gardening in small spaces

 green cymbidium orchids

amaryllis waiting room

love me some texture and grit

begonias. mirror. me. david.

glass ceiling

some times, you know somebody for a long time. or at least, you think you know them. then one day, you and they allow a shift to happen, and you both open the door to new discovery about each other. you are equally amazed. and you jump up and down because the door you opened together was just what the other one needed. life is never the same. it is now better.

i had asked david not so long ago to help me with an online course i was scheming up. i knew he knew about plants. could he teach some basic gardening for the course? i am no gardener and i wanted to learn. i thought others might want to learn, as well. he said yes, because he's my friend. then he threw in the part where the legion of angels standing behind me were saying how important it is that i create this course and because we talk like this to each other, i knew it was right that he be part of the offering.

so, we met at the buffalo and erie county botanical gardens to make a video of his course contribution, gardening in small spaces. i loved it. what a sweet and small adventure. we were occasionally swarmed by people asking what we were doing. one man was fascinated by my little camera. and my god, did i learn alot. it turns out david doesn't know about plants, per se, he is instead a walking encyclopedia of plants and gardening. thankfully, i had already had the sense to ask him to be one of the featured presenters at the 1 day retreat that accompanies my course. he'll be spreading his wisdom on the wonders of organic gardening. since i know the least, i expect i'll be learning the most.

take my advice. if you have a friend you think you know, raise the stakes. dare to open doors you have not thought to open together before. share knowledge and ideas. go places. enhance each others lives. i promise you, you will be amazed.

my other advice? sign up for The Soul In Bloom~ Home edition. learn along with me how to be more at home yourself. and make a list of questions for david. your plants and pantry will thank you.

To find out more, click HERE. begins february 25th.

Owl Omens 2

stuffed great horned owl, Tift Nature Preserve, Buffalo, NY

snowy owl, copyright Jody Melanson

I'm waiting for my owl. I see owls everywhere; on place mats, greeting cards, sleepwear, statues. But in this rare season of irruption from the arctic fringes, I am waiting for the real thing. I am waiting for the snowy owl.

I drive by farms and fields, head swiveling side to side ( a likely danger on the roads), scanning the rooftops and telephone poles for a burst of white feathers. As yet, I have no glimpse of the prize. And I may not be graced with a sighting before the weather turns and the owls head back to the tundra.

I will wait and I will keep my heart open with expectant gratitude, for the snowy owl already lives inside me. As an omen, he is only good. He is the call for patience and waiting for beneficial things to come into view. He is not about wasting energy, but about carefully preparing the self, inside and out, for taking advantage of opportunity the moment it arrives. In the light and in the dark. 

Timing is everything, says the owl, as is well-honed skill. There is no need for intimidation or wasteful nervous bluster. Go about your business, but pay attention. Your time will most definitely arrive. When it comes, act. Act from strength and the courage of having quietly developed your offerings. Let your inner wisdom come forth and shift your life. Be who you must be.

**********************************

Five and half years ago, I wrote a blog post about owl omens. Every day since (every single day!) some one from around the world has searched for insight about their personal owl encounters and clicked on  this post. In the last 20 days alone, this post has been viewed 269 times. There seems to be no end to fascination with owls and sometimes fear of ill omens. I tell you, animal and bird sightings are never omens for ill or bad luck. Never. Nature is our ultimate teacher and healer and She in her wisdom sends willing messengers to get us to wake up and see the truth of our lives. Because we are so often asleep. The characteristics of the animal or bird we encounter are perfectly orchestrated to mirror a part of ourselves or our situations (self created). Their characteristics and behaviors and even positions are maps to get us back on track to living our lives out loud and unafraid. To being who we must be.

It's all good, if you allow it to be.

52 Photos Project~ color with emotion

Color is how I comfort myself

in my wardrobe and my decor.

(Are 23 scarves too many?)

 

Colorful animals, stuffed and live,

can lift a mood in an instant.

(You will find both kinds in my home.)

I can tell by the color I am attracted to,

  on any particular day, just what I need most

to feel more loved and balanced.

( I do not always act to fulfill these needs.

Some days are just like that.)

Week 2 of 

The Soul In Bloom~ Home Edition

*online course and 1 day retreat*

Embracing color  for comfort and change.

For Bella and her 52 Photos Project

expanding outward

This is the year I expand outward.

Perhaps, without venturing too far from home.

I've ventured far in recent years,

awakening my soul in the process.

Now that I am awake I see what surrounds me

and it's time to embrace the new and the near.

Like the helleborus plant with green and white blooms.

Except that it's almost dead.

Because I am terrible with high maintenance plants.

Yet, I thought I would try.

So sorry.

In my expansion outward, in my desire to taste

from the deeper well of life,

I will make mistakes and I will ruin things.

But my soul will awaken further from having

reached beyond what I currently know.

The ruin will not compare to the riches

of what I find in my new expanded view.

Join me in expanding outward~

February 25th through April 5th.

The Soul In Bloom~ Home Edition

*online course and one day retreat*

make it about you

there is something to this reaching beyond the known self. there is something unleashed in the subtlest of ways that captures and lifts the mind. the reaching, the daring clears away the film of thin despair coating the eyes and the old habits of thought. an embrace happens, self to self to life as a whole. not constantly, but softly and often enough to notice.

like a sunday morning in winter, with cats to warm toes and new books that arrived and tea and crystallized windows sparking pastels, there comes a contentment not previously known. and the wish is to know it some more.

decide to show yourself. decide to begin the journey you thought was too daring to take. make a little plan and begin. make it about you and invite people along when you're ready. the very best thing you can do for improved quality of life is to stop holding back. be public, be private or a little of both. your health and your wealth and your peace will improve when you take action on behalf of yourself.

52 Photos Project~ the macro shot

If you were to accuse me

of being obsessed with flowers,

you would be right.

I am.

It's not something to apologize for.

Ever.

Because beauty and nature are solace.

Anytime, anywhere.

Last autumn, I needed solace.

I went early to the farmer's market.

I bought fistfuls of dahlias.

I spent hours arranging them

and taking photographs.

My day was better.

My home was happier.

Because of flowers.

I believe in flowers in the home.

Year round.

A single bloom or fistfuls.

If you come with me,

if you come home along with me,

I will teach you the simple wonder

of arranging flowers.

And you will be glad.

 The Soul In Bloom ~ Home Edition

*online course and one day retreat*

February 25th through April 5th

Week 3~ Floral Design 101

For Bella

For Michael and Mary

For my friend-of-the-heart, Michael.

And for Mary~ the woman who stepped

forward to stitch back together the pieces of his soul.

When it is cold and raining

you are more beautiful.

And the snow brings me

even closer to your lips.

The inner secret,

that which was never born,

you are that freshness

and I am with you now.

I can't explain the goings or the comings.

You enter suddenly

and I am nowhere again,

inside the majesty.

~Rumi~

The Word For Twelve

my friend, eric, at home in northern germany.

thatched roof and leather pants. for real.

My umbrella word for two thousand twelve has been coming on since last spring when I ventured to Northern Germany with my Mother. I was struck by the way people lived and how deeply they embraced their surroundings. Never before had I witnessed and understood how connected some of my family and friends were to their dwellings and the land where they lived. Or how heart broken some were to be separated from the place and the people they had relied on as the anchors of their lives, whether by death or the need for assisted living. Between the bone-deep contentment of some and the tears of others, I knew it was all about home~ both the peace of it and the unfulfilled longing.

This is the year of home. This is the year of going home, even if I go nowhere at all. Maybe this need has to do with never owning a home, never raising children, never knowing how to plant myself firmly in a society that only supports tradition when tradition has not supported me. Maybe the need for home, finally, has nothing to do with place and everything to do with how comfortable I can feel inside my own skin. Maybe its about finding peace and comfort and roots on my less traveled road.

Whatever it is, I long for it. And I am the only one who can lastingly give it to myself.

So, I am going home. In all its rich meanings.

