heaven

Something About the Night

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There is something soft and friendly

about the night,

a slowing,

settling,

deep drift

that creeps silently over the world

as the light folds her brightly colored fan

and fades.

Evening shadows gently wash over

grasses and gardens,

chipmunks and squirrels,

bugs and birds.

Darkness rises to the rooftops,

shoulders over the treetops

until all rests under a dome of darkness

where stars sail and the moon smiles

and the night breeze dances.

When I was young,

I was taught about heaven.

“There is no night there,” we sang,

which saddened me for years.

No night?

No beautiful, calming, restful night?

No chirp of crickets?

No whirr of night bugs?

No lovely call of a lone owl?

I am not convinced about heaven,

but I know the night.

I love the night.

There is something soft and friendly

about the night.

-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.

One of the Hardest Lessons

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“One of the hardest lessons we have to learn in this life, and one that many persons never learn, is to see the divine, the celestial, the pure, in the common, the near at hand—to see that heaven lies about us here in this world.” – John Burroughs

 

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.

Holding Infinity

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In honor of Mother’s Day, I’m posting one of my favorites:

 

“To see a World in a Grain of Sand

And Heaven in a Wild Flower,

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand

And Eternity in an hour.”

– William Blake –

 

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you who mother us so beautifully.

 

Nature of the week – rhododendron:

Shadow of the Week – there’s a heart in this leaf shadow:

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Text and photos © 2021 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

“This Present Little Instant”

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“No heaven can come to us

unless our hearts find rest in it today.

Take heaven!

No peace lies in the future

which is not hidden in this present little instant.

Take peace!”

– Fra Giovanni Giocondo –

 

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

Nature of the week – a blue poppy from the botanical gardens in Tromso, Norway:

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, faith, and the mystery we call God, link here.

 

Text and photos © 2017 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.