My Buddy The Wind...

backyard view-photo by Libby Fife

As I look out the window this morning I can see the clouds moving along the skyline and the trees swaying in the wind. The wind is both a blessing and a curse this time of year. It certainly helps to cool things down but it is an added layer of disaster for people fighting fires. 

As I was taking my walk earlier this week I started to really listen to the wind. It sort of kept me company as I continued to make my way up the trail. Maybe it is too much reading of John Muir's adventures again, but I felt like the wind was an actual entity sort of talking with me as I walked along. I wondered if it was a divine voice spurring me on, suggesting that I look around and notice things and to remember to be aware of God's continual presence. A pleasant and comforting idea I think.

Hope everyone has had a good week. Thanks for reading and commenting.

Libby

Patterns, Awareness and Simple Gifts

Clouds over backyard hillside-photo by Libby Fife

Nature's glorious patterns. 

Maybe it's too much reading of John Muir lately but I was sure struck by the show in the sky this morning. Who needs additional adornment?

This week I published my monthly art newsletter. In it, I advocated for the simple act of observation with your six senses. The simple act of trying to notice anything in your surroundings with just one of your senses can really awaken you to what's happening. It creates an awareness. 

So, notice those clouds in the sky? Yesterday, as I sat in my studio, I realized that all of a sudden I could smell the wet cement outside. Since it is summer and dry and hot, it seemed crazy to smell any kind of moisture. Sure enough though, I looked out the window and our rocks in the driveway were indeed wet. What an unexpected gift. And I mean not only a little moisture but also the fact that I took note of things. That seems like extra icing on the cake.

Libby

Reading Muir

"How vast it seems, how short human life when we happen to think of it, and how little we may learn, however hard we try! Yet why bewail our poor inevitable ignorance? Some of the external beauty is always in sight, enough to keep every fibre of us tingling, and this we are able to gloriously enjoy though the methods of its creation may lie beyond our ken. Sing on, brave Tamarack Creek, fresh from your snowy fountains, plash and swirl and dance to your fate in the sea; bathing, cheering every living thing along your way."

John Muir, My First Summer in the Sierra 

Muir was a deeply spiritual man, though I understand from reading this article here, that he may have abandoned conventional religious thought as he got older. It seems to me that being in nature and wondering about its mystery may have been his true religion.

I am currently reading the above mentioned book and have put it down many times after not having gotten very far. Insight I think is often revealed with persistent and patient effort but that just isn't easy. What you might get out of something isn't always immediately obvious and can take time to understand. Muir's writing seemed ponderous to me at first until I began to appreciate how much he must have been in awe of what he saw around him. His descriptions of the natural world are lyrical and eloquent, succinct yet expansive. I am learning to read his words in small bites in order to appreciate them more. The above book is a good introduction to his thoughts.
Libby