This fence has seen some weather; high winds, hail, snow and countless sunny days. And it’s needed help from time to time. Times like these we should stand by for folks. Just be there for someone; just in case.
When I took the picture of this fencepost being supported by another it seemed a good metaphor for the times. We should stand by folks. Maybe not to support but to offer a place to lean when needed. To just be there, just in case.
Looking for meteors should never get old. It’s that rush of feeling being rewarded for waiting. And though your messages are important I’d rather wish in a shooting star any day.
Wish on a star this week?
I’ve heard many folks complain about boredom while watching for shooting stars. And how exhilarating it was to see one. It reminded me of our addiction with social media, technology and email. We are willing to wait for those messages from our special friends and yet rarely do I hear of my friends sitting out in the grass waiting for the heavens to offer something amazing. We look to often to technology to fulfill us when the natural world almost never disappoints.
#embodiedcognition #patience #oxytocin #seratonin #wonder #awe
This picture puts me into the middle of this day. The warmth of the late afternoon sun, the way the clouds moved slowly across the landscape just like our progress. It had been a long day of hiking. Muscles sore. It was also the end of the trail for me. I look back at this picture not with sadness but with expectation of another day. It won’t ever be the same but it will be special.
What makes your days special?
Another post on embodied cognition. The smell of the willows in a warm afternoon sun while we were moving through this landscape is so strong in my memory. This particular day was the end of a weeklong hike with my son. He continued on for several more weeks. But we both were chatting recently about how this particular day felt and how visually appealing it was. A near perfect “special” day.
#embodiedcognition #memory
I smell these leaves. Every experience and encounter carries some emotional memory. Some call it baggage but that seems too easy to shrug off or leave behind. That memory is part of the experience. The smell, the warmth of the day, the little sights and sounds.
Today get comfortable with a memory for a moment. How did it smell?
We are made of starstuff.
I cannot dream without the motes of night
They are engines of creation
Stars upon stars
Their twinkling inspires
What do they whisper?
A colorful band of adventurers on my journey
Pointing all the ways
Such perfect companions
Sit quiet with the stars tonight.
Every airport has a pattern; a way of entering the area to land on a certain runway. And when the airport becomes busy, everything works well. Sometimes for me, routines like this help bring intense times of heightened awareness or flow. It’s something I have to cultivate. I have to be ready.
What routines do you have in place today to encourage flow? Are you ready?
This has become a series caller Planetrails. This pic is a timelapse of the air traffic over Denver November 5, 2020.
We know that these hills are connected to the Earth but for just a second imagine that they are floating mountains. What are the implications? Everything we think we know would be wrong? Something incredible is possible? Certainly the laws of physics would have to work differently. It becomes a fun and freeing imagining.
Imagine floating mountains today. What does that mean for your creativity?
This post was really designed to explore the floating appearance of the mountains in the clouds; how things are not always as they appear. Or in a more fantastic sense, wouldn’t it be neat if these mountains were really floating. I’m not sure we spend enough time in this daydream “what if” mode. I find it energizing and I probably should visit more often.
#mindfulness #neuralplasticity #adjacentpossible
When sitting under these trees I was amazed at their fractal nature; from the big to small. Trees to sky. I always have been. I follow the branches out to the smallest leaves. My dad used to ask if I could see the ants. I wish I could for then my explorations could go farther. I’m content to notice the slight quaking of the wind and hearing a slight swoosh of wind.
Today, be still for a moment or two and Listen for the smallest things.
Something Annie said during class; about tiny noticing, brought me to this. I think in nature, we are often caught looking at the forest and forgetting the differences in the trees…especially using senses beyond sight. I remember places by the way they sound and smell more than the way they look.
#mindfulness #nature
Every trail is an adventure. You can walk 100 steps and the whole world will change, scenes drift, colors shift. Nature affects us in profound ways. The aura of a forest can brighten moods, calm a stressed twenty first century mind. This path is centering.
What’s around that bend? Tell me about the paths you choose this weekend.
I have an idea of a series called 100 Steps; to get people to realize that they don’t have to travel far distances for true beauty in nature. A journey of 100 steps can bring you to the perfect place you never knew was so close.
#mindfulness #nature #embodiedcognition
The Sun hit the horizon again from our vantage this morning. It has been rising over Crescent Mountain for about a month now. It now has a clear shot to the winter solstice.
The road will be bumpy but it smooths out. Do you feel it? It’s time to get creating.
I like watching changes in nature. Where the Sun will rise, the seasons, the differences in the skies. It helps me remember that time flows and I don’t have unlimited time. I need to keep creating.
#mindfulness #nature #metta #creativity