old glory

heading North

To those faithful readers who bless me with their comments and to those who drop in
once in a while,I am heading North to the New York mountains where I hope to write with my feet dangling in the brook.

Posting will be something else.May just be weekly trips to the library.

I am looking forward to spending time in the beautiful valley that has held my footsteps since I was a toddler.My grandmother,Honorah, bought the property and her spirit is there to walk with me.

Have a delighful Summer wherever you are and please drop in still,once in awhile.....

eternal lotus

Night retiring,surging up from the mud,what did you see underwater while I slept ?Was it as wonderful as what I saw?

On the first day, the sun came up from you,oh everlasting bloom.You come and go as wise thoughts do.

You are a gift to all who think they are not "enough".I hold you in my palm and smile.Healing,coming back at palest light.

Simple, pure thoughts attend.

a monastery in Romania

Beyond that collection of boots and shoes is a small cell.The walls of the cell are plain;a cross,a bed with a white cotton cover,a small rustic writing table and a worn Book.

Does the thought of that room scare you?Or does it calm your heart and cause a whisper of joy to stir.This picture is of a quiet,secret place that the monk uses for prayer.One not need to be a monk to find such a place but for most there are challenges.I have a bench in the woods that is my cell.However, most months it is too hot or buggy to use.St.Francis pulled his hood over his head and that was his cell.

To me,the life of prayer,the discipline of it is as necessary as breathe.If I stop praying, my thinking changes.The spirit world becomes unreal instead of being a mist all around me.So I must pray.I pray that I will never stop praying.And sometimes I would rather not.

Thomas Merton ,the Trappist monk ,knew about this:

"The greatest joy in life is to give up yourself altogether for the honor and glory of God,to know that you belong to him entirely,that your will is known and possessed by His love.Anything that tends to that end,any sacrifice,therefore,brings joy and happiness,even though it may be bitter to the flesh."

How does the picture affect you?

take down the dulcimer

"Today,like every other day,we wake up empty
and frightened.Don't open the door to the study
and begin reading.Take down the dulcimer.

Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground"

Rumi

are you a writer?

I am.An unpublished,probably never to be published writer,who has found this deep well of grace inside that strains to be out.This is all I know.That the world I see,smell and revel in, needs to find its way through me and onto a page.

The extraordinary glimpses of the invisible world,the surprises,never to be imagined answers to prayers, need to be held up so the sparkles can be seen.Like a strobe light turning again and again to catch each panel's shining.

I once walked a labyrinth and in that still green meadow heard this:"find a way to let the "Godness" inside your center flow out into the world."So I watch and listen .I take pictures to capture the moment of beauty or grace and later, in writing ,I poke around in the roots of the happening to see its meaning.

I am a writer of bounty,of surprises,answered prayers,sparkles,and reveling.Writing.

day lilies

Is there anything sadder looking than a lily, the day after?It hangs,shriveled,dripping and dead.I clip the dead flowers each morning so the others don't have to be near this sad,useless thing.More than once I have thought,"Why can't they last longer?"

I have read that scientists are working on this very thing:to extend the blooming time of a day lily.Isn't this so "us"?Not satisfied with these gorgeous,multi-budded flowers.Wanting to make them better.But the question arises,how many days is enough?Will a Two Day Lily satisfy?I can hear the grumbling,"only two days."Maybe we can make them bloom in January with a little work.

But the lily blooms for one day in many colors and in hardy abundance.These are the lilies that Scripture said will be taken care of by the generous God.They don't pout because they have just one day.I am here for just a day as well when I consider the eons of time.

This brings to mind a Chinses saying that I have read,"If you have two loaves of bread ,go and sell one and buy a lily."

walking with the sun

I took a walk with the sun this morning leaving dark and dreams behind.The orange day lilies turned to watch.

An indigo bunting glows its color at the feeder.Dew drops on the edges of the rose leaves suggest an aboriginal dot painting.

Small quick wing shadows and a wren sings.
Each new turning holds an open hand-here this is for you.What do you see?

One is never alone as long as there are chickadees.

In my fantasy world...

There is something that draws me to humble people.I am not alone in this.The other day ,my friend Eva sent a YouTube video of a young Korean singer performing on Korea Has Talent.As they spoke to him before his performance he mentioned that he doesn't sing very well but he enjoys it and that's why he was there.

In his checkered shirt and blue jeans, he bowed to the three judges and let loose in Italian.My,oh my.He chose Nell Fantasia from an Italian opera.This beautiful piece has been done by the Celtic Women and I first heard it as the haunting background music in the great movie,The Mission, with Robert DeNiro.Beautiful,challenging music and there this boy was,this orphan from the age of three, this street kid from the age of five,who slept for years in public toilets,untrained,opening his mouth to let magic out,to offer beauty to the world.

Listen to the words that are this song:

"In my fantasy world I see a fair world.
Where everyone lives in peace and honesty.
I dream of a place to live that is always free,
Like a cloud that floats,
Full of humanity in the depths of the soul.

In my fantasy world,I see a bright world.
Where each night there is less darkness.
Like the clouds that float.

In my fantasy world exists a warm wind,
That breathes into the city like a friend.
I dream of souls that are always free,
Like the cloud that floats,
Full Humanity in the depths of the soul."

I posted this on Facebook and another friend added this blessing for the singer,this hope for him ,"And I will repay you for the years which the locust has eaten."Joel2:25.

To Eva,Margo and Sung Bong Choi;a deep bow.