Winter Joys

Look at the trees, look at the birds, look at the clouds, look at the stars-and if you have eyes you will be able to see that the whole existence is joyful.

Rajneesh

A tree standing alone on the edge of a dormant field of tall grass

A red bellied woodpecker hanging on the feeder

Give food to the birds, you will then be surrounded by the wings of love, you will be encompassed by the joys of little silent hearts!

Mehmet Murat Ildan

a tufted titmouse holds a seed

Robins wintering in an old apple orchard

I caught a glimpse of happiness, and saw it was a bird on a branch, fixing to take wing.

Richard Peck

Crows chatting and cawing in the treetops

The perfection of an empty nest

I spent my last week in Michigan (for a few months) feeling sad that I had to leave. I had some major technical problems this week, but I still wanted to share some of the pictures I took at home and in my neighborhood before I left for Miami.

Hope you had a wonderful week. Thank you for being here.

Fragility

nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals the power of your intense fragility

e. e. cummings

The Doe

She was running blissfully

alongside me, when suddenly

she switched direction -

toward the road where that truck

was moving fast on the other side.

I screamed.

I covered my face,

trying not to know,

but I heard the thump

Of her body

against the grill

and I saw it

Slide across the road

Then twitch. and go still.

I went to her

and looked into her eyes

Just as the light of consciousness

went dark.

Deer are so strong. They are out surviving in weather that would freeze our bones - but this week I was reminded once again how fragile they are, how fragile we all are.

I was really sad and shocked to see the little doe die this week while I was out running, but grateful that it was quick. The driver of the truck stopped to make sure I was ok before he pulled her body off the road and said some kind words over her. We shared this inexplicably tender experience of letting her go for just one moment, then surreally went on with what we were doing before the accident. I finished my run. He kept driving.

The experience has made me even a little more appreciative of the deer that live around me and the fragility of their and all of our lives.

A buck at the edge of my lawn, standing still and staring straight at me-

even when a doe walked in front of him, he didn’t break eye contact.

The waning moon, haloed in its own light on the night of my birthday. I have remembered my own fragility and mortality this week, but also the great good fortune of having a life I love.

Even in our best shape we are a brittle piece of mortality. Your life is a breath, don't waste it.

LeCrae

I am grateful that you are here with me on this journey, friends. Hope all is well with you. See you next week.

Sacred Steps

As you walk upon the sacred earth, treat each step as a prayer.

Black Elk

Requiem

A fallen grey feather

caught by stone,

stretched over stone,

its gull long gone.

There is so much beautiful detail in a single feather

View fullsize

A little limb reached out over my path, beads of rain glistening along its length

A nearly heart-shaped puddle in the road, reflected skeletal treetops

On Christmas eve morning in the fog, trees that normally would be lost in the backdrop of the woods, came into sharper focus

Bright red berries on a thorny branch asserted their presence.

Dried and twisted blossoms were frozen in time - as if a storm passed and they remained where the wind blew them.

Viburnum berries hung from a bare branch - ripe for a hungry bird.

Something opens our wings. Something makes boredom and hurt disappear. Someone fills the cup in front of us: We taste only sacredness.

Rumi

A mood of reverence came over me this week, giving everything I saw so much significance. I hope the pictures convey what I felt. These are gifts that I am so grateful for.

Thank you for being here.

I hope your holidays are full of love, joy, and wonder. See you next year!