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

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The More You Can Hear

 

Birmingham, Alabama

"The quieter you become, the more you can hear."
Ram Dass

The sky is magnificent. The sounds and colors of Spring are everywhere. I am certainly enjoying myself, up on the roof...

Something New Trying To Be Born

 "Everywhere we look at present
we see something new trying to be born."
Eric Hoffer

I am having lots of fun as the Easter bunny this morning, not the plumeria in my hair, delivering goodies to the residents. Music is playing off my cart and I am going in-room to each one with personalized gifts and cards and some snacks...

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/ 

Oaks Take Deeper Root

"Storms make oaks take deeper root.
Kites rise highest against the wind-- not with it."

Winston Churchill

Dusk. After the storm, there is an eerie calm following an afternoon of tornado sirens, lightning, and rain. The storm was terrifying, because of the chaos, the sirens, and the rage of Nature.

Now, like an epiphany, the Alabama clouds move quickly, left to right-- heavy gray is replaced by swirling colors and ebbing light. All is quiet and then behold, a new possibility--the birds are singing again in the tangled branches of the oak trees.

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/

Being Who You Are

 

"The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are."
Joseph Campbell

The oaks' silhouette against the sky's colors-- and the buds of green leaves, Nature's delight, are beginning to tickle the branches! Spring's bountiful gifts. One more time!

"The tree of immortal life, of the knowledge of immortal life.
 And the Buddha under his tree and Christ hanging on his tree
are the same image. They are the same image.
The one who has died to the flesh
and been reborn in the spirit."
Joseph Campbell

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What You Are

 

"Character is what you are in the dark."

Dwight L. Moody

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Listening To Yourself

The extraordinary sky this evening from my back lanai...

"I think a lot of making art is listening to yourself."

Kiki Smith

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Deepest Voice of God

 

"Passion... it's the deepest voice of God
that is moving us along the river of aliveness.
It's God's way of getting you to be
in the right place, at the right time,
for the right purpose, for the right people."

Alan Cohen

Glorious sunset through the trees. I cannot distinguish the new leaves from the resting birds, but I can take off my mask and let the light wash me with gratitude...

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/

State Of Joy

"I’m discovering the art of living life from a state of joy,

no matter where I’m standing or what I’m looking at."

Esther (Abraham) Hicks

This sunset greeted me, energized me, as I stepped out of my car. I put all the stuff I was carrying on the asphalt to free my hands to take the shot. The gifts seem to just come if I pay attention.

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/

Believing In Something

 

"A man lives by believing in something,
not by debating and arguing about many things."
Thomas Carlyle

After almost a year, our nursing home is still closed to visitors, but I take the residents outside to a protected area every afternoon. We are able to enjoy the fresh air. And together we look at the sky.

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/

Moon Is a Polka Dot

 

"After all, well, moon is a polka dot, sun is a polka dot,

and then, the earth where we live is also a polka dot."

Yayoi Kusama

I am up early. Screen door open, watching the moon set over Birmingham, Alabama. I hear the songbirds in the nearby oak branches, a train whistle eight miles away, and the hum of tires speeding on Highway 59/20.

The moon, like me, reflects the light of the sun and puts on a color show -- turning orange then red as it lowers. This moon dances, enchants, then is swallowed by clouds before kissing the horizon.

My meditation practice includes prayer and this watercolor, the art awash in mindfulness and peace.

Shine bright.

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/ 

 

The Moon Is There

 

"I like to think that the moon is there
 even if I am not looking at it."

Albert Einstein

This morning, mesmerized,  I watched through the bare oak trees the moon set over downtown Birmingham as I welcomed the new day. We are Waxing Gibbous at 90%. The full moon is on Friday.

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/ 

Joining Heaven and Earth

 

Birmingham, Alabama

"Joining heaven and earth is not separating
this and that, but making them indivisible."

Chogyam Trungpa

My thoughts are hanging with the bare trees. Vibrant reds and oranges and that glowing gold sun.

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/ 

Talent Meant To Use

 

“The person born with a talent they are meant to use
will find their greatest happiness in using it.”
Johann von Goethe

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The Mere Sense of Living

 

"The mere sense of living is joy enough."

Emily Dickinson

Walking from the parking lot into the Nursing Home, the sky is a banquet of colors and hope. Can there be so much beauty amid the fears and unknowns?

The morning air yesterday was not as cold, so I did not have to wait for the ice to melt on my windshield. But, ready to drive to work, I was able to take this photo of downtown Birmingham, jump in the car, and drive.

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/ 

When the Heart Breaks

 

Five Points South, Birmingham, Alabama

"When the heart breaks, it heals.
It's not magic… I'm human."

Dan Gottlieb

I have a new iPhone with beautiful cameras: The morning sky cooperates with this gift of spectacular blue with hearts bubbling in the clouds.

my first selfie

Let me hold my life, live my life, with creativity and compassion, remembering what and who I love.

