"Spring" gathered in

Yesterday we took time to sit in the sunshine by the pond in "Boffin's Gardens" and soaked in the warmth of spring  - which incidentally must have spent itself because today it was chilly and cold!

Here are a few pictures of what we were able to "gather in" along with a few quotes about nature. 

Not only the days, but life itself lengthens in summer.  I would spread abroad my arms and gather more of it to me, could I do so.  The Life of the Fields, Richard Jefferies

...unless the soul goes out to meet what we see we do not see it; nothing do we see, not a beetle, not a blade of grass.  The Book of a Naturalist, William Henry Hudson

The field has eyes, the wood has ears; I will look, be silent, and listen.  Heronymus Bosch

Doug checking out 'pond life'

travel's offerings

Just home from a trip to Vancouver and thankful for the blessings encountered - the God lights and offerings of beauty in people and nature that we received.

Who would have thought that tucked away on the mountain above Mission, BC is an incredibly beautiful space set firmly amongst the trees...silent and magnificent.

As the winding, tree lined alley led upwards we glimpsed the abbey and were surprised by its bold sturdy form.

Westminister Abbey Church - a place to silently attend to one's own spirit and to the God of all.

Besides a wonderful visit with two of our sons and our soon-to-be second lovely daughter-in-law, we drove a lot!  Visited a few friends and family and drove some more!  

It has been about 20 years since we were in Vancouver and area and we were reminded of the many interesting places that we might visit - next time:)  And "next time" I really must plan our days better so we can see some special spots.

Of course the flowers were already blooming and in spite of the cool damp weather the colours were vivid. I loved these two views and could not resist photographing them.

Driving through the mountains is not my "cup of tea" but the trip went well in spite of rain and huge snowdrops - I'm sure the clouds came down to greet us as we invaded their space high on the mountain passes.


The mountains were still covered with a lot of snow - there's plenty of melting still to happen once the sunshine breaks through the clouds long enough to warm its frozen crystal flakes... and they find their pathway down the mountain side.





I love tunnels and these wildlife byways remind me of "Billy Goat Gruff." In this case though the goats have right of way over the bridge.




Blessed by nature - blessed by people - blessed by God - thankful and refreshed, life goes forward built upon these offerings received.

Friendship

Friends

For Friendship

May you be blessed with good friends,
And learn to be a good friend to yourself,
Journeying to that place in your soul where
There is love, warmth, and feeling.
May this change you.

May it transfigure what is negative, distant,
Or cold within your heart.
May you be brought into real passion, kindness,
And belonging..

May you treasure your friends.
May you be good to them, be there for them
And receive all the challenges, truth, and light you need.

May you never be isolated but know the embrace
Of your anam cara. [friend of the soul]

"We should not force ourselves to change by hammering our lives into any predetermined shape. We do not need to operate according to the idea of a predetermined program, plan or goals for our lives. Instead, we need to practice an art of attention to the inner rhythm of our days and lives, which will bring a new awareness of our own human and divine presence."

"It is far more creative to work with the idea of mindfulness than with the idea of will. Too often people try to change their lives by using the will as a kind of hammer to beat their life into proper shape. The intellect identifies the goal of the program, and the will accordingly forces the life into that shape. This way of approaching the sacredness of one's own presence is externalistic and violent. It brings you falsely outside yourself, and you can spend years lost in the wilderness of your own mechanical, spiritual programs. You can perish in a famine of your own making."

                                                                                                                    - John O'Donohue

"unfinished" or "Beckoning Woods"

In Wikipedia I read that, "An unfinished work is creative work that has not been finished. Its creator may have chosen never to finish it or may have been prevented from doing so by circumstances outside of their control. Such pieces are often the subject of speculation as to what the finished piece would have been like; sometimes they are finished by others."

As you can see I have an unfinished painting, although I worked hard on it this afternoon...but you just can't hurry painting with watercolours or it "turns back on you."  The show is this coming weekend and in order for watercolour to settle into the paper it takes a few days, then one needs to frame it!!  Well this painting just might miss the show.

