Riding at Anchor

 “Faith is the soul riding at anchor.”

– Josh Billings –

 I don’t often go out in a boat, but I have rafted rapids. I’ve cruised the inner passage in Alaska. I’ve ridden in a gondola in Venice. And I’ve taken the night boat from Guangzhou, China, to Hong Kong. But while I enjoy the adventure of traveling by boat, I find it comforting to ride at anchor, resting, gently rocked by the water. So the soul riding at anchor is a comforting thought. As far as faith goes, I see it as our spiritual disposition, the slant of our hearts toward what we value most in life. Faith holds us, supports us, keeps us on course and steady. It’s our souls deeply anchored.

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

 

Nature of the week and shadow of the week—petal shadows on petals:

 

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 Text and photos © 2022 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved. 

Sunrise and Song

 

“The sun is rising. All the green trees are full of birds, and their song comes up out of the wet bowers of the orchard. Crows swear pleasantly in the distance, and in the depths of my soul sits God.” – Thomas Merton

 

Nature of the week – Gardeners made out of Lego by Sean Kenney for Cheekwood Botanical Gardens’ new art show:

Shadow of the Week:

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Text and photos © 2021 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

Infinite Calm and Exceeding Peace

 

Deep in the soul, below pain,

below all the distraction of life,

is a silence vast and grand –

an infinite ocean of calm,

which nothing can disturb;

nature’s own exceeding peace…

­­

R.M. Bucke

 

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

 

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

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Text and photos © 2020 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

A Soul Ajar

“The soul should always

stand ajar, ready to

welcome the ecstatic

experience.”

– Emily Dickinson –

 

Leave your soul ajar this week. Watch. Listen. Hold on to what enriches you.

Nourish peace,

cultivate loving kindness,

and carry the calm.

 

Nature photo of the week– a tiny star-shaped bud, smaller than my pinkie nail, tracked indoors onto the carpet:

star:carpet

Shadow of the Week – made by the acanthus design of a window at the Frist Center of the Visual Arts:

ShdwFrist

Text and photos © 2016 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.