Frost On A Window

Frost on the window of my grandparents house
Originally uploaded by roddh

Nothing is quite as amazing as the things nature creates, such as these frost patterns on a window. Whenever winter seems too long in the coldest parts of the world, make yourself aware of its unique beauty, of those things that only a cold winter can produce.

Take some photos, sketch a winter scene, or paint a winter sunset. Better yet, bundle yourself warmly and take your camera for a walk with you. See what you can find in winter that makes it beautiful enough to be a delight rather than something you wish would just hurry up and go away.

It helps :)

Praying

Child Praying
Originally uploaded by ...jager

This week, I have prayed for our fellow humans who are living the nightmare of the catastropic earthquake in Haiti. I can only imagine such suffering. Such as this puts into perspective my own minor problems, which not so long ago seemed so major.

I know many of you are praying, too.

A few reliable organizations through which you can donate:

Red Cross

Salvation Army

AARP

This is one of those times people are amazing in their ability to feel compassion larger than themselves and the corner of the world in which they live. It makes us realize we are all related via our human-ness.

stillness of nature

stillness of nature
Originally uploaded by alicepopkorn

stillness of nature


When we experience pure silence in the mind,
the body becomes silent also.
And in that field of silence, healing is much more efficient.

--Deepak Chopra

Borrowed with gratitude from the Flickr pages of alicepopkorn

http://www.flickr.com/blog.gne

Guide Your Mind

meditation
Originally uploaded by alicepopkorn

A new year, full of new hope--have you hugged yourself yet? Whether we make resolutions or not, one has to admit there is a certain promise, an air of expectancy when we venture into a whole new calendar.

Guide your mind this year toward loving yourself better and with more completeness than ever before. Surround your mind's eye with a golden light, call it meditation or whatever you like, but guide your mind this year to love every second, every minute of your life.

Even on the worst days, turn inward for a minute, and find that golden halo we shall name hope. If you have trouble have first locating yours, try a little harder, for it will there when you need it the most.

Have a beautiful year.

Karen

A Sunday Thought

Spirit of the Earth (Ben Heine)
Originally uploaded by Ben Heine

If you're standing alone, stand strong.

Each Of Us Leaves Our Mark On The World

Originally uploaded by NymphoBrainiac

Do you ever imagine within your own thoughts leaving your mark on the world? Some of us dream big, and some small, but we all dream, and many of us do long to leave our mark. Trouble is, so many people think that in order for their mark to count, it has to be huge, has to reach at least a million people, or has to make an impact that makes the evening news.

But is that really true? Or even realistic? The majority of people on the earth will never be famous beyond their own select circle of contacts, or even beyond their own family or community.

But believe this: Each of us leaves our mark on the world.

My friend Pat recently shared with me an interesting fact she stumbled upon while doing research on hearing. Whenever we talk, anyone within the range of our voice, anyone, feels its impact, even though most times, they are not aware of it. There are tiny tiny hairs in the ear that transmit sound waves, and those minute hairs in the ears of whomever is within range of even our whisper are moved.

Pat said the more she pondered that fact, the more it amazed her. Even unrecoginized impact is still impact.

I felt the same amazement as Pat did, the same kind of amazement I feel each time I hear of the butterfly effect. Think of the wings of a single butterfly having the strength to create a far-reaching ripple affect in the atmosphere, or the range of our whisper.

And then think of each person you've ever impacted, for good or ill, during your entire life thus far. Now, imagine each person THEY touch in some way, and on and on the ripple effect goes. And it leaves our mark on the world in ways we may never know.

If you've ever left footprints on a sandy beach, then you've shifted the earth, however minutely, beneath us all, for at least that one space in time.

Isn't that amazing? We leave our mark/s nearly every day and may not even know it.

What amazes you about leaving "marks" on this world? Do you have particular you ways you hope to do so that you'd like to share with us?

Karen

The Beauty of Cities After Dark

Goodnight to the City
Originally uploaded by Stewart Leiwakabessy

Not everything beautiful resides in the sunlight. Take cities. I moved four years ago from having been a country person who owned a home her entire life, to being an apartment dweller in a small city.

On my Christmas wish list is a digital camera, as I've been without one for several years now. In the meantime, this beautiful photo uploaded to Flickr by Stewart Leiwakabessy illustrates well the way my own city streets and sidewalks look after dark.

The sun has long since set here in Michigan, and the workday hustle long since slowed. I can look out my windows and see the bare limbs, the sidewalk covered with, and the street lights showing off, the glorious white snow left by the blizzard that finally blew itself out a few hours ago.

Now, I love sunlight, and I love my city in it. That natural daylight shows well so many beautiful things about a city, but also some of the uglier things known to cities. You know what I mean :)

Here, though, the dark hides any ugly, while at the same time bringing forth a beauty in the city that goes unnoticed in the brightness of the daytime.

Share some of the things you might love about the dark, or about the place you call home :)

Karen