Nature’s Story

This past week of hurricane and flooding has brought stories of all kinds. Some are heart-heavy and tragic. Some are bittersweet. Some are soul-stirring, inspiring, hopeful, and even, as strange as it sounds, happy.

Nature itself is one of the oldest storytellers.

“[N]ature consists of an endless series of stories,” says John A. Murray, nature writer and editor. ” . . . the continual pageant of the seasons, the incessant conflicts between predators and prey, the individual battles of lifeforms to survive, the contests involved in breeding, the cycles of pregnancy in animals and fruition in plants, the epic migrations of whales and wildebeests, the sagas of mass extinction, the passage of the solar days, the building of great storms, the formation and erosion of continents, the waxing and waning of the moon, the transit of the constellations along the zodiac, the coming and going of comets and meteor showers, the life and death of stars and galaxies, the life and death of the universe itself.”

When we witness the stories of nature – or become part of them – they become our stories, too. Be an island of calm and hope in the storm. Nurture peace, cultivate loving-kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week – Leaf shadows that look like . . . a bird? A critter with big ears?:

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Text, shadow photo, and water lily photo © 2017 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

Book photo courtesy pexels.com

When Nature Takes Center Stage

“One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.”

– Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida

 

This week nature brought us together to watch in awe as the moon totally eclipsed the sun and, only days later, a howling hurricane stormed its way onto land. Our hopes and prayers are for safety and an extra measure of inner peace for those in the path of the storm.

Hold onto your sense of awe as you nurture peace, cultivate loving-kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week – during the eclipse, sunlight through the leaves formed crescent shadows:

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Text and photos © 2017 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

Awake or Asleep?

 

“Only that day dawns to which we are awake.”

– Henry David Thoreau –

 

Do we look but not see? Hear but not listen? Touch but not feel? Catch a scent but not inhale deeply? Eat and not savor the taste?

May our senses be awake when we’re awake. May we slow down, nurture peace, cultivate loving-kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week – dawn from my window, and a haiku to go with it:

Dawn whispers morning,

hums the day before breaking

into full song.

– KH –

Shadow of the Week:

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For my posts on life, faith, and the mystery we call God, link here.

 

Text and photos © 2017 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

A Moment of Rest

 

 

“Only when we’re at peace inwardly can we bring some measure of peace to a violent world.”

– Parker Palmer –

 

Treat yourself to hearing Wendell Berry read his brief and beautiful poem, “The Peace of Wild Things”.

Nurture peace, cultivate loving-kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week – Queen Anne’s Lace, large as a dinner plate, with two bees feasting:

Shadow of the Week – leaf shadow on leaf:

 

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For my posts on life, faith, and the mystery we call God, link here.

 

Text and photos © 2017 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

 

“This Present Little Instant”

“No heaven can come to us

unless our hearts find rest in it today.

Take heaven!

No peace lies in the future

which is not hidden in this present little instant.

Take peace!”

– Fra Giovanni Giocondo –

 

Nurture peace, cultivate loving-kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week – a blue poppy from the botanical gardens in Tromso, Norway:

Shadow of the Week:

 

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

For my posts on life, faith, and the mystery we call God, link here.

 

Text and photos © 2017 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.