The Peace of Simply Sitting

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

After lunch yesterday, I simply sat in my sunroom. I would say I sat in silence, but I was the silent one; the world around me kept humming, although quietly—a gentle tick of the clock, the soft breath of the air conditioner, muted chirps from birds outdoors, the distant rush of a jet crossing the sky. Sunlight turned the tops of the leaves outside a bright green, while deeper in and underneath, the leaves were a forest of dark shadow. A gentle breeze swayed their stems and led them in a slow dance. I was still and silent for only a moment, but that moment filled me with a sense of expanding serenity, and I returned to the tasks of the day refreshed and hopeful.

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

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The Taste of the Moment

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

It had been ages since I’d made pudding, the homemade kind. But I had more than two cups of milk left over from a visit with my older son and his family, which includes two preschoolers. Anyway, the only thing I could think to cook that would use a lot of milk was pudding. So I brought out the pan and sugar and milk and cornstarch and unsweetened chocolate squares (because, of course, my pudding must be chocolate). And I began.

Lots of stirring was involved. But I had time. The pudding thickened and bubbled and began smelling like the real thing. As I stirred, I pulled my focus to the moment. Nothing past to worry about right then, nothing future—though there was plenty of both if I let myself go either direction—but for peace, it was now, in that moment with a gently ticking clock, the soft purr of the air conditioner, a wren warbling outside, and pudding bubbling on the stove.

“Look past your thoughts so you may drink the pure nectar of this moment,” Rumi counseled. The pure nectar of that moment tasted like chocolate pudding.

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

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Brushing Up

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

I’ve been brushing up on my drawing skills by reading a book that I’ve had since college when I took art classes: The Natural Way to Draw by Kimon Nicolaides. He says, “Loosen up. Relax . . . There are many things in life that you cannot get by a brutal approach. You must invite them.”

Hmmm. . . Do I force bulbs to bloom indoors in winter, or do I invite them to bloom by providing the right conditions? Do I try to force my grandson to eat lunch, or do I invite him? Do I force respect or do I invite it? There are, of course, some areas in life when compliance is enforced. But “there are many things in life that you cannot get by a brutal approach. You must invite them.” So “loosen up. Relax . . .” Maybe I need to brush up on my life skills.

Invite peace and nurture it. Cultivate kindness and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week—a suncatcher:

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The Season’s Secrets

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

Four dark brown seed heads,

centers of black-eyed Susans,

crones of the planter box,

golden petals long gone,

still sit atop tall stalks

surveying shorter blooms—

pink coneflowers,

sun bright coreopsis,

fluttery white windflowers.

The black-eyes lean toward each other

nodding in the breeze,

garden gossips

sharing the season’s secrets.

Shhh! Shhh!

Peace.

-kh

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the week—a profile made by books and papers on an end table:

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For the Love of Stars

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

“I have loved the stars too fondly

to be fearful of the night.”

– Sarah Williams –

“The Old Astronomer” (1868)

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week—The stars (image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScl).

You can see more at space.com .

Shadow of the Week—shadow of water droplets on a glass table:

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Star photo from NASA, ESA, CSA, STScl.

After the Storm

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

Notes from last evening:

A welcome rainstorm just passed through, drenching thirsty trees and sunburned grass and sagging flowers, leaving the world in a soft green glow. Branches are still dripping. Flowers cup tiny puddles. The air is hazy with heat. The stillness is striking. It’s as if the backyard world has been caught in a freeze-frame, holding its breath, utterly, silently, majestically still. Like me.

“Often silence is the wisest thing for a man to heed.”

– Pindar –

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

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Splashes of Golden Joy

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

My black-eyed Susans are picturesque flowers. Tall stems curve them left or right so that they come to pose in front of a background of white windflowers or rest among the magenta and yellow lantana or sway before the creeping Jenny. Three of them stand in a thin blue bud vase that my son and his family gave me. I think if they could, they would take selfies—see us posed here for you, a still life in real life, they would say. Yes, I see you. I see your splashes of golden joy.

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

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The Eye of the Hurricane

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

“[F]ind the eye in the hurricane, and act from that place of inner strength.”

– Arianna Huffington –

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

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What Does Hope Look Like?

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

Once in a while, I reread this encouragement from an online interview with Charlotte McConaghy, author of the novel Migrations. I share it here, hoping it will encourage you, too.

The interviewer asked, “What does hope look like to you?” McConaghy answered, “It looks like all those little moments of kindness and generosity. It looks like taking the time to consider our impact on this world and what we want it to be. It looks like making those decisions, the daily choices that are small things for individuals but add up to big change when we all take part.”

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week: