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Archive for the category “nature”

07 Nov 2013

falling floating hearts

Trees are the best invention I know of
They are some of the best friends I have
anam cara
– soul friends
Now I have gone and fallen in love,
Yes,
I am having a passionate love affair with a tree
His name is Shaun
meaning –
Yahweh is gracious
This morning we talk over coffee,
I watch him shed his leaves,
all golden and copper coins
filling the earth beneath him,
floating where they will
riches and abundance everywhere.
Mom and Pop Squirrel are having a morning romp in his branches,
as the wind gently blows through his lovely golden crown.
He catches my attention
with a single leaf on a branch
shaped as a heart
waving at me
and then I realize there are dozens (maybe more)
heart shaped leaves hanging at every angle
all over him –
it’s very romantic.
I tell him I love him and always will.
I will be leaving him soon and I will miss him
But we will always be connected
We will both accept
We will both continue to live
And to love each other
We will both continue in our own seasons
hearts freely letting go in love
Each standing in our own place
Weathering storms
Accepting all that comes
Aware and grateful
To our creator
willing vessels in His hands
Until we meet again
as we both kiss the same sky
we both gaze at the same moon
at the very same instant

AL 11/7/13

Posted in awareness, beauty, beloved, Dancing, find art at pinterest, friendship, intimacy, Letting Go, Life, Love, nature, Passion, Relationships, soul and spirit, www.pinterest.com | Leave a comment

03 Nov 2013

the first state of beautiful is upheaval – Ken Gire

All nature’s wildness tells the same story: the shocks and outbursts of earthquakes, volcanoes, geysers, roaring, thundering waves and floods, the silent uprush of sap in plants, storms of every sort, each and all, are the orderly, beauty-making love-beats of Nature’s heart. – John Muir

Posted in action, Adventure, Alone, awareness, beauty, Change, Choice, Faith, find art at pinterest, inspiration, intimacy, nature, soul and spirit, www.pinterest.com | Leave a comment

21 Oct 2013

seasons

Walking among trees being stripped,
the graveyard of colors at my feet,

branches above slowly being robbed,
air chilling, reaching farther into me,

I can’t shake the gentle dread
that something more will be required,

something taken, or outgrown,
requiring a reckoning of grief,

no loss God wants to save me from,
no turning that I want to miss,

a coming free that will not feel like such,
a birth resembling autumn’s lovely death.

I know no other passage through these woods.
The small path reaches out to me.

I feel my breathing, steady, slow and small.
The forest turns around me as I go.

Mist rises from the farm field to the west,
that slowly fills with yellow morning light.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net

Posted in Adventure, attitude, awareness, find art at pinterest, grace, Grieving, Growth, healing, Joy, Letting Go, light, Miracles, mystery, nature, Seasons, soul and spirit, Trust, www.pinterest.com | Leave a comment

04 Oct 2013

curiosity

One day, many years ago,
I realized how little I knew
about life
about the world
about God
about love
about relationships
about nature
about cultures
about people
about learning
about how things work
about myself
about pretty much everything.
Yes, one day the full impact hit me
of how small my understanding
really is,
and it changed my life.
I became aware.
I became aware that I could choose,
even though no one gave me permission.
It hit me – that all the people,
who had told me they had the complete truth,
and so I should just believe them,
couldn’t possibly ALL be right.
I also realized, very importantly, most of them were not people I wanted my life to emulate.
So, maybe, living wasn’t about being right, or perfect.
Maybe life was about being open, learning about each other,
about helping each other.
Maybe love really was about unconditional,
whatever that truly meant.
Maybe life was about trying…
anything…everything
that I found intriguing,
or felt my soul drawn to.
And so I opened myself to this new way
of thinking,
of being,
of seeing.
I became curious.
I became open.
I became dogmatic –
about NOT being dogmatic.
I removed the words,
‘I’m right’ and ‘I can’t’ and ‘impossible’ from my vocabulary.
I fought my automatic judgments….
still one of my biggest daily battles….
I keep making that choice.
I fought to improve only myself,
to forgive myself,
to keep learning the hard way,
it is my choice.
I sought to tell, and live, my ever-evolving truth,
holding that truth lightly in open, adoring hands,
always allowing myself to be wrong without shame,
allowing for changes without despising the learning,
I am ever-so-happy when I make that choice!
I battled to take responsibility
for my thoughts and actions,
Always adjusting, making new choices.
Staying aware.
Being honest.
Making lots of mistakes,
Life is very messy at times.
I’ve lost a lot.
I’ve gained more than I lost.