To help myself get there, I am charting a course. Come with me. Let's meet on the veranda with tea and dip our roots deep in the earth.

The Soul In Bloom~ Home edition

~online course and retreat~

February 25th through April 5th, 2012

tell me i am not the only one watching

at twenty to eight in the morning i am scanning fields the color of brittle corn. there is no snow, yet i am searching for white; the white of feathers, the white of the owl that began its journey to me last spring and has yet to arrive. i wait and i scan and i drive. suddenly, there is white, a flash of wing, and i am swerving to the side of the road. it is not the owl, it is the hawk. the harrier hawk; the one that sweeps low over the color of brittle corn taunting the mice and the hares. she is exquisite and brief. she will not stay long. i watch and it matters not if i am late.

at three after five in the evening i am scanning the eastern sky. it is peach over blue, whispers and ripples of cloud covering a waxing moon. i can see in the mirror it is fire behind me, but i am driving east and the cars are coming fast and i have peach over blue. at last i am driving north and the fire is burning on my left. i am swerving to the side of the road, again. the sky is the rival of all biblical sunsets, bursting in yellow and that rose-peach-orange hue that has no name. the blinker ticks and the cars rumble by and i stare at the fire that changes by the second. i say thank you three times out loud.

there is no screen, flat or hand held, that can match the color of brittle corn or harness wind under a wing or wash the sky with fire. tell me i am not the only one watching.

The Soul In Bloom~ online course and retreat

Not long ago, a question was posed to me~ where do you feel most at home? I could not answer and the not answering squeezed my heart. I realized my sense of home was shaky at best, and in that realization deeper explanations could be found.

So, I took that question and walked among the trees. The trees told me it was time to honor all aspects of home; my body as first home, my dwelling as second, the earth as third. In honoring that trinity I would finally and irrevocably come home to myself. And being at home with myself would transform my life.

I ask it of you~ where do you feel most at home? Let's find out together. Come home along with me. Let's bloom.  xo, Graciel

The Soul In Bloom

~home edition~

online course and retreat

Online~ February 25th through April 5th, 2012

Retreat~ Saturday, March 24th in Buffalo, NY

Take the online course only for $65

or

Take the course and come to the all day retreat for $95

Click HERE to register

{Registration closes on Friday, February 24th at bedtime in NY.}

LIKE The Soul In Bloom Facebook page.

Questions? thesoulinbloom@gmail.com

Together, in The Soul In Bloom~ home edition, we are going to be inwardly attentive and outwardly practical. We are going to learn things that can improve the quality of our lives and make us feel more at home with ourselves. We will focus on our bodies, our dwellings and mother earth.

The 6 week online course will include lessons in the following~

• posture alignment and breath practice
• body chemistry and nutrition
• releasing tension in the shoulders, neck and head
• embracing color as a life-changing tool
• the basics and benefits of floral design
• sustainable square foot vegetable gardening
• energetically cleansing our home
•  transforming our home to support our passion
• the healing power of trees

We will also discuss what passion/activity makes our souls feel at home, the ability of grief to re-shape our notion of what home is, and we'll show off our pets.

How~ we will meet in a private blog for lessons and videos, and share photos in a private Flickr group.
The course will remain open for 6 weeks beyond the finish date for lesson and video review.

What is needed~ you will need high speed internet, a camera and the ability to upload photos, a Flickr.com account (sign up for free) and flowers of your choosing for the floral design lesson.

Instructors~ Graciel, Kasia Cummings, Lisa O'Connor LMT, Christine Claire Reed, David Clark (our horticulturalist and token male!), Emmy Wild Woman, Debi Smith Kaich Jones, Kelly Letky and Dr. Amy Tolbert, PhD.

My Wish~ is that you will actively participate throughout our 6 weeks together. As much as I will teach and facilitate, I also want to learn from everyone's wisdom and examples. We all have the potential to be resources and support for each other on our journey to home. And I really want to see your pets.

