Nature’s peace and the knowing that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter, brings solace and serenity in all ways,
always…
“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you
as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.”
-John Muir
“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature – the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.”
-Rachel Carson, Silent Spring
Holding on to Winter
It snowed all day today, March 10th.
This event was met with dismay by every other human that I know – but not by me!
Why can’t I get enough snow? I’m not ready for winter to be over…
(I haven’t said this out loud to any other person).
The writer, Rick Bass
understands what snow can mean, does mean, to this human be-ing (me). I was reading his Winter (notes from Montana) this afternoon as the big flakes fell steadily and silently down.
Continually. Rhythmically. Silently. Magically.
Bass writes from his perspective as a native Texan of his first Montana winter and his immersion in snow:
“I’ll never get used to snow – how slowly it comes down, how the world seems to slow down, how time slows… I don’t mind the cold. The beauty is worth it”.
“I watch individual flakes; I peer up through the snow and see the blank infinity from which it comes; I listen to the special silence it creates.”
“I stand outside in the snow for long periods of time, in the middle of it, looking out: I cannot believe I am so rich, getting all this snow…. Everything’s so quiet.”
“It’s more like an afterlife. I never dreamed I would live in a hard country away from people, with such quietness.”
Re-reading, then typing his words, helps me to understand why I’m hanging on to winter and to snow. I crave more of that special silence, that feeling of richness, that comes in the sweetness of falling flakes and under the snow blanket they create. Even with the slowing of time, the season went so quickly, too fast.
Spring will come and I will relish the unearthing and the rebirth all ‘round. But not yet. For a few more days let me feel all the depth, serenity and solitude of winter.
Exuberance (Joie de vivre!)
This precious life… can we live it with passion, fullness, exuberance, gratitude and grace?
and at transition’s time move forward with that same passion, fullness, exuberance, gratitude and grace?
“Exuberance is beauty.”
-William Blake
“For all that has been,
Thank you.
For all that is to come,
Yes!”
-Dag Hammarskjold
“Oh Wow, Oh Wow, Oh Wow!”
-Steve Jobs (his last words)
Juxtaposition
“Words are a pretext.
It is the inner bond that draws one person to another,
not words.”
Rumi
“…as human beings we all need affection.
Warm-heartedness gives rise to the self-confidence
and inner strength
that supports a calm mind.”
Dalai Lama
The timeless words from Rumi, along with the recent words from the Dalai Lama, create a word tapestry for the photo from Bhutan that is featured at the top of this blog post. This spontaneous moment was caught in time as the foursome sat on the bench overlooking the peaceful valley below – two travelers and two young monks – not so far distant in heart – drawn to each other by the view and each other.
Ah…Bhutan, where “success” is tracked by virtue of happiness.
In thinking of a simpler life, Bhutan is ever present in memory from travels there.
Since, 1971 the country uses formal principles of GNH – that’s Gross National Happiness! Encompassing the citizen’s health in spirit, in body, in their communities, in social interactions and in the health of the natural environment, gross national happiness is fundamental and foremost to all decision making – material growth is not the focus.
Well Be-ing.
The sweet embrace of the people, the green verdant valleys, the beautiful carved wood of the homes, the matriarchal way of life, the unabashed celebration of life and fertility, the music and temples, all combined to imbue in me a deep and abiding love for Bhutan that I will hold close forever.
Simple life indeed.
Deeply satisfying.
The gallery below holds a few more photos from Bhutan that I hope will bring you a sense of peace, beauty and simplicity…
*Slideshow will load below. Hover in the black area below the photo to pause, or go forward and back.
Calm So Deep
“Here is calm so deep, grasses cease waving. . . .
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
Winter Zen
“The quieter you become, the more you are able to hear”
“No snowflake ever falls in the wrong place”
These are Zen proverbs that I could endlessly revisit, falling ever deeper into meaning.
Meditative absorption.
Direct understanding.
The Zen of Winter.
“To the mind that is still the whole universe surrenders”
Lao Tzu
“Music in the soul can be heard by the universe”
“To attain knowledge,
add things every day.
To attain wisdom,
remove things every day.”
Lao Tzu
Reflections from the Mirror
“When you want only love
you will see nothing else”
I have this quote by my bedside (from A Course in Miracles). When I use the love eyes this quote evokes my day is transformed – my eyes are seeing from my heart…
How much of what we “see” is a reflection of ourselves?
“There are two ways of spreading light … To be the candle, or the mirror that reflects it.”
Edith Wharton
“The experience of bliss will give you an insight into the very phenomenon of beauty. Not only does it make you beautiful, it suddenly transforms the whole world. The whole world becomes beautiful because the world reflects you, it is a mirror.”
-osho
…”beauty is life when life unveils her holy face. But you are life and you are the veil. Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror. But you are eternity and you are the mirror”
Kahlil Gibran
As Above So Below
Winter’s way has laid the outside world bare. The bareness of winter, the quiet serenity, and the snow blanket, can lay bare our inner world too – if we let it.
As above so below.
An unsealed inner universe is open for marvelous reflection and deepening. So much going on while the world sleeps.
Bare, defined, disclosed, discovered, naked, resolved, solved, uncovered, unprotected, clear, debunked, denuded, divulged, exhibited, manifest, open, peeled, revealed, shown, stripped, unmasked, unsealed, unveiled, apparent, brought to light, evident, dug up, on view, unconcealed, unhidden, unsheltered…
“The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.”
-Joseph Campbell
“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.”
-Joseph Campbell
Are we brave enough to lay bare our souls?
To be authentic, real and raw?
To be open?
The Gift of the Trees
Out here in the woods, the tree dance brings a welcome, hearty, and ever changing song.
Season to season they stand in place and in witness of all of life’s wonder – a constant teaching.
“A few minutes ago every tree was excited, bowing to the roaring storm, waving, swirling, tossing their branches in glorious enthusiasm like worship. But though to the outer ear these trees are now silent, their songs never cease. -John Muir
“Night, the beloved. Night, when words fade and things come alive. When the destructive analysis of day is done, and all that is truly important becomes whole and sound again. When men reassembles his fragmentary self and grows with the calm of a tree.
-Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Whitefish Train Depot – A Gallery of Photos
Trains, train depots, and train travel speak to me of slowing down, of 
the journey being the destination, of savoring long conversations and of the gentle unfolding of time. Adventure, travel, new experiences – all good things! There is time on a train trip to absorb the beauty as it passes by.
My cross country train trip was a quiet and reflective journey and I’m looking forward to more train travel. In the meantime I love going to our Whitefish Train Depot to feel the energy of adventure and anticipation, and to get some photos…
“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”
― Ernest Hemingway
“Not all those who wander are lost.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
*Slideshows will load below
First slideshow contains images by day,
The second slideshow are by night
