Hands

Children are the hands by which we take hold of heaven. ~ Henry Ward Beecher

I’ve been sorting through photos today since my computer is good for little else right now. This semi-break from the internet has given me a chance to finally clean up and organize the many photographs I saved. I’m not even sure why I saved a good percentage of them.

I have tons of photos of my granddaughter, many of which are not very good. Why do I save the blurry, the messy, and the half-way shots of her? I don’t know. Perhaps it’s because I don’t see her as often as I’d like and so I store up every little piece of her I can, to visit whenever I want.

My hands have been busy this weekend. I’ve been cooking, cleaning, unpacking from our trip home, sorting, painting and drawing. All in all, it’s been a very productive time, this time I’ve had to myself. Still, I’m looking forward to my husband’s return tomorrow. I feel odd when he’s away, as if a large part of me is missing. A piece of my soul, maybe. Certainly my heart.

It’ll be good to have him home again because, really, it isn’t home without him. In a sense, he is home to me.

Another visit to World Prayers

Spinning the prayer wheel at World Prayers, this is what I received as today’s gift:

I invite you to enter for a moment
into Sacred Time and Space,
into a way of seeing that is broad and spacious.
See this Day, from the time you arose this morning
until you sleep this evening, as one Ceremony,
divided into small and familiar rituals,
your Heart as the Altar.
You, part of the Cycles of Light and Darkness.

Now begin to see your Life,
from the moment of your Conception
until the time of your Death
as one long, continuous Ceremony,
filled with many rituals,
some familiar, some unknown and challenging.
Your Home and all Your Relations, the Altar.
You, part of many Seasons and Cycles.

Now see this Ceremony of your Life
as part of a much larger Ceremony that extends
Seven Generations into the Past and Seven into the Future,
made up of many Births and Deaths.
This beautiful spinning Earth the Altar.
You, part of the great Ebb and Flow.

Now, if You will, imagine this larger Ceremony
to be but one part of a Ceremony so grand,
so magnificent as to be hardly comprehensible,
a great, vast Ceremonial Circle, rich and vibrant
with millions upon millions of swirling
Circles of Dancing Light,
and You, one of those Dancing Circles,
a Dancer on the Altar that is the Universe,
where Time is Eternal.

May You Dance In Beauty.

~ Circle Wisdom, Sedonia Cahill

I will carry this with me for the rest of this weekend. I’m on a retreat of sorts, this being the second of four days I have all to myself. I’m spending my time in contemplation and meditation, sorting out some emotions that have been rocking around inside me for a while. I’m also using this time for some much needed time in the gym to continue the physical healing I started a few months ago. There’s been some pain lately. Nothing I can’t mange, but enough to remind me to care for myself in all ways.

For those that noticed, I’m back online earlier than anticipated. I’d forgotten that the Club Room in our apartment building has free access to the computer and the internet. I won’t be able to upload photos.   That’s ok.  It might do me good to have to resort to my own words for a post or two.

Spring has arrived in Sabbaticalville.  After a couple days of rain, the sun has once more decided to grace us with his presence.  I’m going to go outside and enjoy it, get in touch with some of the nature that lives here in this city.

Wednesday Wonders (25 April 07)

(Hidden flowers. Photo by Robin. April 2007)

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, “thank you,” that would suffice. ~Meister Eckhart

My husband and I are heading back to our temporary digs in Sabbaticalville. I have mixed feelings about it. I’m sorry to be leaving home, especially now that Spring has finally arrived. But I’m also enjoying our sabbatical adventures. The time on sabbatical has gone by quickly so far, as has this time at home. One of the things I’m thankful for today is this short hiatus we were able to spend at home. Being at home recharges and renews my spirit.

Which segues nicely into this week’s Wednesday Wonders.

I am grateful for:

• the greening of the trees.
• the first tulips of the season.
• the rhythmic and calming sound of today’s rain showers.
• spending the past three weeks at home in the Bogs.
• a nice cup of green tea with jasmine.
• enjoying the company of my family (husband, sons, daughter-in-law, youngest son’s girlfriend who is quickly becoming a member of our family, and granddaughter) this past weekend.
• being a grandmother.
• all the comforts of home that I don’t have in our temporary quarters in Sabbaticalville.
• time to relax.
• bifocals (couldn’t read without ‘em!).
• my husband’s smile.
• walks around the pond.
• afternoon naps (when needed).
• good books.
• the earthy smell of spring.

This turned out to be a good exercise for me today because, honestly, I am feeling a little down about leaving home again. Making a list of the gifts I’ve been given in life always turns things around.

What are you grateful for this week?

Note:  I’ll be without an internet connection until May 2nd. “See” you next week!