The March 24th All Day Retreat

in Buffalo, NY

Some things are just more fun and effective in person. We're going to get to know each other online for 4 weeks, and then give ourselves the opportunity to deepen the connection. We're going to meet in my tiny-town-that-time-forgot on the outskirts of Buffalo, NY. I affectionately call it Mayberry. (There are no stoplights, but plenty of church bells and eateries and a creek with a waterfall close by.)

When~ Saturday, March 24th from 9am to 5pm

Itinerary~

• Morning refreshments (i.e. coffee and tea to settle us in)
• Introduction circle (Remember elementary school "show and tell?" Yeh, bring a little something along from your journey to home.)
• Tuning Fork demonstration with my favorite natural healer, Janice Meier. Everyone gets a mini balancing and the sound benefits from observing one full-body healing. 10-minute brain balancing sessions with Janice will be available after her demonstration. $10 per. If you've never experienced the peace of vibrational healing, you won't want to miss this!
• Lunch~ everyone is on their own. Bring your own or patronize one of the 6 different eateries within spitting distance of our gathering.
• Organic Gardening 101 with Horticulturalist David Clark. Because we need sustainable knowledge in these uncertain times, and besides, our bodies and Mother Earth would appreciate the effort. Bring your questions for David. He'll have the answers!
• Tea tasting with ~ Bellocq Tea Atelier. Because tea is how I comfort myself and this tea company, with it's exquisite and refined blends, is the best I've ever tasted. And I am a tea snob connoisseur. I'm also related to the owner, who used to be a deputy food editor for Martha Stewart Living magazine. But nevermind that. This tea company is the bomb.
• Closing circle and whatever comes to mind for deeper connection. We'll go with the flow.

If you can come to the Retreat, we'll square away all the details through email.

Attendance is limited.

If you're coming from out of town, we'll figure out together how to make it work. Keep in mind, Niagara Falls is about 30 or 40 minutes away from Buffalo. And Buffalo has amazing architectural wonders. (Ever heard of Frank Lloyd Wright?) Why not make a weekend out of it?

Email me at: thesoulinbloom@gmail.com. 

Take the online course only for $65
or

Take the course and come to the all day retreat for $95

Click HERE to register

Thank you and much love,

Graciel

The Soul In Bloom~ online course and retreat

Information on how to create a deeper feeling of home

within yourself, your dwelling and this precious earth coming January 2nd, 2012.

This is the season, the year we're going

to welcome ourselves  back home.

Stay tuned...

auf wiedersehen twenty eleven

photo by lisa

photo by lisa

the soul in bloom~ summer issue

in a year of loss and anxiety, great goodness also happened. if i scan the year objectively, it was a balance of all things. i will remember that i held a hawk and fell under the spell of gigantic horses. i will remember i published 4 magazines and rode a motorcycle along the north sea. i will remember my family and friends.

on the table tonight i will lay bowls of fruit, yellow flowers, red hearts and cash~ my talisman tableaux to welcome the new year.

thank you for following along. thank you for your kind comments and support. may you be at peace with yourself, always.

with love, graciel

i will take flowers with me

hand tied bridal bouquet~ 2011

green orchids and dark plum mini calla lilies

cascading bridal bouquet~ 2011

star gazer lilies, roses, and mini callas

From this year into next, I will take flowers with me.

Because my soul can't live without them.

But I will leave behind the exhaustion of designing only

what everyone else needs me to design.

In the coming year, I will discover new ways

to make flowers my own.

For Bella~ leave it behind in 2011 and welcome it in 2012


The Soul In Bloom~ Home Edition
*online course and 1 day retreat*

Week 3~ learn floral design 101!

Starts February 25th, 2012

short and glorious

It was a short and glorious Christmas. 

I savored the 24th and the 25th,

with their gatherings and laughter,

presents and confections,

as if they could possibly be my last.

I left no room for sadness in my glad heart.

