December 2019

Reverence may take all kinds of forms, depending on what it is that awakens awe in you by reminding you of your true size. Wherever you are, you live in the world, which is just waiting for you to notice the holiness in it. Is it being empty that creates a space and place to fill, again? It has nothing to do with you being gone but then again perhaps everything. Now, this is what I have I think; me. And she isn’t as she’s aspired or inspired to be. The only thing missing is our consent to be where we are. I boil one egg, wash a small blue plate, a gift from an old friend I’d lost, in yet another move, to find home. I’ve borrowed lines, in italics, from the book An Altar in the World, by Barbara Brown Taylor, as her words crack my heart and world wider open. I’m hoping the same for you. xo

May we all remember in this time of new darkness

that the light shines from within. 

May we hold our loved ones close. 

Let's try not to tell anyone else how or who or what 

they might be able to do or be to live more wholly or holy. 

Let's trust in trust.

Listen to our own hearts and be amazed at what they do for and with us. 

Let's go gently into a new time. 

xo

October is proving itself to be quite the show-off! 

Great light and shadows, wonderful skies and temperatures.

Our morning walks help settle us. 

Each place I've lived I've been amazed by beauty and community, 

by the very fact that as each day opens so do I.

They can be a great help ~ these moments of great silence

to drop down into your own well xo

September 1, 2019

Fragments, slivers, shards—tiny pieces holding cracks together.

Last night when the vase that had traveled with you from New Mexico

hit the floor I held my breath.

And a lost breath is just this.

You placed the small green vessel back on the shelf

and went about your business.

I stood, longer, looking at the place it had landed,

wondered if there’d be a soft spot waiting for me when I fell?

The shelf is over-crowded;

a reminder of the way I live.

I say I want to thin out, simplify.

I want this.

Then I look at small reminders ~ of what?

Other times, other people?

Precious things of worth? Is this a thing in itself?

xo

It's July, where did June disappear to? 

Off on the horizon time is held pressed against clusters of clouds and dreams. Options are endless. And with the long days of summer it appears there will be enough...of all things. 

Joy and wonder, walks on the beach, books to savour. But again the blanket of night falls
and with it moments never to return. 

s l o w down I whisper again and again.
xo

SPRING has arrived in all her GLORY! The light is gorgeous; it falls on every little thing like a lovely gossamer drape. It's magical, soft, and suggestive. The quince is blooming, the tulips, the forsythia. The sugar snap peas are up two inches! The cardinals and osprey are singing praise, as am I. Winter didn't hold us too tight, but still it wrapped us in layers and early darkness. It gave way to rest for some. And we lost, to death, some dear ones in that season. It left holes in the fiber of our beings. We held the grief close to our hearts and one another. And now in the holes we wish for flowers and sweet memories. xo

Magic and beauty in a morning puddle? Why not!

I find myself often looking down as I walk, perhaps searching for small treasures, while all the while thankful for the ability to stay upright. I know too many people who now have difficulty with keeping balance. Balance on the feet and also balance in all things called life.

Yesterday I shoveled heavy, wet snow and felt muscles in my body I haven't paid enough attention too. This morning they remind me they are holding me up. I promise them more. I promise myself this.

After noticing the empty branches of the grand oak, I took the photo above of, I looked up and between the lace of it all I recognized its magnificent age and posture. 

Earlier in the season it had thrown acorns to the ground for others to gather. What a mighty thing you are I shouted up towards the sky. xo

A little bit chilly this morning as February arrives and much of the country raises itself from a 'polar vortex' - a wide expanse of swirling cold air- and I think of the horses and the homeless and so many more. I think beyond our flannel sheets to places I've never been. Always thankful, always blessed. Our little dog, Charlie B, wears a turquoise polar fleece vest, he doesn't like it but once outdoors he smiles at us. He too lucky, or whatever one calls blessed. The squirrels found the bird feeder shortly after we put it outside the kitchen window, they drape their bodies and fill their bellies, knocking the smaller seeds to the frozen ground where a robust gathering goes on. As always it's the little things that opens the heart so wide. xo

As the light slowly returns and the holidays wind down may we each find ourselves 

surrounded by that and those adored and celebrated. May we fill our lives and hearts 

with kindness, patience, love, and all that makes us want to shine. In our family there

is a new house, new puppy, new kitten, and abundant gifts shared and exchanged. There 

is warmth, amazing food, memories, and new dreams. There are loved ones going through hard times and there is the holding of healing. xo