Gifts of Mother Nature

by

Attaching

I feel like

I have

crossed

through

wild winds

into the calm

eye of the storm.

I must face

the wildness again

because the

calm will pass.

Clouds

are sometimes used

as a metaphor.

Watching the sky,

sometimes only

as wisp of white

dabbles

the blue

of the sky.

Clouds may move

with the breeze

or be blown

by the wind.

Today

there are many layers

some dense,

some moving quickly.

The clouds

show confusion,

some static,

occasionally

the sun peaks through.

The clouds

remind me to

practice

not attaching

to a

particular

state of mind,

pleasurable

or painful

or somewhere

in-between.

Each state

will change.

By being

engaged,

conscious of

what is happening,

I try

not to hold

onto

one

particular time.

by

View from the Floor

Yesterday

sunny.

Spring snow lingered

on the upper branches

of the evergreens.

As I lay on the floor

readying

for my exercises,

I paused

and cherished

the beauty.

Today,

another April snow

built during the whole day,

 walking became

slippery

even with my boots

which had been

still poised at my door.

Time for the floor again.

Exercises

help me center,

program my body and brain

to help me

navigate

whatever

territory

I travel.

Inner and outer

steps.

Lying on the floor,

I pause,

meditating

on the beauty

of the laden trees.

The skylights

are snow covered,

blocking light,

adding their own beauty.

Lying on the floor

is different

than my soft bed.

The view

is child-like

not high above

where

I may not

notice things.

I pause,

take deep breaths,

savoring these moments.

The daffodils

will survive

enriched by the

water

from the melting snow.

Maybe tomorrow.

by

Who Stole The Pumpkin?

In this sharing economy,

cars, extra home rooms for hotels,

the 14 inch

pumpkin

fresh on my porch

was to be “shared”

by enjoying

its beauty

sitting on the porch

next to pots of

blooming mums.

Still dark,

reading the paper,

a sense of someone on the porch

perhaps

delivering something,

took me to the window.

A bike rider

light blue helmet

flashed out of view

with the pumpkin

sitting on the back of the

bike.

How it might

make the ride to its

new destination

without slipping

and crashing

its ripe

elegance

is a mystery.

Sharing

is not stealing.

A boundary

was crossed

this early morning.

by

THOUGHT LEADER

Thought Leaders

are especially

important

during times of

Disruptive Innovation,

a concept

used in

this time

when things

aren’t working

and ways of thinking and doing

must be changed.

Since Pope Francis was chosen,

he has become a

powerful

THOUGHT LEADER.

From his first moments

Pope Francis

showed his

humility

asking for us

to pray for him.

He chose

simple garments,

comfortable black shoes,

paid his own hotel bill,

moved into a

simple apartment.

During Holy Week,

he washed the feet of the poor,

not all Catholics.

He told priests

to be merciful and compassionate

 towards those who are divorced

women who have had

abortions.

When asked about homosexuals,

he replied,

“Who am I to judge?”

Smiling,

he loves everyone

and in return,

he is loved.

The rules have not necessarily changed,

but the

TONE

has completely.

This change in tone is

Francis’

greatest achievement,

and it is HUGE!

In this

political season,

candidates

could learn

because Pope Francis

is an astute politician

in the best sense of the word.

As a South American

he sees the entrenched Vatican

as needing to be cleaned up,

finances and favoritism,

swept out.

Reflecting

compassion.

the tone,

the message

is that God is a God

of LOVE,

not JUDGMENT.

The Church’s role

is to make God

accessible.

Coming to the United States,

his first trip to North America,

he will speak

at the United Nations,

address Congress,

say Mass in Madison Square Garden.

Popular entertainers will

engage people,

using their words and music

to

open up people’s senses

to the music of their hearts.

Disruptive Innovation.

Bring it on!

by

Savoring

Savor

Senses

Sensual!

Our brains

receive information

from our senses

seeing

hearing

tasting

touching

smelling.

Our brains are particularly

sensitive

and respond

to direct

experience.

This is our

basic

form of  learning.

Virtual

learning

and habit

dull

our senses.

Our brains respond

to new

input.

Routine

Repetition

dulls

our senses.

We are not enjoying

and experiencing

the sensuality.

When we have

fixed ideas

of things

-we miss

so much.

When we encounter them

we want to experience

with new eyes,

real awareness.

Take a strawberry.

Enjoy the redness,

the fresh

green leaf and stem.

Smell the berry.

Feel its shape.

Small

or gigantic?

Skirted with chocolate?

Think of the

earth the plant

grew in.

Feel the rain

needed to

bring

that sweetness.

Feel your saliva

wetting

your mouth

to receive

this beautiful

single strawberry.

by

Close Encounters of the Amazing

Gazing out my breakfast window

a hummingbird flew

to face me and stayed there

wings fast fluttering

for

time standing still seconds.

Looking out the same window

at lunchtime

the evanescent bird

savored the nectar of the row of

hosta flowers.

Over summers past

we have put feeders

in the garden.

Rarely did this offering

compete with the real

usually pink, red, purple

real sips of

the 1,500 flowers

needed in a day.

Once,

holding a young grandchild,

a hummingbird came almost

eye to eye

with me.

My red flowered hat

attracted a very close visit

and then

flew to the garden

for the real thing!

Hummingbirds

breathe

250 times a minute

with a resting heartbeat of

500 beats per minute.

In flight their hearts rev to

1,500 beats a minute.

600-800 insects daily

provide more energy.

East Coast ruby-throated hummingbirds

migrate to the

Gulf of Mexico in the winter,

a 21 hour non-stop flight!

When first seen

there,

they were called

“resurrection birds.”

Close encounters

are ordinary miracles.

by

My Weather Report

Global warming,

Heat waves

Ten feet of snow in the Northeast

still melting in July

in “snow farms”.

Grit and lost cars and smaller things appear

as the snow melts

to reveal

what plows picked up

unseen to the drivers

in the sculptured hills on the roads.

Weather extremes

Tornado watches

Homes blown to the ground.

Treasures lost.

Hurricanes

named now for

men and women.

Seas rising.

Homes and businesses

flooded out,

destroyed beyond repair.

This week

temperatures and humidity

have ranged.

My weather report

is measured by

the four nighties

hanging,

each worn

on nights where

long sleeves brought comfort,

sleeveless for mid-range,

short sleeveless,

and last night

the thinest strapped

 short blue flowered.

Waking up

this morning,

the storm had blown

out the high heat and humidity

 and

I pulled up the

covers

and took a warm shower,

then dressed for a mid-temperature day.

The pretty weather forecasters

might reveal

their forecast

this way

and

bring a smile

as we listen

to the forecast

which is often

unpredictable

and unreliable.

by

An Unexpected Rainbow

June has been quite dry,

little rain.

While eating dinner

last night,

the sky opened with a loud roar

and heavy rain fell down

refreshing the greenery,

washing the pollens

and dust, leaving everything

looking shiny and refreshed.

The view out the back

is wooded and buildings.

As the pelting rain

eased up,

the remnants of

the sun pierced through

and a rainbow appeared.

Rainbows don’t usually

show up

with the blocked view.

An unexpected rainbow.

We stood and paused,

in the moment

in wonder.

I cannot tell you

how long we stood there

as the rainbow’s edges

faded into the sky

or wherever

rainbows go

after astonishing us.

An unexpected rainbow

can be the bridge

to the surprise

and mystery of life.

Where do they

begin

and where do they end?

Perhaps the rainbow

takes a leap from

one place to another and begins again.

Discovering

as a young child does,

experiencing things

in the moment

never the same,

as we bridge our own lives to another’s.