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/ 

My Panacea

 

"For my panacea... Morning air!"
Henry David Thoreau 

Another catch my breath sky: Walking to work and the sky is awash with clouds of hope above the Nursing Home.

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/

The Free Soul Is Rare

Asheville, North Carolina

 "The free soul is rare,
but you know it when you see it -
basically, because you feel good,
very good, when you are near or with them."

Charles Bukowski

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/ 

A Magnet In Your Heart

"There is a magnet in your heart
that will attract true friends.
That magnet is unselfishness,
thinking of others first.
When you learn to live for others, they will live for you."
Paramahansa Yogananda

Home, after several straight days of work. I am exhausted, looking at three days off (I hope). The sunset welcomes me home. The world is beautiful.

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/ 

America Is Good

 

"America is great because America is good,
and if America ever ceases to be good,
America will cease to be great."
Alexis De Tocqueville

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The Mystery Of Our Own Being

 

"Every advance in knowledge
brings us face to face
with the mystery of our own being."

Max Planck

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Our Soul In Things

 

"We are all visionaries, and what we see is our soul in things."

Henri-Frédéric Amiel

My soul is the sun,

higher than Haleakalā

shining bright, quiet light

beyond the sky of my ancestors,

resilient comfort

of rising setting fierceness.

I am alive.

Colors mix my tears

like waterfalls in the ridges 

waves of grief, meeting the shoreline's anuʻu:

Hope.

Acceptance.

Transformation.

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/ 

Our Best Selves

Birmingham, Alabama

"Courage, true courage, derives from that sense of who we are,
what are our best selves,
what are our most important commitments,
and the belief that we can dig deep
and do hard things for the enduring benefit of others."

Barack Obama

Being brave requires faith and the certainty that in giving 100%, all those things you need will help you get to where you need to go. If not, others will help. People always help.

Does it take confidence to be brave? Perhaps. I prefer believing bravery needs authenticity, honesty. And this personal truth--Can I face myself if I don't take the action I know that I must?

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/ 

Colorful Silence

Five Points South, Birmingham, Alabama

"What keeps my heart awake is colorful silence."

Claude Monet

Where You Stand

Birmingham, Alabama

"Every sunset is also a sunrise. 

It all depends on where you stand."

Karl Schmidt

Miraculous Ways

"Trust who and what you are, 

and the universe will support you
in miraculous ways."

Alan Cohen

Ordinary Moments

Five Points South, Birmingham, Alabama

"There are no ordinary moments."

Dan Millman

Sweetly soaking the colors of the sunset.

♥ My Society6 Art Gallery \(‾◡◝ )/ 

Where You've Come From

Five Points South, Birmingham, Alabama

"There is an old saying
that seasoned voyagers share
as they prepare to head out to sea:
 'You don’t know where you are
unless you know where you’ve come from.'"
~ Lehua Kamalu

Create Again and Again

Five Points South, Birmingham, Alabama

"Curving back within myself I create again and again."

 (Sanskrit: prakṛtim svām avastabhya
visrjami punaḥ punaḥ)

the Bhagavad Gita

Saturday Morning and I am again listening to the birds outside my balcony this morning. Their oak tree song fills me with hope and peace. I have just finished sharing Aloha with text messages to my friends and on Twitter, reminding myself that today, no matter what the challenges that come, I will try to keep this beauty I feel alive with connection and kindness. 

Sunlight and the Oak Tree Bird Songs

I am heading to work shortly and our Alabama Nursing Home is still Covid19-free. We are working hard to keep it this way.

"Use your inner strength to meet whatever is coming today.
Strength is the foundation of passion
and you are designed to thrive,
no matter how life unfolds."

Deepak Chopra

Inspirational Source: Daily Breath with Deepak Chopra

A Poem Is A Meteor

"A poem is a meteor."

Wallace Stevens

Oh, separation

sirens cutting the matterless night.

This Loneliness 

caring stillness
the hardness, the loss
sorrow, continuing.

Broken dreams

deeper than death
falling
cracking
dissolving

tenderness to pain.

what matters, dear one? 
Intimacy,
the unmasked smile,
the moreness of this moment,
our honest connection. 
shared goodness,
no masked smile.

From Pain To Change

Five Points South, Birmingham, Alabama

"Passion is the bridge 
that takes you from pain to change."
Frida Kahlo

I was able to stroll outside and soak in the beautiful day. The spring greens are intoxicating and the sounds of nature are everywhere. As I walked, I smelled magnolia blossoms and heard the songs of birds. Time cradled me and I seemed to be one with the sky, trees, and sun, at peace with life.

In the midst of uncertainty, the light through the trees was a miraculous moment of love and connection, beyond description. I felt comfort, I felt hope.

Here is a photo that I took of the sun through the trees. Sending good wishes your way. 

I made a new friend...

There are discoveries, everywhere...