At some point, along the way,
I became convinced, at least for me,
this was the only way to truly live.
The mystery keeps getting bigger.
I continue to do war with my desire to shut down my heart,
in the face of constant hurts and disappointments.
I keep letting go.
Opening, always opening.
Each step has become a miracle moment.
Each opening leads me to open more.
I have come to see everything is grace.
I have come to understand the extreme value,
of each human soul,
of being vulnerable,
of being human,
of just being.
I have made the commitment to the path of curiosity,
not because I will ever learn it all,
but because I won’t.
Yet, I am aware, that there is infinite learning at my fingertips,
and I want as much as I can get,
to go as high as I can go,
to know as much
of God,
and Mystery,
and life itself,
as I am able.
One day, not very long ago, I found the words of poet, Mary Oliver.
She gives these brilliant life instructions,
pay attention.
be astonished.
tell about it.
Yes, that has been my path.
As Einstein said,
I have no special talents –
I’m just passionately curious.
I add to that:
I have completely fallen in love with life!
I’ve grown fabulously addicted to seeing the holy miracles all around me.
I am so blessed, so full, so grateful!
I can’t help wanting to share
the path of this glorious adventure,
with others who love it too –
and so,
though I’ve been accused of talking too much,
more than a few times, in my life,
I’ll just keep on…
because, I’ve found,
all voices are beautiful –
in their own way.

10/03/13

Posted in action, Adventure, attitude, awareness, Becoming Yourself, Change, Choice, determination, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, Freedom, grace, Gratitude, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, mystery, nature, People, Relationships, soul and spirit | Leave a comment

25 Sep 2013

return

Walking in the woods this morning
I was distracted; my mind wandered
out of the woods, far away from them
and from me. I kept having to return
to the woods, return to this morning,
return to myself. Then I would leave again.

The trees called out to me,
the leaves gently turning fall colors,
the sun reaching its long arms through them
to me, to me walking there,
but I didn’t notice.

But they were still there, weren’t they,
calling to me, reaching out, surrounding me.

Most of the time I don’t notice God
in this world, in the people around me,
in all that is. But God is still there,
calling, reaching out, surrounding.

If we can’t live in holiness all the time
we can remember now and then.
We can return. God is still there,
waiting for us. Each moment
is a return.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net

Posted in action, attitude, awareness, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, Gratitude, moment, nature, Patience, People, soul and spirit, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

22 Sep 2013

a walk in September

Creamy dreamy whites
float in bright, delight blue
I walk in a country-scape
Skyline of tree-scrapers
Staggering my vision
in every variation and shade of green
sun blending with shadows
inspiring new creations within
I walk the welcoming leaf path
to the applause of the gaping trees leaning in close
cheering,
crowding to get a glimpse of me
I enter a magnificent cathedral
lush carpets of leaves underfoot
sunlight streaming through the natural stained glass-like leaf ceiling
ground scattered with acorn-glitter strewn for the party
cool breeze blows my hair back as I make my way
past paparazzi squirrels peering out from behind stump and branch
to get my photo for the upcoming
ET (Evening Twilight) show
there are fresh flower bouquets
flaming the colors of fall fabulous
bushes and trees blazing holy
Everything about me shouts,
We are here and we love it!
Because we do.
There really is nothing better
than a walk in nature
to refresh the soul
and remind me I’m am one with this universe
made of clay and stardust
a superstar
totally accepted
truly beloved

AL 9/21/13

Posted in action, Adventure, beloved, find art at pinterest, Letting Go, Life, Love, nature, Seasons, soul and spirit, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

