Soft and Hot and Foggy

"The light in the South is soft and hot and foggy. 

I cannot imagine waking to anything else."

~ Elizabeth Cox

A new morning and I am lucky to have a beautiful view of downtown Birmingham, Alabama. The lights from the city dance with the headlights of cars converging on I-20, I-59, and I-69. The fog and sky add their own colors to the mix.

Qualities We Possess

"We attract hearts by the qualities we display; 

we retain them by the qualities we possess."

~ Jean Baptiste Antoine Suard

Dignity and Importance

"Life is an unanswered question, 

but let's believe in the dignity
and importance of the question."

~ Tennessee Williams

Define Yourself

"Accept no one’s definition of your life; but rather define yourself."

~ Harvey Fierstein

In the Mood

"I am in the mood to dissolve in the sky."

~ Virginia Woolf

The Value of Doing Nothing

"Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, 

of just going along, 

listening to all the things you can't hear, 

and not bothering."

~ A. A. Milne

New Hopes of Heaven

"New perils past, new sins forgiven, 

New thoughts of God, 

new hopes of heaven."

~ John Keble

Birmingham, Alabama

While the Sun Still Shines

Honolulu, Hawaii

Oi kau ka lau, e hana i ola honua 

"Live your life while the sun still shines."

~ Hawaiian Proverb

Live In Joy

From Ala Moana Hotel

“We cannot cure the world of sorrows, 

but we can choose to live in joy.”

~ Joseph Campbell

Memories and Magic

Waikiki Beach

"Memories and magic can happen at any moment."

~ Valerie Fraser Luesse

Writing In Truth

"What you are writing in truth-- that is good."

~ Levon Ohai

Find Ecstasy

"Find ecstasy in life; the mere sense of living is joy enough."

~ Emily Dickinson

The Mystery Is There

"Each time dawn appears, 

the mystery is there in its entirety."

~ René Daumal

This morning I had company watching the sunrise. A trio of deer right off the back deck. They froze as I snapped and I think they were actually more interested in me than the sun.

Stirred By the Wind

"What lay still in the calm is stirred by the wind."

~ Henry P. Judd

No Benefit In Worrying Whatsoever

"If a problem is not fixable, 

then there is no help in worrying. 

There is no benefit in worrying whatsoever."

The Dalai Lama 

Have Patience With Yourself

"Have patience with all things,
but chiefly have patience with yourself.
Do not lose courage in considering
your own imperfections
but instantly set about remedying them -
every day begin the task anew."

~ St. Francis de Sales

Which One to Surf

"Feelings are much like waves, 

we can't stop them from coming 

but we can choose which one to surf."

~ Jonatan Mårtensson 

To Change Others' Minds

"The way to change others’ minds
is with affection, and not anger."

~ The Dalai Lama

Loving Someone Deeply

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, 

while loving someone deeply gives you courage."

 ~ Lao Tzu 

We don't always understand life, but we do understand love.

From Pain to Change

"Passion is the bridge 

that takes you from pain to change."

~ Frida Kahlo

Tolerance and Compassion

Happy Birthday, Christy!

"If you have tolerance and compassion, 

you can go to the battle, 

in the metaphoric sense of course, 

fighting for your dreams without harming anyone."

~ Paulo Coelho

Happy Is The Son

Happy Birthday, Richard

"Happy is the son whose faith in his mother 

remains unchallenged."

~ Louisa May Alcott

Grain By Grain

"Grain by grain, a loaf... stone by stone, a palace."

~ George Bernard Shaw

The Years Teach Much

"The years teach much which the days never knew."

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Aloha Sunrise with Rick

Growth Is Intentional

"Change is inevitable, growth is intentional."

~ Glenda Cloud

Great, Fresh, Unblighted, Unredeemed Wilderness

"In God's wilderness is the hope of the world-- 

the great, fresh, unblighted, unredeemed wilderness."

~ John Muir

Up here, I am immersed in lush greenery. That's what happens in the summer when the rain and sun dance daily.

Clarity of Mind, Body and Spirit

"Clarity of mind, body and spirit 

is the key to creativity, 

to finding and producing the art 

in our work and our lives...

I associate clarity with 'spirit.'"

~ Dan Wakefield

Dream Grow Holy

"Dreams grow holy put in action."

~ Adelaide Procter

The Bridge Is Love

"There is a land of the living and a land of the dead
and the bridge is love,
the only survival, the only meaning."

~ Thornton Wilder

Give What You Have

"Give what you have. 

To someone, it may be better than you dare to think."

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Love Grows

"Love grows by giving."

~ Elbert Hubbard

The Whole Universe

"God is a shorthand for everything. 

Like 'tout le monde,' there's the whole universe."

~ Kurt Vonnegut

Keep In the Sunlight

"Do not anticipate trouble, 

or worry about what may never happen. 

Keep in the sunlight."

~ Benjamin Franklin

The Art of Art

Looking eastward

"The art of art... is simplicity."

~ Walt Whitman

Simple Contemplation

Meditation, prayer, and an empty mind. 

The birds know the sky.

A Grand Teacher

"A garden is a grand teacher."

~ Gertrude Jekyll

Small little patches of work. My top garden is so huge, so I have many patches to tend to, but I am so satisfied by the baby steps, what I am able to do, with time and love.

Here's the result of two mornings -- yesterday and today -- waiting for the sunrise.

We are here for only a short time. Let's live with joy, show those we love that we do, and create our art.

Before

After

 "All gardens are a form of autobiography."
~ Robert Dash