The Best in Calm and Storm

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“There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm.”

– Willa Cather –

 

True, but we weather the storm best by carrying the calm within us.

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week – evening thunderheads:

Shadow of the Week – my morning coffee – yes, even in hot weather:

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For my posts on the wonder of life, link here.

 

Text and photos © 2018 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

Recovering Wonder

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“Now I yearn for one of those old, meandering, dry uninhabited roads . . .

where your head is more in heaven than your feet are on Earth . . .

There I can walk, and recover the lost child that I am . . .”

– Henry David Thoreau, A Writer’s Journal –

I traveled fifteen magical roads this week. They’re neither dry nor uninhabited, and while they are real, I walked them by viewing them on the Mind Circle site: “15 of the World’s Most Magical Streets Shaded by Flowers and Trees.” I invite you to spend a few peaceful moments in these gorgeous places – and recover a bit of your childlike sense of wonder. I’ll return to my own photographs next week. Meanwhile, enjoy the link!

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

 

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

For my posts on the wonder of life, link here.

 

Text © 2018 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

The Inner – What Is It?

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“Ah, not to be cut off,
not through the slightest partition
shut out from the law of the stars.
The inner — what is it?
if not intensified sky,
hurled through with birds and deep
with the winds of homecoming.”

– Rainer Maria Rilke –

 

However we might envision the inner self, I suspect that if we explore deeply enough, we’ll feel “the winds of homecoming.”

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

 

Nature of the week and shadow of the week:

 

I read Rilke’s poem for the first time in an On Being blog posted by Parker Palmer. On Being posts thoughtful, gracious conversations sensitive to the things of the spirit. Give them a read – or a listen – if you haven’t yet.

 

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For my posts on the wonder of life, link here.

 

Text and photos © 2018 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

Yes, You May

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“…the May month flaps its glad green leaves like wings,

Delicate-filmed as new-spun silk…”

– Thomas Hardy –

 

May – it’s a word full of encouragement and permission.

Yes, you May.

Give yourself permission to take time out and enjoy the glad green leaves.

Because it’s still May.

And you always may.

 

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.

For my posts on the wonder of life, link here.

 

Text and photos © 2018 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

Mountain-Still

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“The wind howls, but the mountain remains still.”

– Japanese proverb –

 

Be mountain strong. Keep standing for love and kindness and peace even as the winds of the world howl.

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

 

Nature of the week – at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens:

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 the wonder of life, link here.

 

Text and photos © 2018 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

Even the Silence

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“Even the silence has a story to tell you.

Just listen.

Listen.”

– Jacqueline Woodson –

 

The Hoh Rainforest in the Olympic National Park, known as the “quietest place in the Lower 48” states, is where acoustical ecologist Gordon Hempton recorded “one square inch of silence.” You can listen to the silence at this link. Enjoy!

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.

For my posts on life and the wonder of it all, link here.

 

 

Text and photos © 2018 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

What Do We Live For?

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“What do we live for if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?”

– George Eliot –

 

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.

For my posts on life and the wonder of it all, link here.

 

Text and photos © 2018 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

What Spring Whispers

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On the old plum tree,

One blossom by one blossom,

The spring thaw is born.

 – Ransetsu –

 

Spring is born in whispers: “A gift! For you. Enjoy!”

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

 

Nature of the week: quince

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 and the wonder of it all, link here.

 

Text and photos © 2018 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

The Most Perfect Prayer

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“One single grateful thought raised to heaven is the most perfect prayer.”

– G.E. Lessing –

 

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

 

Nature of the week: This looks like a perfect prayer to me.

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 and the wonder of it all, link here.

 

Text and photos © 2018 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

Gathering Goodness

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“That man is happiest who lives from day to day

and asks no more,

garnering the simple goodness of life.”

– Euripides, 424 B.C.E. –

 

Garner means a bit more than just “to gather.” It comes from the Latin for grain and means “to gather into storage.” So notice the simple goodness of life this week. Gather it and store it within your spirit.

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.

For my posts on life and the wonder of it all, link here.

 

Text and photos © 2018 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.