Jul 3
“A light wind swept over the corn, and all nature laughed in the sunshine.” – Anne Bronte
“The sun does not shine for a few trees and flowers, but for the wide world’s joy.” – Henry Ward Beecher
Divine
Sacred
Light
Notice
Partake
Breathe
Participate in the beauty of this day.
“When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“There is peace even in the storm.”― Vincent van Gogh
“There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm.” – Willa Cather
The first spring storm swept in last night.
Thick clouds, lightning breaking through.
70 mile an hour winds.
Horizontal rain.
Hail.
Sirens to warn.
Nature has her way, untouched by our control or consternation.
Nothing to do but take shelter.
Observing, waiting, watching.
In both the external and internal storms, taking shelter is often the only thing to do.
Present to what is.
Laying down worry.
Evidence from the past that we’ve made it through before.
No guarantees but hopeful the same.
Calm this morning.
Greener grass, budding trees.
May you weather the storms, new on the other side.
“When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.”― Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore
“The sky is the daily bread of the eyes.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Dance with the waves,
move with the sea.
Let the rhythm of the water
set your soul free.”― Christy Ann Martine
Earth
Sky
In tune
Waves matching clouds
Patterns, rhythm, energy
Enter the ebb and flow
Nature and art meet to create beauty, teach, hold
The eternal dance
“The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures. It is the same life that shoots in joy through the dust of the earth in numberless blades of grass and breaks into tumultuous waves of leaves and flowers.”― Rabindranath Tagore
“Every natural object is a conductor of divinity and only by coming into contact with them… may we be filled with the Holy Ghost.” – John Muir
“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” John Muir
In the flurry and hurry, pause.
In the noise and chaos, pause.
In the chatter and complaining, pause.
In beauty and nature, pause.
In blessings and abundance, pause.
In frustration and impatience, pause.
In observation and awe, pause.
In wonder and exploration, pause.
In play and delight, pause.
In the pause, the inflection, the reflection, power resides.
“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.” – John Muir
“Only from the heart can you touch the sky.” – Rumi
“There is one spectacle grander than the sea, that is the sky; there is one spectacle grander than the sky, that is the interior of the soul.” – Victor Hugo
Beneath the snow.
Behind the clouds.
Below the surface.
Next to the obvious.
Second and third impressions.
Amidst sameness.
Awaken your senses.
Spark your curiosity.
Inquire and explore.
Into deep waters.
Tall sky.
Current.
Height.
Expanse.
Flow.
Vibration.
Light.
Mystery.
Adventure.
Discovery.
Grandeur.
“The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“Never say there is nothing beautiful in the world anymore. There is always something to make you wonder in the shape of a tree, the trembling of a leaf.” – Albert Schweitzer
“Nature is full of genius, full of the divinity; so that not a snowflake escapes its fashioning hand.” – Henry David Thoreau
May you count it all.
Each ring of a tree.
Moments, days, months, years.
Take full measure.
Of beauty, of joy, of laughter, of fun, of delight in ordinary days.
In struggle and loss.
In victory and gain.
A steady state of gratitude.
Growth unfolding slowly but surely.
Allowing time and distance to heal, bind, transform.
In waiting and want.
In discovery and awe.
Whole and parts working in tandem.
Emptied and filled.
Weaving, knitting, joining it all.
Take full measure.
“The universe is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.” – Eden Phillpotts
“If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.” – Loren Eiseley
“Water is the driving force of all nature.” – Leonardo da Vinci
Fire. Ice.
Winter. Spring.
Yin. Yang.
Soft. Strong.
In opposites. In likeness.
Shapes and patterns.
All in one.
One in all.
Contained and held.
“Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it.” – Lao Tzu
“Keep close to Nature’s heart… and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.” – John Muir
“Oh, these vast, calm, measureless mountain days, days in whose light everything seems equally divine, opening a thousand windows to show us God.” – John Muir
Into the woods.
Deep in nature.
Wash your spirit clean.
Swinger of birches.
Bathing in light.
Windows of God.
Go, reclaim yourself.
“I’d like to go by climbing a birch tree
And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk
Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more,
But dipped its top and set me down again.
That would be good both going and coming back.
One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.” ― Robert Frost
“The pine stays green in winter… wisdom in hardship.” – Norman Douglas
“In the storm, like a prophet o’ermaddened,
Thou singest and tossest thy branches;
Thy heart with the terror is gladdened,
Thou forebodest the dread avalanches…
In the calm thou o’erstretchest the valleys
With thine arms, as if blessings imploring,
Like an old king led forth from his palace,
When his people to battle are pouring…”
– James Russell Lowell, To A Pine-Tree
Wander in nature daily.
Breathe in crisp air, expand your lungs, feet kissing earth.
Discover the world in pause, in reverence, in awe.
Written on a pine cone.
In the wind singing in concert with the trees.
Healing balm.
Meditation to uncover and anchor in soul, on the playground of spirit.
“No writing on the solitary, meditative dimensions of life can say anything that has not already been said better by the wind in the pine trees.” – Thomas Merton
Find the green residing quietly in winter.
Inviting you in to enter peace.
Rest hear a while, in renewal and transformation.
“The words of God are not like the oak leaf which dies and falls to the earth, but like the pine tree which stays green forever.” – Mohawk Wisdom
“God is in the details.” – Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
“Space is the breath of art.” – Frank Lloyd Wright
Enter new spaces outside and in.
Let them do work in you.
To settle.
To reignite wonder.
To inspire.
To prompt awe.
Breathe. Study. Love.
In the ordinary details, God awaits to be noticed, invited into each moment.
Already there.
Take notice.
Extend and accept the invitation.
“Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.” – Frank Lloyd Wright
