And Still They Come

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

In dark silhouette,

a flock of birds

darts,

swift and low,

across a sky cloaked in clouds of gray

in shades that drift

and slowly shift,

now light,

now dark.

Wind, heavy with weather, quickens.

Air thickens.

Branches wag their fingers at the sky.

And still they come,

scores of birds,

arrows speeding,

reading the signs of the clouds,

believing the whine of the wind.

They look so sure of where they’re going.

Some inborn knowing of nature

sends them racing past the trees,

against the breeze.

Are they seeking shelter?

Outrunning the rain?

Or simply celebrating

wings and wind

and the miracle of uplift

on a fresh tide of air

as rain begins to fall.

– 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.

Bend with the Wind

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

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.

Good at Slow Dancing

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

“Go to the pine if you want to learn about the pine.”

– Matsuo Basho –

Five pine trees stand in a line across my back fence. I used to think of them as the skinny kids on the block, but they’re not kids. They were here before I was. So I’m now calling them the five elders. They are thin and as tall as a four-story house. Two of them lean east; the others grow straight up. I think they’re Eastern White Pines or something related. They produce long, scaly cones, and their reddish-brown, rough, furrowed bark holds a sticky resin with that distinct, clean, crisp pine smell. Their thin, feathery needles grow in fan-like groups that wave to me when a breeze blows through. And when the breeze turns into a stiff wind, these five elders are good at slow-dancing.

Go to the pine to learn about the pine. Go to whatever or whoever creates peace to learn about peace. Go to whoever shows kindness to learn about kindness.

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.

Beneath Birdsong

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

I’ve started a practice of trying to listen beyond or underneath the shouts and clangs and alerts and clashes that demand attention. I’m trying to rediscover soft sounds, the hums, the sighs, the whispers. It’s like trying to pick out one instrument’s musical line while listening to a symphony. Right now, underneath the birdsong, there’s a soft whispering whoosh. I think it’s the sound of wind in the trees. It ebbs and flows and reminds me to listen for the constant, soft undertones of wonder, joy, peace, and hope in each day, the life-giving grace of love’s whispers. – kh, 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.

Infinite Love Will Rise

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

“On blue summer evenings I’ll go down the pathways

Pricked by the grain, crushing the tender grass –

Dreaming, I’ll feel its coolness on my feet.

I’ll let the wind bathe my bare head.

I won’t talk at all, I won’t think about anything.

But infinite love will rise in my soul . . .”

– Arthur Rimbaud –

Nurture peace. Cultivate kindness. 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.

Wonders to Hold and Keep

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

“Behold the white wistarias –

The Milky Way blown by the wind.”

– Hajin –

translated by Asataro Miyamori

Long ago, before behold meant to gaze upon or observe, it meant hold or keep. In a way, that’s what we do when we observe something. Each season brings us wonders. Hold on to them. Keep them in your mind and heart so that, in turn, they may hold you and keep you in a place of calm and peace.

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week –wisteria hanging over our driveway through the neighbor’s bamboo:

Shadow of the Week:

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

Wandering Wind and Whirling Earth

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

“The winds wander,

the snow and rain and dew fall,

the earth whirls –

all but to prosper a poor lush violet.”

– John Muir –

. . . and all to prosper you.

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week – a wild violet:

Shadow of the Week:

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

The Dancing Breath of God

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

“I talk of branches dancing in the wind

but what I mean is the breath of God.”

– Rumi –

Feel the wind. Listen as it tiptoes past in a whisper, or waltzes with swaying branches, or twirls like an ice skater, scattering sparkles of frost in wild abandon. Watch. Listen. Feel the breath of God.

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 Cares Drop Off Like Leaves

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

“Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.” – John Muir

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week: