PAUSE & SEE

winter surrender

let go of expectation

sunflowers return

Orah

 I try to see something new each day. The art of seeing is essential to any creative work in my humble opinion.  My favorites are the ones that stop me in my tracks!  Like so many folks I have a very busy mind that I struggle to quiet.  By creating this practice it has given me many opportunities to pause and be with a new wonder.  I love to wonder about wonders.  These little seeings can be just the jolt my creative process needs to get out of a rut.  But mostly, they provide a pause which is that moment of peace I need to heal from a frustration. These seeings are grounding for me and bring me to the present.  I will admit to laughing out loud with joy over some of my discoveries, they are a moments of childlike wonder!  

"When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky"     ~~~Buddha

~~~~~~~~~~~My Lively Life~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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"Be Joyful because it is humanly possible"~~~Wendell Berry

Pause & See ~ Morning Light

I love the shortening days and the opportunity to see the sunrise at a reasonable hour.  I have to admit I was a bit grumbly this morning.  I awoke to the sound of rain.  Somehow my forecast hadn't included rain for today.  You see, I did 6 loads of laundry yesterday thinking this would be my last outside line drying time for a while.  I had thought it would be dry today...oh bother.  Guess it is going to get a few rain rinses.  When I went to take Runa out I saw this beautiful sky!  Grumblies were all gone!  I ran and got my camera.  Wearing my robe and muck boots I ventured out into the cold drizzle to get a better view across the field.

It was breath taking~~~

I stood there just soaking it all in and watched the light come on.  There was a soft drizzle and I was getting a bit chilled.  I started think about my morning coffee and turned to head back to the house.  This is what was behind me ~~~ A spectacular rainbow!

I no longer felt the cold.  It was just so beautiful!  I took a stroll down to the pond to see.....

My camera does not do the sight justice.  The sun shone on the autumn leaves at just the perfect angle to create a burst of golden light.  Longfellow's Poem speaks to this moment so very well...

The Rainbow

My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky;
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!
The Child is father of the Man;
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 

I try to see something new each day. The art of seeing is essential to any creative work in my humble opinion.  My favorites are the ones that stop me in my tracks!  Like so many folks I have a very busy mind that I struggle to quiet.  By creating this practice it has given me many opportunities to pause and be with a new wonder.  I love to wonder about wonders.  These little seeings can be just the jolt my creative process needs to get out of a rut.  But mostly, they provide a pause which is that moment of peace I need to heal from a frustration. These seeings are grounding for me and bring me to the present.  I will admit to laughing out loud with joy over some of my discoveries, they are a moments of childlike wonder!  

"When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky"             ~~~Buddha

Pause & See

There isn't much time for sitting, reading, or just doing no~thing right now but, I find my Self constantly pausing and looking into the woods.  This final spring green with the remembrance of the open winter woods just catches my breath.  There is something so alluring about the darkness that the woods emit this time of year.  So many folks feel closed in by winter it is the opposite for me.  In the winter the woods beckon...in the summer there is a sense of pause and privacy, it is like I am not allowed.  Of course, all the work in the open keeps me out as well as the mosquitoes.  It IS beautiful to be on the edges just looking in, knowing mysterious wood happenings are occurring.  

A poem for today~~~ (the only thing I have time and awakeness to read these days is poetry!)

Lost in the forest...

Lost in the forest, I broke off a dark twig
and lifted its whisper to my thirsty lips:
maybe it was the voice of the rain crying,
a cracked bell, or a torn heart.

Something from far off it seemed
deep and secret to me, hidden by the earth,
a shout muffled by huge autumns,
by the moist half-open darkness of the leaves.

Wakening from the dreaming forest there, the hazel-sprig
sang under my tongue, its drifting fragrance
climbed up through my conscious mind

as if suddenly the roots I had left behind
cried out to me, the land I had lost with my childhood---
and I stopped, wounded by the wandering scent. 

Pablo Neruda

...& the daily dose of duckie cuteness

+++ hummingbird wonder

I try to see something new each day.  It is part of my practice in "seeing".  The art of seeing is essential to any creative work in my humble opinion.  My favorites are the ones that stop me in my tracks!  Like so many folks I have a very busy mind that I struggle to quiet.  But by creating this practice it has given me many opportunities to pause and be with a new wonder.  I love to wonder about wonders.  These little seeings can be just the jolt my creative process needs to get out of a rut.  But mostly they provide a pause which is that moment of peace I need to heal from a frustration. These seeings are grounding for me and bring me to the present.  I will admit to laughing out loud with joy over some of these discoveries. They are a moment of childlike wonder!  

"When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky"             ~~~Buddha

"When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky"             ~~~Buddha

Pause & See ~~~ April Ice

You know that old saying..."If you don't like the weather just wait a minute"?  Well, that is the story of our lives here in Maine.   Plenty, of variety and surprises, like April ice!  Do not believe I have ever seen ice this late into April!  Glad to see the sun this morning and hope the rest of the snow will melt away before the day ends.  But a first, for me, is an icicle on April 17th!

Ice in my garden paths!

This is a very brave garlic emerging from my hard scrabble soil and the spring ice!

Tonight will be the first OUTside aired Clean Sheet Night! 

(Sheet look a little stiff? Yes, they are frozen!)

morning field view

first I heard your name

bringing my mind back to spring

thaw recall, Phoebe

orah

This is a regular feature on my blog.  I try to see something new each day. The art of seeing is essential to any creative work in my humble opinion.  My favorites are the ones that stop me in my tracks!  Like so many folks I have a very busy mind that I struggle to quiet.  But by creating this practice it has given me many opportunities to pause and be with a new wonder.  I love to wonder about wonders.  These little seeings can be just the jolt my creative process needs to get out of a rut.  But mostly they provide a pause which is that moment of peace I need to heal from a frustration. These seeings are grounding for me and bring me to the present.  I will admit to laughing out loud with joy over some of my discoveries, they are a moment of childlike wonder!  

"When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky"             ~~~Buddha

Pause & See ::: a Visitor

Looking out my window right now this is what you would see~~~big, fluffy, wet snowflakes coming down.  9 to 16 inches is the last prediction I saw...I will keep you posted!  I better get this blog done quick...there has been some power flickers already!  This is what I call March Madness!   

But what I want to share with you happened earlier this week.  I went for my walk in the woods without my camera because I was carrying a pack basket full of cracked corn for the wild turkeys.  I have stopped feeding them near the house since the coyotes took all of my ducks.  I figured I was luring their natural prey near my house.  This  made it a bit easier for the coyote family to choose duck for dinner.  

So walking away from the corn I saw these prints!

I went back to the house and got my camera AND a ruler...

MOOSE PRINTS!

Funny thing is my son's guest told us she wanted to see a Moose before she graduated.  I told her it is fairly rare to see a Moose around here.  In 20 years, I have only seen one Moose on this property.  Next day after she left Moose Tracks!  Go figure!  And I am not leaving the camera behind again!  Well, time to batten down the hatches and stare out the window~~Happy Storm!

Moose Puppet

This is a regular feature on my blog.  I try to see something new each day. The art of seeing is essential to any creative work in my humble opinion.  My favorites are the ones that stop me in my tracks!  Like so many folks I have a very busy mind that I struggle to quiet.  But by creating this practice it has given me many opportunities to pause and be with a new wonder.  I love to wonder about wonders.  These little seeings can be just the jolt my creative process needs to get out of a rut.  But mostly they provide a pause which is that moment of peace I need to heal from a frustration. These seeings are grounding for me and bring me to the present.  I will admit to laughing out loud with joy over some of my discoveries, they are a moment of childlike wonder!  

"When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky"             ~~~Buddha

Pause & See

This is a regular feature on my blog.  I try to see something new each day. The art of seeing is essential to any creative work in my humble opinion.  My favorites are the ones that stop me in my tracks!  Like so many folks I have a very busy mind that I struggle to quiet.  But by creating this practice it has given me many opportunities to pause and be with a new wonder.  I love to wonder about wonders.  These little seeings can be just the jolt my creative process needs to get out of a rut.  But mostly they provide a pause which is that moment of peace I need to heal from a frustration. These seeings are grounding for me and bring me to the present.  I will admit to laughing out loud with joy over some of my discoveries, they are a moment of childlike wonder!  

