Over the Pines and Elms

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

A blanket of soft, silver-gray clouds

covers the morning sky

as far as I can see.

Even indoors, I feel the weight of it.

I try not to see it as gloomy

but as a protective roof

over the pines and the bare elms.

All is still and quiet.

The whole world seems to have taken

a day off.

Rest, the clouds say.

Rest after this busy, crazy year.

Rest under this silver gray blanket of sky.

– kh –

From Noticing: 365 Days of Calm Reflections

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

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

Nature’s Simple Wisdom

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

Go forth under the open sky,

and listen to Nature’s teachings.

– William Cullen Bryant –

What is Nature teaching me? To listen, I think. The world will circle on with or without me. The evening star will rise. Clouds will sail the skies. Cicadas will buzz. Crickets will chirp. Trees will dance in the wind. Seasons will glide in and then pass on. Nature says to simply breathe deeply and listen. (From my new book Noticing, available now.)

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

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

The Sky’s Gift

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

It is the sky that makes the earth so lovely at sunrise,

and so splendid at sunset.

In the one it breathes over the earth the crystal-like ether,

in the other liquid gold.

– painter Thomas Cole –

A wondrous sky greets this cold, crisp morning. It’s criss-crossed with contrails, probably due to holiday travel. Toward the horizon, a wide sweep of thin, feathery clouds spans the blue like a skyscape dry-brushed in white across a deep blue canvas. All this, and the sun is still on the rise. It’s painting tree tops gold, while their lower trunks and branches rest in twilight shadow. The sky is breathing over the earth, waking it up with beauty.

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

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

Gardeners of Our Souls

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

“Let us be grateful

to people who make us happy,

they are the charming gardeners

who make our souls blossom.”

– Marcel Proust –

Happy Thanksgiving!

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

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

A Skein of Experience

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

November is a wise old woman

weaving words of wisdom

from a skein of experience

in the colors of sadness

and joy.

– kh –

Noticing

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

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

The Peace of Mid-Morning

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

The clock ticks quietly

mid-morning

on this day that’s sunny

with a thin layer of clouds.

It’s warm enough for open windows.

A light breeze drifts in.

Outside it’s flicking leaves off the trees.

They tumble,

somersault,

land with soft clicks,

rattle to a stop and settle,

only to be scooped up

by a sudden gust

that skitters them,

scatters them,

tumbles them

into a pile against the fence.

The elm is speckled with the hangers-on,

the last to let go.

Soon it will be empty

of leaves.

The clock ticks

quietly toward noon.

– kh –

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

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

Bend with the Wind

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

The higher your structure is to be,

the deeper must be its foundation.

– St. Augustine –

Yesterday I walked with a friend along a trail that circles the lake at Radnor Lake State Park here in Nashville. The trail edges the woods, where at this time of year, gold and red leaves drift down to cover the path like a carpet. At several places, large tree roots jut up and out in a jumble across the path. These great knees and elbows of roots rise and dip and curve and cross. I watch my footing and pick my way through. The woods feel ancient, and it’s a great privilege to see these old roots. I know that the trees have other roots going deep, deep, deep down into the earth. So it feels like these uplifted roots are a bit of a gift, a secret revealed. Grow tall, they say. Dance with the breeze. Bend with the wind. And stay rooted.

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

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

Taking Ourselves Lightly

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

“So let us look for beauty and grace, for love and friendship, for that which is creative and birth-giving and soul-stretching. Let us dare to laugh at ourselves, healthy, affirmative laughter. Only when we take ourselves lightly can we take ourselves seriously, so that we are given the courage to say, ‘Yes! I dare disturb the universe.’” – Madeleine L’Engle

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

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

A Stretch and a Deep Breath

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

In the twilight of dawn, I lie in bed and let the cool breeze brush over me as I listen to the world outside my open windows. The first thing I hear is a soft underlying swish like a gentle tide, maybe wind in the trees, maybe cars on the distant freeway. Around six o’clock, a jet crosses the sky with a hum that rises in a momentary crescendo and then fades away. A car rushes down the street. A bird twitters somewhere in the distance. Another one answers closer in. The cat jumps off the bed with a light thud. There’s a distant pulsing beep of a truck backing up and a growing river of traffic on the freeway a couple of miles north. An insect begins a high-pitched hum. Another jet flies overhead with a whine. Another bird joins in the morning song, another car swishes as it passes by. Chirps and faint rumbles drift in. I add a rustle of sheets, a stretch, and a deep breath. My bed creaks as I rise. The world is waking up.

Nurture yourself with moments of peace. Cultivate kindness and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

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

Good at Slow Dancing

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

“Go to the pine if you want to learn about the pine.”

– Matsuo Basho –

Five pine trees stand in a line across my back fence. I used to think of them as the skinny kids on the block, but they’re not kids. They were here before I was. So I’m now calling them the five elders. They are thin and as tall as a four-story house. Two of them lean east; the others grow straight up. I think they’re Eastern White Pines or something related. They produce long, scaly cones, and their reddish-brown, rough, furrowed bark holds a sticky resin with that distinct, clean, crisp pine smell. Their thin, feathery needles grow in fan-like groups that wave to me when a breeze blows through. And when the breeze turns into a stiff wind, these five elders are good at slow-dancing.

Go to the pine to learn about the pine. Go to whatever or whoever creates peace to learn about peace. Go to whoever shows kindness to learn about kindness.

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

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

Carry the Calm

Karyn Henley

finding inner peace

Over the Pines and Elms

Nature’s Simple Wisdom

The Sky’s Gift

Gardeners of Our Souls

A Skein of Experience

The Peace of Mid-Morning

Bend with the Wind

Taking Ourselves Lightly

A Stretch and a Deep Breath

Good at Slow Dancing