Tag Archives: love

Flowers, Home, Nature, Photography, Sweet Breathing

You Carry Your World With You

Leave a comment

These words by Silvatiicus Riddle resonated today. Of course not everything is terrible, not even most things, not even a large percentage of things. Perspective. Laying down the learned anger, the fear, the rhetoric, and remembering the love that permeates all, the overwhelming beauty, the magnificence of life, the privilege of it, are all at our fingertips, alive in our hearts,and available for the asking. In this little piece of the world we inhabit, yes, we have everything we need.

“Not everything is terrible.

Read that again. Say it aloud. Know that it is ultimately the truth.

Somewhere birds sing. Somewhere cats play and roll in the grass. Somewhere there is a brand new baby seeing snowfall for the first time. An ocean washes the tired feet of a grandmother with a lifetime of memories etched into her kindly face. Somewhere someone is deeply in love, and falls asleep with their lover’s face still in their eyes. Somewhere there are trees that have seen terrible men rise and fall, that have watched war planes flying overhead, that have felt in the ground and mycelium the distant strike of the ax, and yet…they dig their roots deeper. They reach up proudly for the sunlight, unashamed. They allow the world around them to fall away, or shift with time. Because sometimes, when it is difficult, when it is scary, that is the only way to live.

The flowers will grow. The storms will pass. Life will begin and end and begin again, because that is the way of it. It may not be okay in the whole world, but you can sing. You can pet the soft fur of your animals, you can feel the coolness or warmth of a comforting drink. The touch of a hand. You can recall the survival of an ancestor through trying times, call their strength to you. You can read a good story, or make one up. Tell one about a great adventure –a quest for the precious jewel that gives you life, and how the old witch helped you discover that you’ve carried it with you all along, that it exists inside of you, and you have everything you need right now, in this very moment. Because you do. You really do.

In the little piece of the world that you claim beneath your feet, it is okay. You carry your world with you.

Not everything is terrible.

Remember, and seek out the good.”

Silvatiicus Riddle

Animals, Home, Photography, Sweet Breathing

For the Love of a Dog

6 Comments

I waited a very very long time to have a dog.  Waited past the years of long hotel hours and after the constant moving was behind me.  Waited until I had some roots to make a home for him. Waited for a place where I could provide a spot on the planet where there was room to roam, where a dog could be a dog.  A dog.  A friend. A companion. A confidant.  A being that loved the outdoors and nature like I did, a bit independent, couldn’t wait to get out in the snow… and I found Little Bear or Little Bear found me.  Craig called him Bob.  We settled on Little Bear Bob Barker.

He was an Australian Shepherd, and as a puppy loved to nip – he wanted to herd things – people, other animals, get them in line.  He also used to like to go visiting – we have no fencing, and wanted him to be able to explore, to run and run, so for a while he toured around the hood.  Later he stuck to his own property mostly.  And man, could that dog run.  Like the wind!  Little Bear loved when I was outside with him, running laps around me – five times for my one.  Checking back on me, exploring, checking back on me again – over and over.  But there was so much to see, and smell and experience and my pace was way too slow for that.

God, I loved that dog.  Ferociously.  Do people who don’t have children love their pets more than those that must share their love with their offspring?  Not necessarily – I know lots of dog lovers who adore their pets, sometimes more than their children honestly.  But I do know that he wasn’t a substitute child for me, he was just Little Bear, a unique being on the planet and I adored him. A sweet, smart, enthusiastic soul who just loved life, loved everyone, people and other animals, and was so very very happy – ALL the time.

His job was to case the perimeter, ensure there were no intruders – especially deer, they had to go – not catch them mind you, or hurt them, just get them off the property – the imaginary line he had established in his dog mind was always secure on his watch.  He’d saunter back after ensuring this was done efficiently, after running so hard, head down.  I worried about the gopher holes, that he’d break a leg, but he was too smart for that.  He was wicked smart.  Smarter than me. The foxes really made him crazy though – didn’t know exactly what to do with them – play? run them off? tilt your head and just examine them?  All of the above.

His energy was everywhere in our home and our lives.  And that’s the hardest part.  The quiet from the lack of his energy.  It was potent.  I hope it will linger. Contagious. Infectious. Beautiful. Special. It feels empty now.

There’s a huge hole.  Gigantic.  He was always at the door to greet me, always wanted to go outside with me, was always at my feet at my desk, or while I watched a movie, slept on the bed, followed me everywhere even the bathroom.  Laying so close by to touch me. Telling me so much with his people eyes.  No Little Bear eyes. We had so many rituals.  Morning outside, followed by his toothbrush.  Breakfast.  A walk.  Play with the dodo.  Nap.  On football Sundays, there was a touchdown dance when the Seahawks scored, outside to scout first to the meadow, diagonal across the lawn, up the ridge, back across into the woods – all ok, saunter back ready for a treat.  Dinner.  On the couch between us, nap at my feet, rest at my desk when I’m in here working, up on the bed – the bottom, for sleeping, wait at the door when we’re away, maybe nap a little, but always waiting at the door when we return, run to all three doors when my jeep pulled away.  There are so many spaces now that Little Bear filled – it hasn’t even been a full day and they are overwhelming.

It was just this morning that he left us, while I lay beside him.  Just the day before he was outside in the snow surveying the beauty there.  He had a restless night, woke up and decided it was time to go.  His quality of life up until the day before he left us was good – I’m grateful for that and, too, I’m a bit scared about how deeply this hurts, how derailed I feel – no good perspective, just overwhelming sadness and emptiness.  Craig, who didn’t want a dog at first, suffering just as much as I am, and that’s hard too.  They were big buddies – “want to go for a truck ride” was the biggest thrill for Little Bear, and caused great euphoria, and off they’d go.  But then everything made that dog happy, just being, was enough.

I learned so much from him.  My heart has been torn open.  Yes, I loved this little fur clad soul ferociously, and the pain is tremendous, but the love was worth it – even now.

Glacier National Park, Inspiring Words, Nature, Photography, Sweet Breathing, Travel Adventure

Doors

Leave a comment

 

“The doors to the world of the wild Self are few
but precious.

If you have a deep scar, that is a door.

If you have an old, old story,
that is a door.

If you love the sky and the water so much you almost cannot bear it,
that is a door.

If you yearn for a deeper life, a full life, a sane life,                       that is a door.”

-Clarissa Pinkola Estés

 

Inspiring Words, Nature, Photography, Sweet Breathing

Entering the Stream

2 Comments

“Now , I want only to give away all that I’m blessed to know and disappear in the stream.”

-Mark Nepo

Quarantine self care is a thing I’m allowing myself, gifting myself with, so before a long hot mid-afternoon bath, I picked up my novel, lit a candle, put in some “Tired Old Ass” bath salts – thanks Craig 🙂 – and lowered into my soak.

Except, I didn’t pick up my novel… By mistake, instead, I opened the book I had picked up, Mark Nepo’s Seven Thousand Ways to Listen, to the above passage.

One of those life moments of perfection happened… the words, the timing, the quiet to absorb them.

What is enough to leave as a legacy? What will say that I’ve been here, that my life mattered, that will endure?

Oh yes, to share everything that your heart and soul has been blessed to learn and simply enter the stream…

And to Love! To leave that imprint of how much, how deeply, I loved… how passionately, how fiercely, I loved the wild ones, the forest, the trees, all of nature’s majesty and mystery, the wonder of the moment, my family, my husband, my dog, and all those four legged that shared my life  through the years, my forever friends, my nieces and nephews.  SO much Love.

Is it possible that I allow that to be enough?

Home, Inspiring Words, Nature, Photography, Sweet Breathing

The One Breath

Leave a comment

The definition of prayer by Hildegard of Bingen,

“Breathing in and breathing out the one breath of the Universe.”

-Hildegard of Bingen

Prayer indeed.  While saying thank you, the most essential prayer.

Mark Nepo in his chapter “A Reality That Keeps Unfolding,” in Seven Thousand Ways to Listen, says of the breath of prayer:

“This is listening with our entire being. It speaks to an immersion of attention that all the traditions aspire to; each claiming in its own way that peace resides in this completeness which arises when our individual sense of being merges with the ongoing stream of being that is the heartbeat of the Universe. Whether these moments arise from great stillness or great suffering or great love, they all seem unexpected and seem to depend on our ability to hold nothing back.”

Timely words in these days of stillness, suffering and great love that we all are experiencing around our planet. Today, may you find this peace residing in completeness with the heartbeat of the Universe as you navigate your new normal.

Hold nothing back.

Home, Inspiring Words, Photography, Sweet Breathing

Yes There is Fear

Leave a comment

These are lovely, real, and needed words right now.  Written by Brother Richard (Richard Hendrick), it’s called Lockdown.

“Yes there is fear.
Yes there is isolation.
Yes there is panic buying.
Yes there is sickness.
Yes there is even death.
But,
They say that in Wuhan
after so many years of noise
You can hear the birds again.

They say that after just a few weeks of quiet
The sky is no longer thick with fumes
But blue and grey and clear.
They say that in the streets of Assisi
People are singing to each other across the empty squares, keeping their windows open
so that those who are alone may hear
the sounds of family around them.
They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland
Is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound.
Today a young woman I know is busy spreading fliers with her number through the neighbourhood
So that the elders may have someone to call on.
Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples are preparing to welcome and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary
All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting
All over the world people are looking at their neighbours in a new way
All over the world people are waking up to a new reality
To how big we really are.
To how little control we really have.
To what really matters.
To Love.
So we pray and we remember that
Yes there is fear. But there does not have to be hate.
Yes there is isolation. But there does not have to be loneliness.
Yes there is panic buying. But there does not have to be meanness.
Yes there is sickness.But there does not have to be disease of the soul.
Yes there is even death. But there can always be a rebirth of love.
Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.
Today, breathe.
Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic
The birds are singing again
The sky is clearing,
Spring is coming, And we are always
encompassed by Love.
Open the windows of your soul And though you may not be able to touch across the empty square, Sing. ”

-Richard Hendrick (Brother Richard)

Today, breathe, reach out, slow down, reflect, do what you can, realize what really matters, treasure your home and those in it, and take care of yourself and each other.

*I don’t usually explain the pictures  that pair with my posts and quotes – there’s always a reason, some more obvious that others! In this case though, I wanted to share the meaning of the photo to me.

The shadow is mine appearing on the snow in the photo  and to me represents not living in shadow but in the light – and those little trees that are puncturing my heart chakra and third eye speak to me of  being broken open by the outer events of the world, growing through it as best as I can, while being completely present and literally and figuratively solidly at home.  And the image at the top is that home that I so treasure.