“On a bare branch a crow is perched
Autumn evening.”
-Basho
in the case of this picture, a huge raven is perched on the bare branch. Still I paired these two, the quote and the photo, for the song in Basho’s words and the blue black beauty of this raven.
Autumn evening.
”Listen to the trees as they sway in the wind.
Their leaves are telling secrets.”-Vera Nazarian
“There is a love of wild nature in everybody, an ancient mother-love showing itself whether recognized or no, and however covered by cares and duties”
-John Muir
“I want to live simply. I want to sit by the window when it rains and read books I’ll never be tested on. I want to paint because I want to, not because I’ve got something to prove. I want to listen to my body, fall asleep when the moon is high and wake up slowly, with no place to rush off to. I want not to be governed by money or clocks or any of the artificial restraints that humanity imposes on itself. I just want to be, boundless and infinite.”
-Richard Tabhan
When great trees fall,
rocks on distant hills shudder,
lions hunker down
in tall grasses,
and even elephants
lumber after safety.When great trees fall
in forests,
small things recoil into silence,
their senses
eroded beyond fear.When great souls die,
the air around us becomes
light, rare, sterile.
We breathe, briefly.
Our eyes, briefly,
see with
a hurtful clarity.
Our memory, suddenly sharpened,
examines,
gnaws on kind words
unsaid,
promised walks
never taken.Great souls die and
our reality, bound to
them, takes leave of us.
Our souls,
dependent upon their
nurture,
now shrink, wizened.
Our minds, formed
and informed by their
radiance,
fall away.
We are not so much maddened
as reduced to the unutterable ignorance
of dark, cold
caves.And when great souls die,
after a period peace blooms,
slowly and always
irregularly. Spaces fill
with a kind of
soothing electric vibration.
Our senses, restored, never
to be the same, whisper to us.
They existed. They existed.
We can be. Be and be
better. For they existed.-Maya Angelo
“And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those that are friends.”
-Richard Bach
“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.”
-Richard Bach
“Death is the beginning of the soul’s new journey”
-Sri Chinmoy
“How are you going to choose to spend this moment …this breath? It’s all there is. How much can you love? How will you choose to live today?
Let us drop the the bullshit, let go of the stories of who you think you are, the voices that keep you small and the misbelief that you are anything less than the absolute totality of LOVE. Claim your moment…NOW. It is really all there is…right here right now”-Arlisa Houston
“How our world has changed.
Apart but still together. Incredible.”
-Reza Darmono
An ancient voice, always there, unearthed and unleashed, surrounded and supported by yesterday’s strangers who are now forever friends, deeply embedded in my heart. Witnessing Love and Self through another’s eyes. Walking the earth wide open and singing. Sitting in wonder. Absorbing the resonances of the sounds brought as a gift by candlelight. The gong filled with whale song. The mornings fresh, the nights pod like, nestled among my fellow travelers, yet in dark personal silence. Full to brimming. Rain in the valley, snow on the mountain tops, hail and sunshine glowing through the trees, five white swans to grace us, a gaggle of geese landing in stunning symmetry on the pond….
There is bravery here, there is innocence, there is vulnerability, and there is power. It is good. And so it is.
I say YES!
Yes to:
Surrender & Trust & Allowing & Receiving & Acceptance
Yes to:
The Grandmother & The Mother & to Gratitude and to Holiness
Yes to:
Deepening and Listening & Witnessing the Love & Radiance in the Eyes & Heart of Each Soul
Yes to:
The Earth, The Sun, The Stars, The Light, The Ancestors & to Spirit
Yes to Life in all her Guises, Learnings and Transformations
(with honor and love to Katherine, Wil, Debbie, Lynn, Lori, Red Star & Justin)
“Ordinarily, I go to the woods alone,
with not a single friend,
for they are all smilers and talkers
and therefore unsuitable.
I don’t really want to be witnessed talking to the catbirds
or hugging the old black oak tree.
I have my ways of praying,
as you no doubt have yours.
Besides, when I am alone
I can become invisible.
I can sit on the top of a dune
as motionless as an uprise of weeds,
until the foxes run by unconcerned.
I can hear the almost unhearable sound of the roses singing.
If you have ever gone to the woods with me,
I must love you very much.”-Mary Oliver
“As our world becomes increasingly polluted with noise, silence is becoming our rarest commodity. Through all the madness, how can we possibly hear what the Earth is so patiently trying to tell us? Wilderness is our only hope. The one place we can always come back to.”
-Scott Stillman
“Marvel at the deep truths of being”
-Arthur C. Brooks
“Promise Yourself…
To be so strong that nothing
can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity
to every person you meet.To make all your friends feel
that there is something in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything
and make your optimism come true.To think only the best, to work only for the best,
and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others
as you are about your own.To forget the mistakes of the past
and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times
and give every living creature you meet a smile.To give so much time to the improvement of yourself
that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear,
and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world,
not in loud words but great deeds.
To live in faith that the whole world is on your side
so long as you are true to the best that is in you.”~ Christian D. Larson