I lived those 2 days how I would like to live everyday;

appreciative, attentive, open and content.

you are the sun

there is rain, no snow.

there is spanish renaissance music, softly.

there is a string of white lights snaking,

drooping along the wall.

the christmas altar is up~ 

walnut mice with felt ears, tiny tinsel tree.

  white candles are lit.

there is tea. 

christmas is here;

carved out of the whirlwind, the obligations.

it is here in the 47 minutes of peace and soft glow.

it is here in the meditative mind that comes

naturally when the world is put aside.

in that mind, the myth of the season has relevance, has a lesson.

let unto you be born a savior. 

that savior is yourself.

it is the mind-set you hold, the thoughts you think,

the actions you take or not in regards 

to honoring your sacred self.

give birth to better thoughts about your own worth.

stand up for yourself. make waves. advocate.

let the mythical star lead you to your own adoration.

know your value.

live your value.

you are the sun.

and the savior of yourself.

52 Photos Project~ she made it better

we've been friends for 27 years. she was the gift a long-ago boyfriend gave me when she and i met because of him. this year, this partly to mostly crappy year, she became my antidote to the cancer and the dying and the removal of the ring. our friendship shifted gears in the most wonderful way and we became regular partners in adventure and laughs, proving that life gets better with age.

we are simple folk, she and me, and we found ourselves eating at diners and bothering the amish, following the draft horse circuit like groupies and learning the art of falconry. she ripped the paneling off my living room walls not too long ago and had better will come back to help pretty up the horrors exposed.

in 2012, we've got plans.  they'll revolve mostly around food and nature and finding new people to bother. and no matter what the year brings, she will make it better.


{This for Bella's 52 Photos Project~ the week's prompt is to show my favorite photo of the year. In searching the archives, I kept coming across my adventures with Lisa. Some are blurry, lots are silly and all of them are my favorites.)

like christmas day in the morning

living next to a volunteer fire substation has some definite small-town perks; my home is unlikely to burn down, kids actually play outside on the blacktop all year long (hockey and chalk art rule the hood) and when santa delivers the mother-of-all-firetrucks to the boys of mayberry, i get to see it first.

this afternoon, shiny-red ladder #6 was moved in a hurry to the north bay to make room for the 'tower of power' (printed right on the side of the hydraulic lift) fire and rescue monster that came rumbling down the street. the volunteers that swarmed the south bay to get a close look were giddy, with hoots and hollers and rounds of high fives. like christmas day in the morning.

i watched the volunteers, one after the other, take the tower of power out for a spin and test their skills at backing into the bay. its been around the block at least 5 times, dieseling back in the now-dark with its red lights flashing and spinning off my windows, lighting the night with joy and a thrill, like christmas day in the evening.

come, come the darkness

 come, come the darkness.

we are ready.

we have fire.

the fire is inside us,

burning shadows to ash.

come, come the darkness.

we have risen.

we are crowned.

the crown is made of paper, of ash,

of starlight, of feathers. 

of mettle from the fire within.

We are everything she needs us to be

This year, as all the others, it's a German-flavored Christmas. Chocolate from across the sea and stollen with candied cherries. This year my Mom and me talked so much through the measuring and stirrings and 3 risings of the sacred stollen-baking process, we forgot to add the eggs. We laughed at how flat they were fresh out of the oven.

For the past 3 years, cancer has informed our Christmas. And so it does again this year, with discouraging news and options possibly waning. Yes, miracles happen everyday and we've had some already. I'd like more and pray for them daily. But this Christmas, this holiday of feasting and lights, we are whole-heartedly German in our celebrations. We are everything she needs us to be. We are strength. And we are love.

{For Bella and her 52 Photos Project~ sweets, treats and feasts}

The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

She's always around, even when I am not paying attention. Sometimes, in the form of the postcard perched on the frame at the end of my hallway, she mysteriously floats to the ground, of her own accord, and lands in my path. She reminds me to remember her and her timing is always flawless. Then, today. I check the calendar to see when her feast day is~ Our Lady of Guadalupe, December 12th, it says. I make note of it and wander away.

15 minutes later, I am passing through the hall again and for the first time ever, it is not the postcard, but the prayer card of Our Lady that is laying in my path.

I am here, she says.

And she is.

