Last crisp leaf shivers
dangling in the frosty breeze.
Don’t let go just yet.
– kh –
Don’t let go of hope. Don’t stop reaching for peace. Don’t give up on kindness. Don’t let go just yet.
Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.
Nature of the week:
Shadow of the Week:
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Text and photos © 2023 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.
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.
Text and photos © 2022 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.
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:
If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.
Text and photos © 2022 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.
“The aspens at the cross-roads talk together
Of rain, until their last leaves fall from the top.”
– Edward Thomas, “Aspens” –
The cool morning breeze is whispering to the trees that rain is coming. Hackberries and elms are dropping their golden-brown leaves a few at a time. As they drift slowly down, I breathe deeply of this moment of peace.
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.
Text and photos © 2021 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.
“The breeze of grace is always blowing on you,
but you have to unfurl your sails.”
– Sri Ramakrishna –
May we unfurl our sails to grace this week as we nurture peace, cultivate loving kindness, and carry the calm.
Nature of the week –at the harbor in Yokohama, Japan:
Shadow of the Week – a reflection on a rainy sidewalk in Yokohama:
If you’d like to see more of my photos from Japan, please follow me on my Facebook author page https://www.facebook.com/karynhenleyauthor.
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.