Tag Archives: Uplifting Words

The Poor, The Poets and Monks

“I stand before you tonight to represent the people who do not count: The poor, the poets, and monks. As long as there are people who are trying to realize the divine in themselves, there shall be hope in the world.”

—Thomas Merton

Prayer Flags2

Thomas Merton distills the experience of being human in this life.  He was a Trappist monk of the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky.

As a writer, poet, activist and continual student of comparative religion, he wrote timeless words that continue to resonate and teach.  The quote above is from the closing he gave to an interfaith conference in Calcutta in 1968.  Thomas Merton transitioned from this life a few days after he spoke these words.

Young Monk

 

October

“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are October’s”

-L. M. Montgomery

Aspen in Full Color, Blue Sky

“Autumn carries more gold in its pocket than all the other seasons.”

~Jim Bishop

Fall, Maple Leaves, Yard, Light, Red

“The time of the falling leaves has come again. Once more in our morning walk we tread upon carpets of gold and crimson, of brown and bronze, woven by the winds or the rains out of these delicate textures while we slept.
How beautifully the leaves grow old! How full of light and color are their last days! There are exceptions, of course. The leaves of most of the fruit-trees fade and wither and fall ingloriously. They bequeath their heritage of color to their fruit. Upon it they lavish the hues which other trees lavish upon their leaves….
But in October what a feast to the eye our woods and groves present! The whole body of the air seems enriched by their calm, slow radiance. They are giving back the light they have been absorbing from the sun all summer.”


~John Burroughs, “The Falling Leaves,” Under the Maples

Fall, Colors, Green, Gold, Trees, Grasses

 

A Biography

“Animals are not just living things; they are beings with lives. Next time you are outside, notice the first bird you see. RavenYou are beholding a unique individual with personality traits, an emotional profile and a library of knowledge built on experience. What you are witnessing is not just biology… but a biography.”

(Jonathan Balcombe)
Charles Littleleaf Native Flutes

Deer Smacking Her Lips

A Fleeting Moment

Deer Crossing

 

“It’s a moment that I’m after, a fleeting moment, but not a frozen moment.”

-Andrew Wyeth

Greens through the Trees

 

 

 

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.

Deer in the Woods

 

 

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

Moose, Cameron Lake 8

White Buffalo Day

Today is White Buffalo Day, a celebration of unity and healing based on a legend or prophecy of the Lakota that is 19 generations old.

 “All life is Sacred. We come into life as sacred beings. When we abuse the Sacredness of life we affect all Creation”

-White Buffalo Proclamation 2014

Buffalo Family Group

The link below provides info about the world wide celebration:

http://www.culturecollective.org/white-buffalo-day-unity-world-divided/

Here is their website:

http://www.whitebuffaloday.com/

Hear Chief Arvol Looking Horse speak of the legend here (10 minutes):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PHqVdZmpRgI

Buffalo Family

 Walk in Prayer…

 Drum, Dance and Pray for Peace!

Leaving Safe Harbor

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“The ship is safest when it is in port, but that’s not what ships were built for.”

-Paulo Coelho

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“And the ship plays on those sonorous harps, the shrouds and masts of ships”.

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 

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“A great ship asks deep waters.”

-George Herbert

Ship Prow, Amelia Island, Sunset


Know that you sail the seas of life
as the master of your own ship.

– Jonathan Lockwood Huie

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“On a ship, knowing when to be silent is just as important as knowing when to speak.”

-J. Z. Colby

Closeup Ship