20 Sep 2013

surrender

Mid-September. The sunrise is getting late, creeping around the side of the house a little farther each day. Garden leaves are curling. A new set of kids are waiting for the bus now. This morning they are finally willing to wear coats. A sheet is draped over the morning glories on the mailbox against the night cold. In the meadow the rising sun lays its yellow fan among the trees, the grass the color of the rising sun. Trees begin to emerge from the solid green of summer into different shades of yellow and ochre, some reds. Here and there a tree goes ahead, a single branch flames out. Overhead a squiggle of geese pass by, schoolgirls chattering on their way south, only at the moment they’re headed east. The Panellis have built a ramp up to their front porch. The flowers in the pot that I broke are doing OK in the new pot I stuck them in, though it’s too small. The old pieces are still lying there, behind the corner of the porch. I need to call my sister. In the early morning the ornamental grasses wear little crowns of light.

Surrender looks different for each of us.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net

Days of wine and focus
of hanging on
of seeking strong
of keeping faith
of sitting still
of being silent
of standing in my own shoes
of letting go
of allowing the mystery
of hearing the call
of accepting what is
of not crossing borders or boundaries
of opening and opening
of trusting the journey
of seeing the face of God
of surrender into something bigger than I can know
of making the daily commitment
of acknowledging the grace
of thanking for everything
of looking for the miracles
of talking to trees
of taking time to prepare
of expressing my love
of helping in time of need
of following my own path
of obedience rather than sacrifice
of taking my shoes off for the holy
of love and love and love
of all things love

AL 9/17/13

Posted in attitude, awareness, Blessing, Choice, courage, find art at pinterest, Freedom, Gratitude, Letting Go, Life, Love, nature, Poetry, Seasons, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

06 Sep 2013

find your green canoe…

Green Canoe
by Jeffrey Harrison

I don’t often get the chance any longer
to go out alone in the green canoe
and, lying in the bottom of the boat,
just drift where the breeze takes me,
down to the other end of the lake
or into some cove without my knowing
because I can’t see anything over
the gunwales but sky as I lie there,
feeling the ribs of the boat as my own,
this floating pod with a body inside it …

also a mind, that drifts among clouds
and the sounds that carry over water—
a flutter of birdsong, a screen door
slamming shut—as well as the usual stuff
that clutters it, but slowed down, opened up,
like the fluff of milkweed tugged
from its husk and floating over the lake,
to be mistaken for mayflies at dusk
by feeding trout, or be carried away
to a place where the seeds might sprout.

http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/

Posted in Adventure, Alone, attitude, awareness, beauty, find art at pinterest, fun, healing, inspiration, Letting Go, mystery, nature, Prayer, quiet, Reflection, Seasons, Solitude, soul and spirit | Leave a comment

01 Sep 2013

time to fall in love

Aimless Love
by Billy Collins

This morning as I walked along the lakeshore,
I fell in love with a wren
and later in the day with a mouse
the cat had dropped under the dining room table.

In the shadows of an autumn evening,
I fell for a seamstress
still at her machine in the tailor’s window,
and later for a bowl of broth,
steam rising like smoke from a naval battle.

This is the best kind of love, I thought,
without recompense, without gifts,
or unkind words, without suspicion,
or silence on the telephone.

The love of the chestnut,
the jazz cap and one hand on the wheel.
No lust, no slam of the door—
the love of the miniature orange tree,
the clean white shirt, the hot evening shower,
the highway that cuts across Florida.

No waiting, no huffiness, or rancor—
just a twinge every now and then

for the wren who had built her nest
on a low branch overhanging the water
and for the dead mouse,
still dressed in its light brown suit.

But my heart is always propped up
in a field on its tripod,
ready for the next arrow.

After I carried the mouse by the tail
to a pile of leaves in the woods,
I found myself standing at the bathroom sink
gazing down affectionately at the soap,

so patient and soluble,
so at home in its pale green soap dish.
I could feel myself falling again
as I felt its turning in my wet hands
and caught the scent of lavender and stone.

The Writer’s Almanac
http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/