The Big Picture

Winter is a funny time. On one hand, it is a time for drawing within. On the other, though, it is a time for laying the groundwork for what is to come in the Spring and beyond. I had not noticed it before, but my winter photos always begin with sky pictures. It strikes me that the enormous sky above holds all of our hopes and dreams for us - a gigantic Pot of Possibilities, ours for the choosing. 

I watch it play out overhead...looking for clues

I am grateful that each day, each moment, brings with it a chance to take a breath and simply 'Begin Again'

I drink in the beauty overhead as it sparkles and shifts

as the Day welcomes each of us into Her embrace

 

  

and the Sky mirrors back the Beauty it sees in us

My one true wish as I start out into the Great Unknown of 2012...

     Let me lead, always, with my HEART first

       If I can do that, I know that the rest will all fall into place

     

........ Perfectly .......

My Desert Journey

I set out on a Desert Journey
 through a Threshold
to see the places where my life cracks open

and I stand exposed

Questions and answers swirled about me

 challenging me

What do I accept as Truth in my life?

I found myself at a crossroads

... literally....

As a desert 'cross' appeared before me

illuminated for my eyes alone

I saw that the road I walk in my daily life

 is represented by this 'cross'....

(ancient sunlight on Chaco Canyon ruins)

It's all about living and walking

fully engaged with the Mystery

not knowing, or caring,

what comes next

 Diving headfirst

into what lies below the surface

and pausing...

 listening for

Spirit's soft response

and receiving back

"The more you open your heart, the wider the opening through which I can come."

and then, just as quickly,

another gift was given...

A 'secret' heart, 

created by the forces of nature,

reminding me that

No matter where I go

Love is already there waiting for me

Happy Trails

to one and all

xxx

The Dance

It is happening out there. Can you feel it?

Deep within, at the Center of Things, there is a thawing taking place, and things long dormant are beginning to make their moves into Be-ing.


Not long ago, it looked like this

An Ancient Call goes out

to

Wake Up

and

Dance With the Sun

The Ice of Winter

once held us frozen in place

but now the warming rays of the Sun

gently bring a new start

to a

Very Old Story

 Ice gives way

and becomes

life-giving Water

and Color is restored

to the World

What wonders await us

as we take our first steps

into a fresh

Rainbow of Possibilities

Nature asking

each of us

"May I have this Dance?"

Prayers for Japan.... and all of us

All the world holds it's breath as events unfold in Japan. Our thoughts and prayers are with Japan, her citizens, and the rest of Humanity as we all struggle to make sense of this.

And yet, as this tragedy unfolds, Nature continues her process of bringing new life into the world. I am reminded of a quote from St Benedict:

"Always we begin again"

and so we must follow this tender Blossom's example

and bravely open ourselves up to

an Unknown Future...

knowing we are part of a Greater Whole

Let us take strength

from the newly emerging leaves

and their reminder that

"Always we begin again"

 We carry with us the hopes and dreams

 of those lost

 our inspiration to

Carry On

when we think it is too much to bear

We owe them that.

"Always we begin again"

Threshold

Something Ancient

beckons me,

Urging me to pass through

the Threshold of the Familiar

and fly into Uncertainty

 where I can say "I don't know" fearlessly

watching 

 Past, Present and Future

 shapeshift

into

new possibilities

May I have the Grace

to fully open my

Heart

and Life

to

Something Bigger

xxx

A Little Light Changes Everything

Holding one of my favorite seashells up to the light, I was astonished to see a whole new object appear...

full of color and mystery...

challenging me

to see everyday things in a new light

"Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore."

~ Andre Gide ~

For New Zealand and it's People

All the world's thoughts and prayers are with you

For stories about how the earthquake is being experienced locally, and how you can help, please visit the Fernenland blog http://fernenland.blogspot.com