A Good Day to be Happy

Happy

Halloween

Just a Few Colors Remain

Gone Missing

                                                                            
                                                                        missing

                                                                    a part of me
                                             
                                                                        missing

                                                                            you  

Empty Chair Empty Road Empty Promises

We Are All Connected

 

 

Aesthetic Enjoyment

  Art is the imposing of pattern on experience, and our aesthetic enjoyment is recognition of the pattern.

— Alfred North Whitehead,
           
                  The primary purpose of all art forms, whether it’s music, literature, or the visual arts, is to say something to the outside world; in other words, to make a personal thought, a striking idea, an inner emotion perceptible to other people’s senses in such a way that there is no uncertainty about the maker’s intentions. This is why hex signs on barns and other structures has and is so very fascinating. They are uniquely an American art form and best know work of the German and Pennsylvania Dutch communities. It is with these signs that farmers sought the fortune of earth, wind, sun, and rain, favorable to the farming communities in which they lived. It seems that the rest of us are benefactors of the beauty and history of the unique and compelling designs that have originated from the cultures that make American a truly amazing place to live. The above image was taken on a beautiful fall afternoon in Madison County.

From Light to Light

The grave is but a covered bridge 

leading from light to light 

 through a brief darkness...

 

connects life to consciousness 

 

which unites the two together 

                                                            Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Windsong

I saw them

dancing in the ditches

and wondered

at the rhythm in the

windsong

that they heard

 

and the song was of the heart

Change is Growth

light...color... 

shadow..growth...

 

change...death...

all are life ingredients

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seasonal Gifts

 

 

  Fall is such a glorious season ablaze with color, warm days, and fun pumpkin cookies to go along with a favorite cup of spiced tea or a pumpkin latte.
  It is a time of year that just being alive and taking in the gifts that we are sent on a daily basis is such a privilege. One of my favorite quotes comes from Ecclesiastes which says, "To every thing there is a season, and to every time a purpose......"  Now is that season with more glorious ones to look forward to bringing joy, hope beauty, and a sense of anticipation for what is to come. Each season has its own unfolding of beginning and end which parallels our own seasons along the path of life . A journey that has  ebb and flow. With new beginnings and sad endings. Like nature from beautiful colors, to the bareness of landscapes. All of this beckons us to come along live, partake, laugh, cry and yet  there's One whose gently holding hands this universal falling can't fall through.

Drawn to What You Love

let yourself be silently drawn
by the strange pull of what you really love.
it will not lead you astray.
-rumi-

 

Leaves of Hope

may

hope's gentle

breeze

open softly

your heart to

dreams

veiled

by grace

: : :
hope

is the dream

of a soul

awake

French Proverb

All Things Living

"All things are living, even stones.
It has to be that way;
energy pulsates from their bodies,
since all are part
of the Omnipresent Living Being.

Everything is holding out their hands,
offering something.

How much easier
the world would be to live in
if we were as kind
and accepted all."

-- Hafiz

Marks of Time

 

We do love things that bear marks of grime, soot, and weather, and we love colors and sheen that call to mind the past that made them. This is the love for Wabi Sabi.

Tanizaki Junichino



Message on a Wall

           The above image was taken at the site of the Alfred P. Murrah Building which was the site of a domestic terror attack on April, 19th 1995. What has really changed with the above message that was written seventeen years ago? America is still seeking justice in many ways. The courts require it, but there are terrorists that have not been brought to justice since 9/11.
          With recent attacks in Lybia, where was the justice then for those four unprotected Americans? Protection of American officials and American grounds is vital if America is to remain strong.  There are many victims of terror that are still crying out for what was done. Will the courts have the resolve and strength to find vindication? Or will it take another seventeen years or longer for the courts to require it, and the victims to stop crying? None of the lines are precise. The boundaries are not clear. Goals are not agreed upon. Means are in constant dispute...At the end of the day -- or the week, or the year -- there is no agreement on who has won and who has lost. And, of course, bad behavior is not always punished, nor is outstanding performance always recognized or applauded. So in the discourse of life, we will still continue to live in a country that wants freedom, justice, and truth in which many of us,as Americans, advocate what team 5 is saying on the side of this building. I still believe that many Americans are guided by hope and the ability to see that America is the greatest place on earth.

Taste and See

 

 

 

 

 

 

"We taste and feel and see the truth. We do not reason ourselves into it."

William Butler Yeats

**********

Taste and see that the Lord is good

Psalm 34.8

Enjoying Fall

Erie,Colorado amazing man made pumpkin sitting

on top of a silo. This pumpkin can be seen for miles

away, a good landmark. This place is a fun family fall

outing. Everything that is glorious about fall.

 

 

"Autumn is the mellower season, and what we lose in flowers we more than gain in fruits."                 Samuel Butler

 

 

There are so many reasons to enjoy fall! 

 

Family, friends, fellowship,forgiveness, faith 

May your fall adventures be beautiful,

enjoying all the gifts our earth holds. 

Resonating with Grace

 

   

    Invite yourself to stop, to look behind the surface, to see that there is more to the picture -- and so much more to life -- than what is immediately apparent. I'd like to think that when we take the time to look more deeply we'll discover the beauty that wells up out of mystery, and will find it resonates with the mystery which lies within each of us. Perhaps a few experiences of that will help to lessen the unpredictable other-ness. The beauty of the snow on the Rockies, the aspen, and evergreen invite us to look deeper into the mystery, and dwell in that presence basking in the silence and beauty that stands before us, finding that place for indwelling and blessings that are given to us each day. And always remembering to say
                                                     Thank You.

Aspen Blessings

What do the tall trees say to the late havoc in the sky?

They sigh. The air moves, and the trees sway. When the 

breeze on the hill is still, then they stand still. They wait.

They have no fear. Their fate is faith. Birdsong is all they've

wanted, all along.

    



You come gradually to understand that the key to blessing things is knowing that they beat you to it. The key to blessing things is to receive their blessing. One does not always have to use eloquent words. Sometimes it is enough to see the world through a  tree's eyes.