What Your Thoughts Make It

"Your life is what your thoughts make it." 

Marcus Aurelius

I have the sliding door open so I can listen to what's happening outside. The air is warm, the sounds are rich. I am enjoying the bird songs and flight and that jumping squirrel just to the right. 

I am living my dream, with strength and possibilities again inspired by the tree's marrow, and the hypnotic overcast sky on this beautiful new morning.

With reflection and prayers comes this simple, glorious fact: I am at my best when I am connected to Nature and motivated by love.

To Share With You

 

Asheville, North Carolina

"Nothing more do I ask than to share with you
the ecstasy and sacrament of my life."

Emily Dickinson

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/ 

Seek What They Sought

Birmingham, Alabama

"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise.
Seek what they sought."
Matsuo Basho

I am home from a hectic day at work and the sky greets me with spectacular colors. Red, blue, yellow, black. And the city lights make me catch my breath, too. I may have a busy week ahead of me, but I feel sweet gratitude for this gift of the present moment.

Giving And Forgiving

 

Birmingham, Alabama

"Cultivate an attitude of gratitude,
of giving and forgiving.
Nothing can bring you peace but yourself."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

See The Dawn Before The Rest

 

Full Moon, Birmingham, Alabama

"A visionary is one who can find his way by moonlight,
and see the dawn before the rest of the world."
Oscar Wilde

The Happy Moment

 

Birmingham, Alabama

"Color possesses me. There is no need to seize it.

 It possesses me. I know.
Here is the meaning of the happy moment:
color and I are one. I am a painter."
Paul Klee

Room In Your Heart

 

"Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable."
Mary Oliver

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/ 

Kindness, Empathy, and Compassion

 

Vallejo, California

"And I remind myself that if I only responded to the authentic self, I can only respond out of kindness, empathy, and compassion."

Shaka Senghor

You Have Your Way

 

"You have your way. I have my way.
As for the right way, the correct way,
and the only way, it does not exist."
Friedrich Nietzsche

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/ 

A Sure Refuge

 

Vallejo, California

"In poverty and other misfortunes of life,
true friends are a sure refuge."
Aristotle

♡ I am home after six days in San Francisco. Joyous reunion with childhood friends with lots of art ideas, shopping... and photographs! My life is a memorable flow of discovery, exploration, and thousands of steps!

Here I am in front of a lovely piece
by Hawai'i artist, Pegge Hopper

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/ 

One's Whole Being

 

Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, Alabama

"Sunrise demands this rightness,
this order, this true disposition of one's whole being."
Thomas Merton

♡ I discovered a new place to capture the sunrise, cresting sweetly over the Birmingham Airport...

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/ 

Silent Pulse of Perfect Rhythm

 

"At the heart of each of us, whatever our imperfections,
there exists a silent pulse of perfect rhythm,
a complex of wave forms and resonances,
which is absolutely individual and unique
and yet which connects us to everything in the universe."
~ George Leonard

Deep Into Their Roots

 

The Moana Hotel, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii

"I think of the trees and how simply they let go, let fall the riches of a season, how without grief (it seems) they can let go and go deep into their roots for renewal and sleep."
~ May Sarton, Journal of a Solitude

 Every old tree has dignity and history. Place your palm on the trunk and feel the energy. Imagine the wisdom of each branch, the secret of every leaf.

This tree... was love at first sight for me. I looked up and tried to capture the grandeur and beauty in a photo, but it was as impossible as describing the ocean of laughter all around the beachfront tree.

This Indian Banyan tree stands proudly near the ocean at the Waikiki Moana Hotel. When last measured, the tree spanned 150-feet across and crowned at 75-feet. Planted in 1904, this miracle is on Honolulu's Exceptional Tree List.

"Exceptional" is an inadequate adjective.

You Learn Love By Loving

 "You learn love by loving--

by paying attention

and doing what one thereby discovers has to be done."
Aldous Huxley

You Learn Love By Loving.

Working at the Nursing Home,  I witness the fragility of life and see all the colors of dementia, courage, and joy. We are not here that long: Choose love and kindness when you can.

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/ 

In Harmony With Reality

 

“Impermanence is a principle of harmony.
When we don’t struggle against it,
we are in harmony with reality.”
Pema Chödrön

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/ 

The Most Wonderful

 

"It’s the most wonderful life on earth."
e.e. cummings

The Power of Gratitude

 

"The power of gratitude can be delivered in the smallest of moments."
Vivek Murthy

Hot summer days in Birmingham, Alabama and I continue to be enchanted by the sky and clouds. And of course, I find the shape of hearts formed by the sky. I discover joy when I look up.

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/ 

Arising And Passing

"Coming and going. Arising and passing…
Everything changes."
Joseph Goldstein

I caught the sun yesterday, dancing with a heart-shaped lens flare in the trees. Ahhh, serendipity and wabi-sabi.

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/ 

It Is Yours

 

"You wake up in the morning, and lo--

your purse is magically filled with twenty-four hours
 of the unmanufactured tissue
of the universe of your life!
 It is yours.
It is the most precious of possessions."

Arnold Bennett

♡ Again, with the sun, my heart rises: May the warmth of the sun create goodness and peace in me. May I radiate kindness to those I connect with today. May we all find rich inspiration, gratitude, and new knowledge in what we see.

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/ 

The Source Of Your Joy

"Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile,
but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy."

Thich Nhat Hanh

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/ 

 The sky beckons and I am lost in the joy of the colorful moment. Sometimes I hear the laughter of the clouds as they dance around the sun. 

Each Heart

 

"There are similarities, but each heart is different."
Michael DeBakey

I am walking in the light of the sunset, soaking in the colors and sounds.

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/ 

The Value of Saying No

 

"Freedom is control in your own life.
I have more control now than in the past,
and I'm learning the value of saying no.
That's very important."
Willie Nelson

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/ 

Never Let Go

 

“When you have a dream,
you’ve got to grab it and never let go.” 
~Carol Burnett

Listen to Your Heart

 

"Listen to your heart.
What does your heart care about?"
Tara Brach

Early morning sunlight dances over the wet grass and my heart insists on a brief detour: The Magnolia Tree is blooming again out front, waiting for me to pick fragrant, juicy flowers for our Nursing Home residents. 

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/ 

Until The Sun Rises In Your Veins

"Breathe in, 

Breathe out.

Breathe until you feel your bigness,

until the sun rises in your veins.

Breathe until you stop needing anything

to be different."

~ Julia Fehrenbacher

Out Of The Storm

 

Birmingham, Alabama

"When you come out of the storm,
you won’t be the same person who walked in.
That’s what this storm’s all about."
Haruki Murakami

After the storm, spectacular dusk colors in the clear sky.

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/ 

Lightly Child, Lightly

“It’s dark because you are trying too hard.

Lightly child, lightly.
Learn to do everything lightly.
Yes, feel lightly even though you’re feeling deeply.
Just lightly let things happen
and lightly cope with them."
Aldous Huxley

The Whole World Is Revealed

" In the choice to let go of your
known way of being, the whole
world is revealed to your new eyes."
~ Danna Faulds

It's Resiliency That Really Matters

 

"All of us get knocked down, but it's resiliency that really matters.
 All of us do well when things are going well,
but the thing that distinguishes athletes
is the ability to do well in times of great stress,
urgency, and pressure."
Roger Staubach

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/ 

Other People's Reality

 

Birmingham, Alabama

"The camera makes everyone a tourist in other people's reality,
and eventually in one's own."
Susan Sontag

Surprise: This surreal sunset to pause and celebrate. A moment where life expands and gratitude lingers like colors on the horizon.

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/ 

The Single Best Thing I Can Do Today

 

"What is the single best thing I can do today
and make this day an extraordinary one?"
Bernie Siegel

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/ 

If I Lose What I Have

"If I am what I have, and if I lose what I have, who then am I?"
Erich Fromm

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/ 

Heal Your Life

 

"You have the power to heal your life,
and you need to know that.
We think so often that we are helpless,
but we're not.
We always have the power of our minds…
Claim and consciously use your power.”

Louise Hay

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/ 

The Chance To Be Extraordinary

 

"We must overcome the notion that we must be regular... 
It robs you of the chance to be extraordinary
and leads you to the mediocre."
Uta Hagen

Oh, the sky

the sweet morning sky

a serving of love

a feast of an extraordinary life.

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/ 

Clear and Radiant Glory

"The Sun. The bright Sun, that brings back, not light alone,
but new life, and hope, and freshness
to man-burst upon the crowded city
in clear and radiant glory."
Charles Dickens

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/ 

Endured, Never Expended

 

James Wolf, RIP

"There are some griefs so loud

They could bring down the sky,

And there are griefs so still

None knows how deep they lie,

Endured, never expended."

~May Sarton, A Durable Fire, 1972

James and Christine, 2007

"Perhaps they are not stars but rather openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy." Eskimo Legend

Help Others To Rise

I am breathing in the sky after a satisfying Saturday working at the facility...

 "Love one another

and help others to rise to the higher levels,

simply by pouring out love.

Love is infectious

and the greatest healing energy."

Sai Baba

And I am waiting for the sunset with a beer, watching the billowy clouds floating above me, and those two birds on the wire.

This moment is punctuation to the nonstop day of movement and hands. Just a quiet chance for me to be grateful, alone, and smiling at the sky.

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/

A Part Of Others

 "To be a complete person is to be a part of others,
and share a part of them."
Elliot Richardson

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/ 

The Ecstasy and Sacrament of My Life

"Nothing more do I ask than to share with you
the ecstasy and sacrament of my life."
Emily Dickinson

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/ 

When We Hunch

 

"We lose touch with our wingspan when we hunch."
Martin Shaw

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/