She. Our Lady. The Blessed Mother. Virgin Mary. Mary. Mystical Rose. The Western Goddess. Goddess of Compassion. The Great Mother. Friend.

Hear her prayer:  Much of what you are being told is untrue. Do not look to forces outside yourself for answers and the way. You already know the way. And if you think you don't, you will know who to ask for the truth and they will remind you.

A time is coming when what was held as truth will be revealed as false. There will be resistance and there will be chaos. There will be endings. But know that you know what is true and do not doubt your own wisdom. It will carry you through everything, unscathed.


Be kind to yourself.  Make taking care of your own needs your first priority. Do not mistake this for selfishness. It is the opposite. If you can consistently meet your own needs, you are then able to act, with love, on the behalf of others. More love is needed. Self-care is what brings more love to light. Do your part and bring it.


Trust yourself. Mother yourself. Feast on this glorious life.

52 Photos Project~ December 7th

The color of the season is white candlelight.

{on my mother's German tree}

For Bella



All 4 issues of my magazine, The Soul In Bloom,
are $2 off the regular price now  through December 31st!
Go HERE for a preview and to purchase.

The Soul In Bloom~ winter issue 2011/2012

Having set out earlier in the year to create and publish 4 seasonal keepsake magazines, today I release the 4th issue to the winds. The Soul In Bloom winter issue is done and ready for purchase. I admit to being just a bit proud of myself for finishing this personal challenge. It was larger for me than you know.

The winter issue is not about the holidays. It is about the call of the season of rest to honor the Self. It is about the great need for each of us to care for ourselves, madly and deeply, as the only true path to changing the ills of the world and improving the quality of our individual lives.

As with the other 3 magazines in this collection, all the essays, poems and photographs are my original work. To celebrate my accomplished goal of putting my heart out into the world 4 times over, all 4 magazines are $2 less per issue through December 31st. $14.95 each becomes $12.95 each.

Thank you to everyone, absolutely everyone, who encouraged me this year, bought a copy (sometimes multiples!) and gave me the most heartwarming feedback I could never have imagined. I created these magazines because we all need to know how glorious we are, we all need to know we are miracles.

To purchase a copy of the winter issue or any of the other 3, go HERE to sign up.


Thank you to the moon and back to Kelly Letky of The Blue Muse for her graphic design and publishing software savvy.  Without her, my dream would not have come true.

{And the little guy with the snow shovel on the cover? That's my Dad at age 3.}

the art installation

in the spirit of removing falseness from my life, the vile and crappy fake paneling i have lived with in this rented home was spontaneously ripped off the walls the other day. my bare-handed wonder friend, lisa, ripped all the paneling off. i broke it up and carried it, piece by piece, out the door.

what was left? 3 layers of seedy wallpaper, dried splotches and drips of coffee that had been thrown at the wall and streaks of brown goo that had held the offending paneling in place.

good enough.

the vacuum came out, the furniture was replaced, the orchard ladder went back on the wall, and fairy lights were re-strung.

it feels like living in an art installation.

only 2 spare things will grace the ladder while i ponder the wall's next attire. 2 little works of art from 2 soul-filled women who sent messages to me in  the mail~ messages to fly and live in my truth.

thank you, kelly letky, for the original photo of my favorite great blue heron.
thank you, christine mason miller, for the oracle card you painted and picked just for me.

thank you, most of all, to lisa. because true friends help to banish the false and expose the beauty with in. brown stains and all. 

{For Bella~ and her weekly art installation called 52 Photos Project. "Twinkling Lights." }

finding my way there

 

i opened the carefully pleated rectangle of foil to reveal the ooze of red and cherries and flattened crust. i ate it with no ceremony standing at the counter, scraping the foil with my fork to get the last smear of ooze. it was leftover heaven on a warm and windy late fall day; a day more suited to october than the cusp of december.

everything means something to me and the meaning is more than likely tinged with the ethereal. i think of this late warmth, a gift for the northern dweller, and equate it with the opportunity to do just a little bit more before the hibernation begins. and the more for me takes the form of noticing instincts and natural urges, of seeing the old doorways and not-empty bell towers of dreams i've been too timid to embrace. those dreams are demanding attention in this 56 degree wind, begging to be blown open and set in firm soil like necessary seeds of spring.