Unfinished obviously means something is not yet in a complete state - but personally I don't think it means that it is uninteresting, without value, meaning or beauty.  Being finished does not necessarily mean that something becomes perfect either. I'm afraid I'm being a bit ambivalent about how I feel about this unfinished painting. I really do want to finish it but people beckon me away as we are off for coffee with some delightful people in a few minutes!! and I have a week that is completely full, morning to evening, Monday to Thursday supper...So perhaps I will work into the night hours on this.

But any view of the woods is always incomplete - there is always something more to see, beckoning us to look under a leaf, behind a tree, around the turn in the path...perhaps one should leave a painting unfinished so others can fill it in with their imagination:)

Bit of a ramble this...but perhaps you get the gist of how I'm feeling.

"everydayness"

around the fireplace at Shekinah

Wonderful to be able to spend time with 33 great ladies at Shekinah Retreat Centre this past weekend.  I think the most often heard/read statement about the weekend was a form of, "I loved the quiet reflection time - I feel like my soul is starting to catch up."

It is always a blessing to ponder what we hear at a retreat and take home something practical and precious.  I just don't want to get caught up in the "everydayness" of life without bringing into it something new and refreshing.

Here is a poem that reminds me to be aware of my soul in the "work" of life. 

For Work  by John O'Donohue

May the light of your soul bless your work with love and warmth of heart.

May you see in what you do the beauty of your soul.

May the sacredness of your work bring light and renewal

to those who see and receive your work.

May your work never exhaust you.

May it release wellsprings of refreshment, inspiration, and excitement.

May you never become lost in bland absences.

May the day never burden.

May dawn find hope in your heart, approaching your new day with dreams,

possibilities, and promises.

May evening find you gracious and fulfilled.

May you go into the night blessed, sheltered and protected.

May your soul calm, console, and renew you.

the Crucible of Story

Some thoughts from Sue Monk Kidd's Firstlight  - "The Crucible of Story"

"Discovering our personal stories is a spiritual quest.  Without such stories we cannot be fully human, for without them we are unable to articulate or even understand our deepest experiences.

Many of us left the storied approach to life at our nursery windows…In a culture that is rational, scientific, and abstract we have lost touch with the intuitive, imaginative, and concrete dimensions that inform story.  And as the church has made theology and doctrine the core of our religious expression, we have become unstoried in the spiritual life as well.  We have lost the ability to probe the soul, to know and refine its experiences…

Those who fail to tend to their inner stories risk creating a rift between what they believe and how they live.

The inner story creates identity, transforming our vision of who we are.

The inner story converts and transforms us by sustaining us in the midst of suffering.

The inner tale transforms us by reorienting us to new truth and insight, breaking open the hidden holy that dwells in our experience.

The word story actually means “to know.”  In the act of creating story there is always an event of coming to know. God surprises us with glimpses and truths we did not grasp until we tried to tell the story

Discovering my inner story reveals God in time and place, my time and place…Through story we draw connections between the happenings of life and the lessons of God.  We catch God suddenly in the thick of our days, disclosures unraveling out of the mundane. Such awareness transforms life from a series of random events to the poetic realm of a sacred tale.

When we share our inner stories, we allow others to enter our lives and partake of our deepest truths.  We discover that we share the same joys and tragedies, the same ambiguities and struggles.  In the end we are all one story.

But creating personal spiritual stories is an act of soul-making that does not happen automatically.  It comes only as we risk stepping into the chaos of our lives and naming the angels that inhabit the shadows. It comes as we give expression to our struggle for individual meaning, identity, and truth, as we wrestle with angels, both light and dark, and celebrate the places where God stirs.  In the crucible of story we become artists of meaning.  There we meet God most surely."

Winter Light

If one must have it cold, then cold with sunshine is better than cold with clouds!

Somehow in this long winter there is always the hope that new life will come...perhaps our hopes and expectations will result in more appreciation for renewal and colours just beyond the hoarfrost, snowflakes, and piles of snow.