We Bring Things

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

We bring things for our people—

armfuls of leaves and petals and stems.

We bring things for our people—

paints of red and daffodil yellow,

sea blue and forest green,

poems of peace

and questions for musing.

With outstretched hands,

we bring ourselves—

our seeking souls

our open hearts.

We bring things for our people,

and it’s like bringing the sunshine.

– kh –

I wrote this about being a facilitator/teacher at Art & Soul Nashville, a community of intuitive artmaking where I take classes and sometimes teach. Who are your people? What do you bring them? What do they bring you? In what communities or friendships do you find peace? Count yourself blessed.

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

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The Peace of Mid-Morning

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

The clock ticks quietly

mid-morning

on this day that’s sunny

with a thin layer of clouds.

It’s warm enough for open windows.

A light breeze drifts in.

Outside it’s flicking leaves off the trees.

They tumble,

somersault,

land with soft clicks,

rattle to a stop and settle,

only to be scooped up

by a sudden gust

that skitters them,

scatters them,

tumbles them

into a pile against the fence.

The elm is speckled with the hangers-on,

the last to let go.

Soon it will be empty

of leaves.

The clock ticks

quietly toward noon.

– kh –

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.

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:

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

A Rush of Richness

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

“The glassy peartree leaves and blooms, they brush

The descending blue; that blue is all in a rush

With richness.”

– Gerard Manley Hopkins, “Spring” –

Nature of the week:—pear blossoms:

Shadow of the Week:

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

Something Whispered

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

Something told the wild geese

– It was time to go;

Though the fields lay golden

– Something whispered, – ‘Snow.’

Leaves were green and stirring,

– Berries luster-glossed,

But beneath warm feathers

– Something cautioned, – ‘Frost.’

– Rachel Field –

Enjoy the magical change of seasons. Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week – a lamppost:

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

Every Leaf

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

“What is autumn? . . . A second spring, where every leaf is a flower.”

– Albert Camus, Le Malentendu –

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 longer posts on the art of noticing, link here.

http://karynhenley.com

Every Leaf a Flower

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

From Le Malentendu by Albert Camus –

Martha: What is autumn?

Jan: A second spring, where every leaf is a flower.

If autumn is beginning to display her colors in your part of the world, I hope you can pause for a moment to breathe deeply of her beauty as she quietly and steadily transforms into a second, and very rich, spring.

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

Nature of the week – signs of autumn found on my back deck:

Shadow of the Week – on my garden shoes:

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. http://karynhenley.com

A Moment of Rest

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

“Only when we’re at peace inwardly can we bring some measure of peace to a violent world.”

– Parker Palmer –

Treat yourself to hearing Wendell Berry read his brief and beautiful poem, “The Peace of Wild Things”.

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

Nature of the week – Queen Anne’s Lace, large as a dinner plate, with two bees feasting:

Shadow of the Week – leaf shadow on leaf:

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.

With Quiet Eyes

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

I will be the gladdest thing

Under the sun!

I will touch a hundred flowers

And not pick one.

I will look at cliffs and clouds

With quiet eyes,

Watch the wind bow down the grass,

And the grass rise. . . .

– Edna St. Vincent Millay, “Afternoon on a Hill” –

Pause sometime this week to look at nature with quiet eyes. Watch the play of the wind and the shift of the shadows. Let the shape, color, and scent of a flower imprint on heart and mind. Hold it. And carry this calm.

Nature photo of the week – bellflower:

Shadow of the Week – leaf on leaf:

Carry the Calm

Karyn Henley

leaves

We Bring Things

The Peace of Mid-Morning

The Peace of Simply Sitting

A Rush of Richness

Something Whispered

Every Leaf

Every Leaf a Flower

A Moment of Rest

With Quiet Eyes