Only Dreamers

If you look closely, that black bird is perched in the tree, far right...

"Only dreamers can teach us to soar."
~Anne Marie Pierce

Three deer,the sky, trees, and me wait for the sun... Who has a better sunrise perch, me or you, oh sweet black bird?

Tom Petty, ♪♫ ♪♫ Learning to Fly ♪♫ ♪♫

Follow Your Spirit

"As you listen to your spirit, peace follows.
So follow your spirit.
Build your foundation in your heart."
~ Sara Paddison

Oh! the 1st morning light is beautiful. Bright orange and red against the snow filled mountain ridge. Stunning...This mountain air is some sort of elixir. Fills the lungs clean and heart with possibilities... And the actual sunrise: Photo

True Mystery

"The true mystery of the world
is the visible, not the invisible."
~ Oscar Wilde

Not a cloud in the sky and my Pisgah Forest ridge glows golden from the soon-to-rise sun... Ice shards... Bare branches, reaching up to blue, bathed in sunlight...

Passionate Colors

Gentle, gentle snowflakes and sky is pure light with sun behind the clouds. So...much...beauty...

Spectacular sky. Clean and gorgeous. Waiting to see if sun will crest...

"Life is a celebration of passionate colors."
~ Leialoha Cator

Oh. Life is wonderful.

Walking Through Snow

Waking up to white...

"Life is like walking through snow:
every step shows."
~ Jess Lair

Heavenly Peace

"All is Calm, all is bright...
...Sleep in heavenly Peace."
~ John Freeman Young

Last minute errands to run while the valley sleeps. Lightness and holiness in the air... Christmas!

Makaha Sons, Silent Night (German, Filipino, & Hawaiian verses)

Whetted, Translucent

Glorious, Happy Xmas to one and all!

Sky clean crisp blue. Orange gold clouds are moving left to right... Clouds moving so fast across my horizon. My heart (and camera shutter) thumping happy.

"The secret of seeing
is to sail on solar wind.
Hone and spread your spirit,
till you yourself are a sail,
whetted, translucent,
broadside to the merest puff."
~ Annie Dillard

My God, that bright nearly full moon in the trees against the midnight blue sky is gorgeous: Gorgeous moon.... Golden glow along the ridge with fluffy clouds scattered. My prayers this morning are focused on peace... and love...

John Lennon, ♪♫ ♪♫ Happy Xmas ♪♫ ♪♫

To Love Someone

Happy Birthday, Steven

"To love someone
is to see a miracle invisible to others."
~ François Mauriac

I love you like the sunrise...

Vividly Most Perfectly

"For man, as for flower and beast and bird,
the supreme triumph is to be
most vividly most perfectly alive."
~ D. H. Lawrence

Can this sky blaze any more orange, yellow, and red? ...Always love downloading these photos to see what I've caught. This morning's is very special...

What We Give

"We make a living by what we get
but we make a life by what we give."
~ Winston Churchill

Till the Stars Come Down

I love to see what dawn's light reveals. It is always magic.

Venus burns brightly in the night sky, throwing light on my ridge, which looks clear enough for a sunrise this morning...

"Dance till the stars come down from the rafters.
Dance, Dance, Dance till you drop."

~ W.H. Auden

Hapa, ♪♫ ♪♫ Anjuli♪♫ ♪♫

All Life's Moments

"Beauty is a reflection
of all life’s moments—
joy, sorrow, love.
It begins inside long before
it shows itself on the surface."
~ Dayle Haddon

Frank Sinatra, ♪♫ ♪♫ The Christmas Song ♪♫ ♪♫

Seeing, Hearing, Feeling

Asheville, North Carolina

"Seeing, hearing, feeling, are miracles, and each part and tag of me is a miracle." ~ Walt Whitman

The Gorgeous Clouds are a ceiling of midnight and sky blue cotton balls this morning. Stunning... So peaceful... & lovely. A feeling of goodness. Happiness... Now roaring red-orange. Passion... I can't do justice to the sky. It is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen...

Change Ourselves

"When we are no longer
able to change a situation...
We are challenged to change ourselves."
~ Victor Frankl

Not a cloud in the sky. Visibility! Mountains ringing Asheville glow golden.

Amy Grant, ♪♫ ♪♫ Breath of Heaven ♪♫ ♪♫

Simple Things Well

"Focus on what you know you can do.
Know what you’re capable of on any given day,
and what you can count on.
Do the simple things well,
and then use the confidence
to build up the rest of your game."
~ Mia Hamm

Rather nippy out here... Can the sun be more golden? The sky more blue? Something about the cold makes my heart shine through...

Words of Encouragement

Gentle snowflakes and another magical sunrise. Some sort of optical wonder...

Ice on back deck... Numb fingers and face. But who cares?

"Words of encouragement fan the spark of genius
into the flame of achievement.
Legend tells us that Lincoln’s dying mother
called her small son to her bedside and whispered,
‘Be somebody, Abe’."
~ Wilfred A. Peterson

Love Is a Miracle

"Miracles occur naturally as expressions of love. The real miracle is the love that inspires them. In this sense everything that comes from love is a miracle."

