• clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  quotes

    Our Gifts and Needs

    When we arrive on earth, we are provided with no map for our life journey. Only gradually, as our identity forms and we get an inkling of who we are, do possibilities begin to emerge that call us. It is one of the weightiest decisions: to decide what to do with our life. The challenge is to find a way of life that will be in harmony with our gifts and needs.

    John O’Donohue

    Today’s life journey started with prayer and meditation then moved on to include time at Pineridge Natural Area. The stunning clouds had a softness to them where I wanted to reach out and touch them. There was also a hint of pink in them when I first arrived. The quiet over the meadow was only broken when the blackbirds would sing along the shallows of the reservoir. I was given a special gift as a break in the clouds allowed the sun to send a ray of sunlight upon the earth. I have a crockpot of cabbage and sausage cooking, enjoyed a mocha latte and a barista smile! Who knows, maybe a nap later. Enjoy your day’s journey!

  • Avian,  landscape,  meadowlark,  poems

    For Solitude

    A meadowlark perched on the fence sings from the light of its soul

    May you recognize in your life the presence,
    power and light of your soul.

    May you realize that you are never alone,
    that your soul in its brightness and belonging
    connects you intimately with the rhythm of the
    universe.

    May you have respect for your own individuality and
    difference.

    May you realize that the shape of your soul is
    unique, that you have a special destiny here,
    that behind the facade of your life
    there is something beautiful and eternal happening.

    May you learn to see your self
    with the same delight,
    pride, and expectation
    with which God sees you in every moment.

    John O’Donohue from “To Bless the Space Between Us”
  • Avian,  meadowlark,  quotes

    The Quiet Miracles

    Take time to see the quiet miracles that seek no attention.

    John O’Donohue

    Clear skies and sunshine this morning in Colorado. Listening to the meadowlarks send their songs across the open meadow, urging us to seek the quiet miracles all around us.

  • coffee life,  People/Portraits,  quotes

    The Artist

    Behind the facade of image and distraction, each person is an artist in this primal and inescapable sense. Each one of us is doomed and privileged to be an inner artist who carries and shapes a unique world.

    John O’Donohue

    Baristas are artists. As artists they are a part of the creation of our day because when we walk into a coffee shop, they greet us by name and then provide the drink we want. I consider them an artist because they can make a latte, while carrying on an intelligent conversation with us at the same time. They are artists because of their craft and skill in creating latte art from the crema of steamed milk: the heart or the rosetta with many leafs. I’ve even found myself not wanting to drink my latte and mess up their creation. And as we get to know each other, we get to see that inner beauty in each one of them, the person they are becoming and gift they are to the world. Go ahead, try and tell me that Keera’s smile is not a work of art.

  • clouds,  landscape,  quotes,  sunrises

    Dawn is the ultimate surprise…

    In our mediocrity and distraction, we forget that we are privileged to live in a wondrous universe. Each day, the dawn unveils the mystery of this universe. Dawn is the ultimate surprise; it awakens us to the immense “thereness” of nature. The wonderful subtle color of the universe arises to clothe everything.

    John O’Donohue
  • landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  quotes

    A beginning…

    A beginning is ultimately an invitation to open towards the gifts and growth that are stored for us. To refuse to begin can be an act of great self-neglect.

    John O’Donohue

    After quiet time at home I started a crock pot of vegetable soup. Then enjoyed an early morning mocha made by Hannah. Was able to get in some reading and journaling before meeting Mark for breakfast. Hannah and I both agreed she did a good job with her latte art and improving each day. Believe they call it practice. Christmas was good this year. Spent time with family and friends and those who are both. Not sure how you faired but I over indulged in food consumption, enjoyed myself while consuming though but paid the price. So, I was miserable later in the evening, both Christmas eve and day.

    John O’Donohue’s quote says a lot in those two short sentences. We are quickly closing in on the end of the year which means a beginning of a new year. What will it hold? Reflecting on this past year I am grateful to have had both gifts and growth. I’m now wondering what gifts and growth will we encounter this year? Maybe lots of both.

    This is a five image handheld panorama of Dixon Reservoir this morning about 10:30 am. The high winds over the past 48 hours have moved all the smog and crud sitting along the Front Range out to Kansas and beyond. And it still blows. Sure makes things look bright and clear. Going for a walk!!

  • journaling,  quotes,  Self-portraits,  writing/reading

    Give it now…

    One of the things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right away, every time. Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now. The impulse to save something good for a better place later is the signal to spend it now. Something more will arise for later, something better. These things fill from behind, from beneath, like well water. Similarly, the impulse to keep to yourself what you have learned is not only shameful, it is destructive. Anything you do not give freely and abundantly becomes lost to you. You open your safe and find ashes.

    Annie Dillard, The Writing Life

    As I was journaling at Mugs yesterday morning i noticed the lighting was perfect for a photo that symbolizes my journaling. So I asked one my barista, to take this image. Jess volunteered and this what she gave me. I like it.

    I’ve journaled for years and feel that the past five years have been the most productive. I don’t mean that in quantity but in the quality of my writing. Every time I put pen to paper I find unexpected words. I’ve uncovered truths and lies I’ve told myself for years. My journals have help me dig deeper into my soul helpsing me to know myself more while hopefully being a better human being. I am learning to put into words how I see the gift of this natural world I live in. I also am learning to put into words the gift of this inner landscape of myself.

    Finishing up laundry then some reading, walking and photography. It is overcast but warm.