darkness

Winter and the Wild

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On the first day of Winter,

as I pull into my driveway after dark,

my headlights startle two gray-brown rabbits

who had been sitting there in the cold—

chatting? Listening? Sniffing the air?

One bolts to the right,

the other to the left,

their white tails bobbing.

They live somewhere in my yard, I think,

perhaps snuggled under an arch of berried bushes

or tucked near the trunk of a pine,

or nestled under a thatch of twigs.

How do they survive the cold, I wonder.

They don’t dig dens,

or so I’ve read,

for they might get trapped by a fox or coyote.

They, too, roam our neighborhood—

the wild living among us.

Then again, as I watch the white-rumped rabbits

bounding into the darkness,

I realize that, actually,

it is we

who live

among them.

Happy Winter, wild ones.

-kh-

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.

Even in Darkness and Silence

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“Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content.”
– Helen Keller, The Story of My Life –

Nurture peace, cultivate loving kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week – a stream at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens:

Shadow of the Week – morning shadows on the wall by my desk:

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.

Always, Always Something Sings

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With hearts aching for France and all who are touched by trouble, this encouragement to look for light in the darkness:

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.'”

Mister Rogers

And from Ralph Waldo Emerson:

“[I]n the darkest, meanest things, there always, always something sings.”

 

Nourish peace, cultivate lovingkindness, and carry the calm.

Shadow of the Week:

wndwShdw

Nature photo of the week:

FallDogwd

 

Text and photos © 2014 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.