full of leftover pie and rusted keys in my hand, i step into the wind and search for the door, ethereal bells ringing with each gust. these old dreams are of home and all that it means and of never yet finding my way there.

but i want to be there and set my other dreams down there and feel what it is, live deep what it is to be unshakably and forever at home.

the way of things

the way of things came to my window. and i looked in its eyes, living and dead. the red tail hawk, announced by blue jays,was  level with me on its perch. messenger of life-purpose and fruition, it arrived to confirm just that, and it stayed longer than i could have hoped.

looking to the grass below the tree, i saw why i was afforded such grace. a squirrel. likely the one i had seen out the back window, now dead out the front. the hawk never found safe passage to the lawn to claim its meal. spooked, it flew across the way to the tallest pine. i waited, curtains pulled back, but the bustle on the road forfeited the prize. i carried the prize by its tail, limp body bobbing to the rhythm of my walk, and laid it under the pine. come dark, the owl will be hungry.

back to the window and in pulled the truck of the man who lives below. she was gutted and dead in its bed. i went to look at her eye. it took only 10 yards for her to drop, he said. unlike the 2 bucks that did not drop and left blood trails to no where. i did not mask my wince and my whine, but refrained from unfavorable comment. i threw prayers up to the sky for the one in the bed and the 2 that leaked blood through the leaves. i could feel her fear and anguish rise from her body and crawl over my skin.

i went back up to the window, as this is the way of things.

golden moments

there are golden moments on the fringe of the turning point~

they are subtle and easily overlooked in the frenzy

and anticipation of the great, next happening,

the great, next way of being.

if you stop and look, you can sense the last

 messages of the season your soul is moving through.

you can feel the forecast of things to come,

and you can understand the beauty
and necessity of what has been.

it has all been beautiful and necessary.

in the golden moments, brief and full,

gratitude can plum its depths and 

soften the next season to come.

simpler times

let these be simpler times.

let the heart spin with the clockwise tide.

let the ground be firm and nourishing.

like the bones of the trees revealed,

soul is dancing forward,

fresh and formed in the waning light;

a silhouette of possibility.

like the leaf mush begging for snow

to bury what has been,

 molecular magic will break life down

to the essential and the good.

in these, the simpler times.

fullness in nothingness

i don't know what is happening. excess and waste are appalling me. i crave simplicity and clean lines. clear understanding. fullness in nothingness. my words are sparse. long essays, gone.

i have bought nothing. nothing but food and four dollar magazines. gasoline. herbal supplements. allergy sensitive cat food. rose petal tea. just the bare basics.

i don't know what is happening. i want to, need to be outside. all the time. i stand on the loading dock at lunch time with the smokers just to feel the sun on my face. i wear hiking boots everyday; fashion is out the window. except scarves. i wear scarves. they are my uniform. i don't know if they are in fashion. it doesn't matter. if they don't look good with hiking boots it doesn't matter.

birds and horses and cats and moving water. and taking photographs. hundreds and hundreds of photographs. in a week. like a crazy person. but i am not. these are the obsessions that rise as simplicity informs my days. no, demands my days. i don't know what is happening.

yet.

the less i have, want, get~ the more of me i find. in the fullness of nothingness.

i remember what is true

in the season of harvest and waning

i have come alive.

i remember the richness and roots of my soul.

i remember what is true.

there is pungent earth~

leaf mold, cooling soil and the

indescribable smell of flowing creek.

it is firm.

it is under my feet, grounding.

i begin again before the end.

Wildness

Truth. Clarity. Joy. Wildness.

My wish for me.

Let it be.

{Harris Hawk. October, 2011}

52 Photos Project~ November 2nd

The beauty of fall flowers,

from first stage to last.

Nature is my treat.

{For Bella}

And thank you, Bella, for featuring me

this week on your Just 1 Picture project.