ride this evening because these daisies caught my eye. However, I was not the only one interested in the daisies as this bee busily flitted from flower to flower. So busy in fact, I never got a good infocus shot. Oh well. I watched and lingered and loved the moment.
“Don’t just do something. Stand there.”
Daniel Berrigan
I like this saying because for too many years I thought it was more important to do something than to stand there and take it all in. Have a wonderful Sunday!!
“Re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul and your very flesh shall be a great poem.”
Walt Whitman
And why not? How many of us will or have said I’m an engineer, a doctor, a salesman, a photographer, a Buddhist, a poet. Or worse yet? How many of us are told that we’re a sinner, or stupid, or too short, or worthless, and believed it. Maybe Whitman’s right, we will be a great poem or even prayer or maybe a saint, when we listen to the voice of our own soul.
Overcast skies on this Sunday morning provided beautiful diffused light, perfect for flowers. This light enticed me to stop at the CSU Flower Trial Gardens on the way home from coffee. I grabbed my camera and walked among the beauty of nature’s newest creations. At times I can almost be overwhelmed by the colors and those smiling faces of so many flowers. I was not the only one enjoying them. Bees excitedly buried their bodies in each face, then moved on the next face. I was also joined by a few early risers with coffee in hand strolling among these smiling faces. Needless to say I left with a smile on my face! Have a wonderful Sunday!
The mystery and magic of being an individual is to live life in response to the deep call within, the call to become who we were dreamed to be.
John O’Donohue
Another 90 degree day in Colorado. This quote is an invitation for some deep philosophical commentary but I can’t seem to find the words. So, I’ll just share with you that my lab tests came back negative and I’m not pregnant!! 
Next colonoscopy in 5 years. Stay cool!!!