“Autumn mornings: sunshine and crisp air, birds and calmness, year’s end and day’s beginnings.”
-Terri Guillemets
Tag Archives: Simple Life
A Blessing for the Whole Day
“An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.”
Henry David Thoreau
Where will you walk today? May your walk provide exploration of the wonders of the world around you, big and small, and the wonder too of the inner mysteries…
Autumn’s Mosaic
“Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting
and autumn a mosaic of them all.”
– Stanley Horowitz
Autumnal Sunshine
“I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house.”
– Nathaniel Hawthorne
If Your Mind is Still
“If you mind is still…you can sense the peace that emanates from the earth.”
-Eckart Tolle
September Sunday
“Outside the leaves on the trees constricted slightly; they were the deep done green of the beginning of autumn. It was a Sunday in September. There would only be four. The clouds were high and the swallows would be here for another month or so before they left for the south before they returned again next summer.”
-Ali Smith
“I love September, especially when we’re in it.”
-Willie Stargell
With a rich fullness the remains of Summer are moving into Fall.
Cool nights, a sense of completion, enriched saturated days are harbingers of the upcoming changes.
There is a calm reverence for all that has grown, come to fruition, deepened, and been absorbed in all of these radiant long Summer days.
Change is in the air, but not quite yet. We are balanced in this ripeness for a few more days.
There is such sweetness in this overflowing, saturated abundance.
A Fleeting Moment
“It’s a moment that I’m after, a fleeting moment, but not a frozen moment.”
-Andrew Wyeth
This life is so precious and the wonders are astounding. That is what compels me about photography. You must be fully present to acknowledge these wonders, then make a choice as to what to frame, what moment to capture. We’re doing that continually of course – making choices of what to focus on, what to acknowledge, what to see and remember.
I’m choosing to remember and focus on love, truth, energy, small and large nature wonders, life’s grace…
“When you really pay attention, everything is your teacher.”
-Ezra Bayda
Hear the Earth Sing
I love these words from other languages that can’t be translated in a single word to English. They each evoke a deep feeling and connection – not a mental abstract. They speak of our intimate and interrelated chemistry with Nature… our partnership, rapport and love.
I found these words on a blog called “Mother Tongues” and the Tenalach Irish word mentioned on a Facebook page called “Discover the Forest”.
Tenalach (Irish): used to describe a relationship one has with the land, air and water, a deep connection that allows one to literally hear the Earth sing.
Komorebi (Japanese): The scattered, dappled light effect when sunlight shines through tree leaves.
Gökotta (Swedish): To wake up early in the morning with the purpose of going outside to hear the first birds of spring sing.
Aloha aina (Hawaiian): This phrase means “love of the land.” Hawaiians are the land, in the sense that the land provides food, water, clothing, and shelter. Showing care for the land, while visiting, is a wonderful way to show care and respect to the people of Hawaii.
Dadirri (Aboriginal Australian): An ancient word that combines contemplation, deep inner listening, and quiet still awareness of creation and the Creator, Dadirri is like a crystal clear water hole that calls us to be replenished and revitalized. To embody Dadirri, is to be at peace with yourself, with others, in nature, and with the Creator. Be patient with yourself, with your neighbor, and wait upon the seasons. Become aware of the sacredness that surrounds you. Hear creation breathe and follow her rhythm.
Forest Bathing
Oh yes, a luxuriant cleansing forest bath. A total immersion into the very soul and heart of the experience of being in and with the forest. A pleasing, rejuvenating, captivating, engaging absorption of Life and of communion.
There is a Japanese practice called shinrin-yoku that in translation means “forest bathing”. In this practice participants are asked to fully engage with nature using all five senses. The only mission is to be with the forest in a mindful and focused way with your sight, taste, hearing, touch and smell.
Not only is the experience pleasing and stress reducing there are other reported health benefits.
From the article “This Japanese Practice Could Transform Your Day” by Nicole Frehsee (Huffington Post):
“A study conducted across 24 forests in Japan found that when people strolled in a wooded area, their levels of the stress hormone cortisol plummeted almost 16 percent more than when they walked in an urban environment. And the effects were quickly apparent: Subjects’ blood pressure showed improvement after about 15 minutes of the practice. But one of the biggest benefits may come from breathing in chemicals called phytoncides, emitted by trees and plants. Women who logged two to four hours in a forest on two consecutive days saw a nearly 40 percent surge in the activity of cancer-fighting white blood cells, according to one study. “Phytoncide exposure reduces stress hormones, indirectly increasing the immune system’s ability to kill tumor cells,” says Tokyo-based researcher Qing Li, MD, PhD, who has studied shinrin-yoku. Even if you don’t live near a forest, studies suggest that just looking at green space — say, the trees outside your office window — helps reduce muscle tension and blood pressure.”
Find your forest and go inside, your senses alert and your mind open. Focus on the experience itself. Feel it. Absorb it. Enjoy the cleanse and the rejuvenation from your forest bath.
A Grain of Sand
“To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.”
-William Blake