~ A Course In Miracles

That sunrise was miraculous...

Rosanne Cash, ♪♫ ♪♫ It Came Upon a Midnight Clear ♪♫ ♪♫

Lovely Snowflakes

Snowing! The sun and birds come out to play...

Ahh the gray clouds have moved in. It's snowing in Asheville. Above me, a patch of blue...Beautiful!

"Lovely snowflakes, they fall nowhere else!"
~ Zen Saying

Good beautiful morning! Dawn's first light reveals snow on the back deck and a sky to welcome the sun rise...Lovely quiet. Aloha in the air. Christmas tree lights and fresh coffee. Snow on the ground. Time for prayers and gratitude.

Over There

Don't know about sunrise this morning, but the cloud show is miraculous.

"I love the clouds...
the clouds that pass by... over there...
over there... those lovely clouds!"
~ Charles Baudelaire

Okay, I am dressed like an Eskimo because it is really cold on the deck this morning... But 1st light is magnificent... No stars, just gray clouds. And prayers of blessings... Shapes and glow inspire me to (finally) write that overdue letter to my childhood friend in NYC... Clouds, my heart, glow...

Wings

I was lucky enough to catch this bird, welcoming the sun with me...

"There is no flying without wings."
~ French Proverb

Golden sky. All wonder... So peaceful & life-affirming... With wings, my imagination takes flight...

Elevated and Great

"What a grand thing to be loved;
what a grander thing still to love.
The heart becomes heroic through passion.
It is no longer composed of anything
but what is pure;
it no longer rests upon anything
but what is elevated and great."
~ Victor Hugo

Practice Compassion

World AIDS Day...

"If you want others to be happy,
practice compassion.
If you want to be happy,
practice compassion."
~ Dalai Lama

So pretty here. Heavy clouds where sun will rise, but there is clear sky and radiant light over downtown Asheville... And a small patch of dawn above me...

What Life is Made Up Of

"If you love life, don't waste Time,
for time is what life is made up of."
~ Bruce Lee

One's Courage

Dawn's moon, the tree tops, and a squirrel's nest...

"Life shrinks or expands
in proportion to one’s courage."
~ Anais Nin

No clouds. But valley is engulfed in fog. Looks like fantasy land...This morning Fog, a thick blanket, like every secret we hide... Like the heart, a mystery, a celebration: Glowing Golden

Recklessness and Freedom

It's a cloud and fog show this morning. Spectacular sunrise about to crest!

"The way to find your true self is by
recklessness and freedom."
~ Brenda Ueland

Santana, India Arie, YoYo Ma, ♪♫ ♪♫ While My Guitar Gently Weeps ♪♫ ♪♫

Blessings

I spend my time celebrating the sunrise, but last night's blue moon, was pretty spectacular. From my vantage point, way more brilliant than the Asheville lights below...

"By looking up,
by raising our eyes above our limited horizon,
we are more likely to perceive the blessings
hidden in affliction."
~ David Steindl-Rast

Thanksgiving week--My heart is focused on gratitude and love. Mahalo all!

Filling Some Other Body

Moon setting in front forest...

"A Poet... has no Identity--
he is continually.. filling some other Body--
the Sun, the Moon, the Sea and Men and Women."
~ John Keats

Dawn this morning is fog and fire. Mist in the valley and orange red bursts along the ridge.

This morning's prayers, all rock & roll. Very spiritual experience. Full up. Singing and dancing with my random shuffle. Meeting the sun, heart wide open. Cresting song: Dave Matthews Band, ♪♫ ♪♫ #41 ♪♫ ♪♫ , Accident? I think not.

For the Sake of Other Men

"You do not belong to you. You belong to the universe. The significance of you will forever remain obscure to you, but you may assume that you are fulfilling your significance if you apply yourself to converting all your experience to highest advantage of others. You and all men are here for the sake of other men."
~ R. Buckminster Fuller

Oh, the sky is glowing orange gold and I can still see the stars, fading softly with the new light. So beautiful... We have this miracle dawn every morning... Light and color transforming the sky. Change per second. Dominant shadow of ridge, strong foundation. Grounding. Hope.

How You Finish

Had some company this morning watching the sun rise...




"You have to meet all of the challenges,
big and small.
Because how you start is how you finish."
~ Bernie Mac

Venus burns brightly in twilight sky. Peace, gratitude, hope... What a holy morning...Light, wonderful blessing, fills the sky as I finish my prayers. Celebrate life...

Deep Wild Rock Molten

Happy birthday, Kayla...

"Go deeper than love,
for the soul has greater depths,
love is like the grass, but the heart is deep
wild rock molten, yet dense and permanent."
~ D. H. Lawrence

Sky, some sort of orange miracle. Vibrant glowing clouds bright Creamsicle... (My photos are not photoshopped. I say this because even though today's sunrise looks like it is, it still doesn't do sky justice.)

It Is

"Beauty is not caused. It is."
~ Emily Dickinson

So..much...beauty... Takes the breath away... Sunrise.

Nora Jones: ♪♫ ♪♫ Sunrise ♪♫ ♪♫ ( h/t @JackieYunTweets )