“An old Cherokee told his grandson, “My son, there is a battle between two wolves inside us all.
One is Evil. It is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”
The boy thought about it, and asked, “Grandfather, which wolf wins?”
The old man quietly replied, “The one you feed.”
-A Cherokee Legend
Tag Archives: Simple Life
Not Tonight
A shimmering moonglow fog
Awakened me
Encompassing everything,
but surely it is easily permeable?
But not tonight.
Instead, I will dwell on
my husband’s breathing and Little Bear’s dreaming.
No need to push aside the veil.
A Richness
“The cost of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it”~ Henry David Thoreau
Wanting and needing less. Understanding the true cost of things as they relate to expenditure of life force and time. These are pursuits of this stage of the journey in my life.
Being immersed completely in the sounds of the ocean,
and the forest.
Being aware of the raven’s call.
Observing the wild ones with an honoring.
Noticing the nuances of spring’s unfolding.
Feeling the energy of life all around.
Being immersed and aware of life. Is enough. Is “free”. Is freeing.
These are the riches that enhance, build up, and do not deplete your resources.
Yes, there is a richness.
A deep and satisfying wealth of experiences in these gifts.
The Stillness & Sanctuary Within You
“Within you is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and by yourself.”
-Hermann Hesse
“The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.”
-Joseph Campbell
“While Eeyore frets …
… and Piglet hesitates
… and Rabbit calculates
… and Owl pontificates
…Pooh just is.”-The Tao of Pooh
Time in the forest, that supreme place of sanctuary and stillness, is a way of beauty and of finding the stillness and sanctuary within yourself…
a place to just be…
Be who you are.
Simplicity
“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.”
– Hans Hofmann
The necessary?
Food, shelter, safety, beauty, Love.
What else do we truly need? If we are quiet enough, we can hear the real, the raw and the necessary.
As The Day Moves Into Night
As this serene and majestic winter day winds into the night, I am absorbed with the simple luxury of watching the sun’s colors paint the evening sky. What better to be doing than this?
Still I will have time for more books, snow walks in the twilight, contemplation, before rest. I will wish for more before sleep…
The world is so grand in its offerings!
“I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read and all the friends I want to see.”
~John Burroughs
We Always Begin Anew
2015 has dawned!
With it, a renewed realization that in every day, every hour and every new year, we are empowered to begin anew. We can create the miraculous. Revolutionary changes in our very being are available in each new moment.
The new year inspires. Breathing together and in solitary communion, we know we have the power to change. And to be. There is hope. A quickening. A deepening.
May 2015 allow deep breathing into the wonder…
and a realization of the gifts of the present.
Peace, prosperity, laughter, great love, simple deeds, adventures, inner growth, understanding, quiet, time to reflect in gratitude are wished for people everywhere. And to the planet and the animals may there be reverence, respect and radiance.
May our awareness allow the absorption into the new hours and moments of this new year.
The World in White
These snow days are sweet with wonder. The white carpet ensconces us warmly, allowing a deep simmering. The simmering distills to peace.
A soul distilled from simmering shimmers with radiance reflecting the peace within.
Sweet, soft glow across the snow. Oneness of white.
Time stills.
“There is no other time when the whole world seems composed of one thing and one thing only.” – Joseph Wood Krutch
“Lo. sifted through the winds that blow, Down comes the soft and silent snow, White petals from the flowers that grow In the cold atmosphere.” -George W. Bungay
A New and Different Sun
“The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.”
~Christopher McCandless
Oh yes each day, every last one of them, whether spent at home in the familiar, or on a new exotic adventure, holds the promise of a different sun, and an endlessly changing horizon. Taking the time to absorb these wonders, in the new encounter with the often explored, or with the totally new experience, brings wonder into the moment, into our days, into our lives.
The picture above is from home, the one below from Bryce Canyon National Park, and the one below that from Amelia Island, Florida, and the final one from this year’s Christmas Day at home – a new and different sun as the sun rises to begin a new day each and every one…
Enough
Is it enough to be you, as you are right now? Is it enough to be present and not consumed by doing? Is it enough not to need anything?
This video by “The Mrs” examines self image, and the book I just finished, “The Map of Enough” ponders what it may look like to be satisfied with now – with where you live, what you have and who you are…
As the New Year of 2015 moves closer, I am examining this concept of enough.
Thankful for all that is and being present to this gratitude is enough more and more of the time.
The fullness comes from the inner gifts, never from outer appearances. From the wildness and completeness of nature, and not from those things that are contrived. From present moments and not busyness. From awareness. From taking a long sweet breath of life, as it is, now.
“If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath.”
― Amit Ray, Om Chanting and Meditation“The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.”
― Thích Nhất Hạnh, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life“There is only now. And look! How rich we are in it.”
― Vanna Bonta, Shades Of The World“The only true thing is what’s in front of you right now.”
― Ramona Ausubel, No One is Here Except All of Us