Words to live by

(Storm clouds at sunset. Photo by Robin. April 2007)

Native American Ten Commandments

1. Treat the Earth and all that dwell therein with respect
2. Remain close to the Great Spirit
3. Show great respect for your fellow beings
4. Work together for the benefit of all Mankind
5. Give assistance and kindness wherever needed
6. Do what you know to be right
7. Look after the well-being of Mind and Body
8. Dedicate a share of your efforts to the Greater Good
9. Be truthful and honest at all times
10. Take full responsibility for your actions

 

Beginnings

(Opening. Photo by Robin. April 2007)

Each flower is a soul opening out to nature. ~ Gerald De Nerval

After an April of mostly winter weather, it’s finally warmed up here in the Bogs. The tulips suddenly sprouted from the ground and quickly announced their presence with a show of color. I took this photo in the early morning, before they’d opened up completely.

Plant a tree

(Tree at Breezy Acres. Photo by Robin. April 2007)

When a man plants a tree he plants himself. Every root is an anchor, over which he rests with grateful interest, and becomes sufficiently calm to feel the joy of living. He necessarily makes the acquaintance of the sun and sky. Favorite trees fill his mind, and, while tending them like children, and accepting the benefits they bring, he becomes himself a benefactor. He sees down through the brown common ground teeming with colored fruits, as if it were transparent, and learns to bring them to the surface. What he wills he can raise by true enchantment. With slips and rootlets, his magic wands, they appear at his bidding. These, and the seeds he plants, are his prayers, and, by God he works grander miracles every day than ever were written. ~ John Muir

My husband and I have planted about 200 trees on our property since we bought it. The one pictured above was planted a couple of years ago and is doing well. Even the birds have managed to build small homes in it.

Happy Earth Day!

I think every day is Earth Day in some way or another. That’s what happens when you get outside at least once daily. Take a walk, watch a sunrise or sunset, walk barefoot through the dewy grass, splash in a puddle, watch the clouds float by, let the wind blow through your hair, listen to the birds and frogs, smell a flower, get your hands dirty.

Plant a tree.

Cherry blossoms

(Photo by Robin. April 2006)

Wonderful how completely everything in wild nature fits into us, as if truly part and parent of us. The sun shines not on us but in us. The rivers flow not past, but through us, thrilling, tingling, vibrating every fiber and cell of the substance of our bodies, making them glide and sing. The trees wave and the flowers bloom in our bodies as well as our souls, and every bird song, wind song, and tremendous storm song of the rocks in the heart of the mountains is our song, our very own, and sings our love. ~ John Muir

Last evening’s moon

(April moon. Photo by Robin. 2007)

Last night’s maiden moon moon was shining brightly and beautifully between Venus, the “Evening Star,” and the Pleiades. It was a wonderful and magical sight, floating above the pond and the woods. A great horned owl was out there with me as I took some photos, hooting in the darkness.

It was a marvelous night, the sort of night one only experiences when one is young. The sky was so bright, and there were so many stars that, gazing upwards, one couldn’t help wondering how so many whimsical, wicked people could live under such a sky. This too is a question that would only occur to the young, to the very young; but may God make you wonder like that as often as possible! ~ Dostoevsky, White Nights

Connected

(Canada geese visiting the pond. Photo by Robin. April 2007)

If all the beasts were gone, men would die from a great loneliness of spirit, for whatever happens to the beasts also happens to the man. All things are connected. Whatever befalls the Earth befalls the sons of the Earth. ~Chief Seattle of the Suwamish Tribe, letter to President Franklin Pierce

I know I tend to complain a little about geese settling by the pond. But I have to admit that I do enjoy watching and listening to them even if they are messy visitors.

I’ve often thought that the animals that visit us bring with them some sort of message if we take the time to look and listen. One of my favorite books is Animal Speak by Ted Williams. Since I can’t find my copy at the moment (everything in my life is in a state of flux right now), I did a search and found this website: Goose Medicine.

Wednesday Wonders (18 April 07)

(Night in the Bogs. Photo by Robin. April 2007)

I’m off by a day this week. If you were here earlier today, you may be feeling a little off too, what with me thinking today is Thursday. That’s what happens when you don’t work: You lose track of the days.

Having fixed that error, let’s move along to my Wednesday Wonders.

Some of the little things I am thankful for this week are:

• Finishing up the spring cleaning. It’s been fun, in a way, but I’ll be glad to finish.
• The kingfisher hanging out by the pond.
• The variety of clouds we’ve seen this week.
• Last night’s beautiful sunset.
• Starlight.
• Spending time with my family.
• My health and being pain free.
• A small dish of black raspberry ice cream.
• The sound of my husband’s voice.
• Music to work by.
• The variety of fresh spring scents perfuming the air.
• Moments of stillness.

What are some of the things you are thankful for this week?