"When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky"             ~~~Buddha

This is from yesterdays walk.  Right now I am waiting for a Nor'Easter to dump enough snow on us in order to snowshoe again!  But Runa is at my feet with longing eyes so it might be a 2 walk day today...meanwhile back to yesterday.  As I was walking on uneven terrain still with ice spikes on my boots, I was "hearing" the many complaints that have been expressed about this "crappy" winter.  Not wanting to walk in the woods with that state of mind I consciously  choose to Pause & See.  And here is what I saw in these less than "ideal" conditions...

Snow that looks like a moonscape~~~Amazing~

And even though is was cold and I needed a scarf over my face to walk there is this spring in the woods that is OPEN and FLOWING ~~~ reminding me to do the same.

I will leave you with this pray that I found here

http://www.worldprayers.org/prayerwheel/

(this is one of my favorite sites for random inspiration)

The winter will lose its cold,

as the snow will be without whiteness,

The night without darkness,

the heavens without stars,

the day without light,

The flower will lose its beauty,

all fountains their water,

the sea its fish,

the tree its birds,

the forest its beasts,

the earth its harvest -

All these things will pass before

anyone breaks the bonds of our love,

And before I cease caring for you in my heart.

May your days be happy in number as flakes of snow,

May your nights be peaceful,

and may you be without troubles.

france - matthew of rievaulx - 13th century

Pause & See

It is a gray day here in Maine.  We had a just a bit of snow yesterday.  These are days that I adore.  The snow quiets everything down.  It is just what I needed to reset from all the hustle and bustle of my life and the season.  It has been a busy fall for me.  I, recently, realized I hadn't had a whole day alone since June!  Not a good thing for the introverted soul. I decided to take no appointments from clients this month so I could carve out time to just be.  

When I went out to do my morning chores...the world was just so silent.  I love the way the snow muffles.  I could still hear distant chainsaws and trucks but they did not sound so harsh. I decided to take a leisurely walk in the cold snowy woods. Of course, Runa came along.

Alone, is a relative term.  I never really have felt alone and seldom recall being lonely.  Actually, when I am "alone" --- separated from any other human presences...you might say --- is when I feel the least alone.  It is then that I can sense the "all is oneness", you may call this God, Great Spirit, Goddess....for me it is a sort of everythingness.  Nothing is separate.  Here is a little quote by Thomas Merton that says it so well. (today~December 10th is the day Merton entered the monastery & is the day he died) 

"And now in the woods, I once again revisit the idea of simply staying here, in the woods---with great interior freedom, and applying myself to the main business, which has nothing to do with places, and does not require a beach of pure, white Caribbean sand. Only silence and a curtain of trees."  

Thomas Merton "A search for Solitude"

On my walk I saw no one. Not even a bird. But I was not alone...here is proof!

Rabbit Tracks

I could hear a woodpecker up there somewhere but never saw it...though I stood and looked for quite awhile.

FOX TRACKS! 

Fox tracks besides running Runa tracks

White-tailed Deer Tracks

Fox trail next to dog trail

Squirrel tracks..."Runa Come! Runa Come!!! Runa get your fuzzy butt over here and leave the wild things be..." (you guessed it...she loves to chase squirrels..never caught one..though she is a good mouser for a dog)

And who made these tracks...the not so wild...Vern!

Vern's way of enjoying a cold wintery day!

This a regular feature I plan to include in this blog.  I try to see something new each day.  It is part of my practice in "seeing".  The art of seeing is essential to any creative work in my humble opinion.  My favorites are the ones that stop me in my tracks!  Like so many folks I have a very busy mind that I struggle to quiet.  But by creating this practice it has given me many opportunities to pause and be with a new wonder.  I love to wonder about wonders.  These little seeings can be just the jolt my creative process needs to get out of a rut.  But mostly they provide a pause which is that moment of peace I need to heal from a frustration. These seeings are grounding for me and bring me to the present.  I will admit to laughing out loud with joy over some of these discoveries. They are a moment of childlike wonder!  

"When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky"             ~~~Buddha