“I have been in Sorrow’s kitchen and licked out all the pots. Then I have stood on the peaky mountain wrapped in rainbows, with a harp and sword in my hands.”
– Zora Neal Hurston
Category: Nature
Hear the silent teachings of the wind
Open beyond your knowing to the awareness that all things are one and interconnected. Slow down. Listen to the stars and soil; hear the silent teachings of the wind and the wisdom of fire. The microcosm of each of your cells is a direct link to the macrocosm of the entire Universe. Get still and let the Universe blossom within you. – HeatherAsh Amara from Warrior Goddess Training
Kindness is like snow.
It’s another snowy day in Montana…
Kindness is like snow. It beautifies everything it covers.
-Kahlil Gabran
Let’s take our hearts for a walk
Let’s take our hearts for a walk in the woods and listen to the magic whispers of old trees.
-Unknown
The Sonnet of the Bumblebee
The Sonnet of the Bumblebee
You went against their theories, you broke all their rules
By soaring above them, just out of reach.
You laughed as they stared, those arrogant fools
Eager to name your scientific breach.
If you let them catch you it might be fun
Allow one to hold you; small greedy hand.
And just when he thinks the game has been won
You move forward with your martyrs stand.
You sting the bastard who’s trying to steal
The secrets behind your majestic wing.
One venomous prick, with quick pain he’ll reel
Squealing retreat from your dignified sting.
They actually thought you’d let truth be known
Uncivilized man, your secret to own?
-Angie Kopshy
I greet you, Madam, the stars seem to say
Finally the sun disappears altogether and them the moon, shining still more brightly, proudly ascends the throne of the the sun. I greet you, Madam, the stars seem to say.
-Anaïs Nin
“Choose only one master – Nature”
Once upon a time…
a woman and her family moved to the mountains of Montana before she succumbed to the ratrace of Portland. She could see mountain peaks from every window of her house and was just minutes from a trailhead. Stepping outside and breathing in the bitterly cold air, she felt her soul burst forth from the grimy shell inside which it had been slowly choking. Eyes lifted to the glorious sun and arms outstretched to the majestic winds, she felt the Great Spirit Mother wash over her as if she stood under a waterfall.
She was now utterly convinced that Rembrandt had it right:
“Choose only one master – Nature”
Keep moving forward
“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we are curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”⠀⠀
– Walt Disney
Give me your brick
“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of those depths.”
-Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
I was born and grew up in the Portland area of Oregon. While going to college at Boise State, I made the drive back home along the Columbia River many, many times. Recently, I moved to mountains of Montana and although my drive doubled, the beautiful stretch of waterfalls, giant fir trees and windsurfers is still a part of that beautiful drive home.
My last drive back home was the first since the Summer of 2017 wildfires. I was really nervous about what I’d see. As I passed through charred and barren land, piles of downed trees and one giant tree on fire way too close to the road, tears rolled down my cheeks. I also felt this sense of hope that almost made me feel guilty. I’d been accompanied by a rainbow for at least an hour of that early morning drive through the rain. Oregon will recover. It will never be the same and I know many people were impacted by the tragic fires and my heart hurts for them, but what I saw was actually better than what I was expecting. The expression I heard repeatedly during my training in the Peace Corps, “Your expectations can never be too low,” drifted through my mind.
Between hurricanes, flooding, earthquakes and fires, 2017 has been rough on our world and I’ve had to remind myself that we must move forward. And that’s not even mentioning politics or for me, personally, a lawsuit that smashed my heart and idealistic spirit into the ground. Sometimes it feels like I’m wearing a backpack full of bricks and have concrete blocks for shoes and even one tiny step forward is enough movement to celebrate. I seek inspiration in nature, reading and writing. I seek inspiration in the knowledge that we all have challenges and struggles. As I make new friends and maintain connections to old friends far away from my haven in the woods, I find strength and courage in the experience of moving forward together. There may be days when I carry a brick from someone else’s backpack and days when he or she carries one of mine. But these connections, along with double rainbows, make the journey of life a little easier and sometimes even magical. Grow, Oregon, grow, and we’ll do the same.
Delicious Autumn
“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.”
-George Elliot
Recycled Affirmations 