My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and asking deep questions.
To be alive and walk on the Earth is a miracle, and yet most of us are running as if there was some better place to get to. There is beauty calling to us every day, every hour, but we are rarely in a position to listen.
Thich Nhat Hanh
I can easily find myself running, sometimes unaware of the direction I’m running. Often times it’s driven by fear, worry, fatigue, anger, running late, and not surprisingly, influenced by our highly driven society. I have a few of ways to slow down. One is to journal. Another is time in nature. Prayer and meditation time is another. As I think about that I realize they allow me to see more of the beauty in this world. Enjoy your Monday!
“Because I was watching for miracles on an epic scale, I didn’t recognize the small wonders that were occurring every day.”
Spiritual Awakenings, Journeys of the Spirit
I began this day watching the sunrise at Pineridge Natural Area, always a good start to any day. I am amazed at this life I am living. It is nothing like I would have imagined. All of life’s experiences have led to this time and place. I am so grateful today! May we all look for each small wonder as a spiritual awakening!
“… the very fact that anything exists is supernatural—literally beyond the rules of the natural world… the true miracle is existence itself.”
A cold Sunday morning. The numbers on my car dashboard said it was 14 degrees at about 6:47 am. I’m back home after getting my chai latte fix and my beautiful barista fix. This day is starting out good. Now to clean my lens.
I do not consider myself a philosopher. However, I do have a tendency to lean towards asking a philosophical question once in a while. For example, there have been those moments in my life when I am overwhelmed with the of beauty and existence of the world around me, all of it, and questions arise. Why am I here? Why are we all here? How can that bird sing like that? Why can’t I see the wind and not just the effects of the wind? Why do I breathe without even knowing why or thinking about it? Maybe that philosopher within me is what enjoys finding and asking the questions but not necessarily wanting an answer. Or, maybe the deepest and more important question is to ask myself to look for all the miracles around me, notice them, stand in awe of them, find gratitude in them. They do exist! Anyway, it is a miracle that we are all here, that we exist! If you got something from my confusing ramblings, great. If not then forget what you just read and have a wonderful Sunday!
““People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child—our own two eyes. All is a miracle.”
Thich Nhat Hanh
It is so easy for us in our society to miss the miracles, big and small. For some there is no concept they exist. Wonder how many of us would we see the miracles if we put down our smartphones?
Have you ever just reached out and touched a tree trunk, stopped to touch a leaf or knelt down to just observe a fallen leaf or a broken branch? Have you spent time just looking as intently and as closely as possible? The more time I spend in nature the more I am fascinated with trees whether it is a grove of aspens, poplars along a river bank or a cottonwood standing alone on the horizon. So, my answer to those questions, yes.
As a young boy visiting relatives in the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles, my cousins and I would go fishing for catfish down on one the creeks. It always seemed like more fun to explore the creek than sit on the bank and watch a red and white bobber float on the muddy water. I ran through the fields catching grasshoppers. I climbed the trees along the creek banks and when tired laid down in the shade they offered. Fond memories for me.
Trees are one of the almost endless miracles of nature. There are unsupported statements that the cottonwood tree dates back to the Cretaceous Period, about 145 million years ago and possibly to the Jurassic Period – 200 million years ago. Makes our lifetime miniscule. I was taught to respect our elders and as I move more towards being an elder myself I grow in my respect for nature as one of my elders.
