The Sky’s Gift

It is the sky that makes the earth so lovely at sunrise,

and so splendid at sunset.

In the one it breathes over the earth the crystal-like ether,

in the other liquid gold.

A wondrous sky greets this cold, crisp morning. It’s criss-crossed with contrails, probably due to holiday travel. Toward the horizon, a wide sweep of thin, feathery clouds spans the blue like a skyscape dry-brushed in white across a deep blue canvas. All this, and the sun is still on the rise. It’s painting tree tops gold, while their lower trunks and branches rest in twilight shadow. The sky is breathing over the earth, waking it up with beauty.

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

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Peace, Angels, and Diamonds

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

We shall find peace,

We shall hear angels,

We shall see the sky

Sparkling with diamonds.

– Anton Chekhov –

When skies are clear, long winter nights make for good stargazing. If it’s a clear night, look up and linger for a moment with the stars. Let your cares float away, if only for a moment. Breathe in peace. – Linger: 365 Days of Peaceful Pauses

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.

When Skies are Silver

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

On this rainy weekend, I think of another cloudy-about-to-rain day when a friend saw his elderly neighbor at work in her garden. He called, “How are you on this gray day?” She looked up, smiled, and said, “Oh, it’s not a gray day; it’s silver.”

What is water

that pours silver

and can fold the sky?

– Hilda Conkling –

Poems by a Little Girl

Wishing you silver on a cloudy day.

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.

Feel the Stars

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

“. . . feel the stars and the infinite

high and clear above you.

Then life seems

Almost enchanted after all.”

– Vincent Van Gogh –

In this busy holiday season, take time to feel the stars, sense the infinite, and rediscover the enchantment of life. Wishing you joy and 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.

The Sky in a Dewdrop

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

“The whole moon and the entire sky

are reflected in dewdrops on the grass,

or even in one drop of water.”

– Dogen Kigen, 1200-53 –

And if I were to peer into your upward-looking eyes, I would see the whole moon, the entire sky, and the beauty of creation that is you.

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week – cat, contemplating:

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

The Pulse of Hope and Peace

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

“We shall find peace,

We shall hear angels,

We shall see the sky

Sparkling with diamonds.”

– Anton Chekhov –

I think it’s possible to carry within us a sense of calm so strong that the world knows hope and peace simply because of our presence and so powerful that every physical space we step into pulses with hope and peace simply because we’re there. So find peace, hear angels, see the sky sparkling with diamonds . . . nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm. We are the pulse of hope and peace.

Nature of the week – I meant to photograph the interior of a blossom – and my new close-up lens focused on an ant: