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It has been an in-depth day, which I will share later, but visions of water and beauty have played a large part, as they do in all of this lovely world. And so tonight, I share this with you.
Marina Cay, Tortola, British Virgin Islands.
Quote of the day: “Nature loves courage. You make the commitment and nature will respond to that commitment by removing impossible obstacles. Dream the impossible dream and the world will not grind you under, it will lift you up. This is the trick. This is what all these teachers and philosophers who really counted, who really touched the alchemical gold, this is what they understood. This is the shamanic dance in the waterfall. This is how magic is done. By hurling yourself into the abyss and discovering its a feather bed.” – Terence McKenna
Daily gratitudes:
Leftover mounds of snow that look like purposeful sculptures
Chickens roaming in yards
Journeys
Learning
KaVita Probiotic Sparkling Coconut Water
It was a gentle weather day, a blessing in January. We are preparing for Stock Show weather, which means C-O-L-D. It will be a high of 20 on Saturday for opening day. I know I’ve been rather boring lately, with little but the weather and an occasional thought. Trust me, I’ve been thinking, but mostly I’ve been workingworkingworkingworkingworkingworking. Another two weeks of constant work and I hope my thoughts and my blog will be more expressive. I miss me.
Somewhere in time, Planet Earth.
Quote of the day: “Have you ever heard the wonderful silence just before the dawn? Or the quiet and calm just as a storm ends? Or perhaps you know the silence when you haven’t the answer to a question you’ve been asked, or the hush of a country road at night, or the expectant pause of a room full of people when someone is just about to speak, or, most beautiful of all, the moment after the door closes and you’re alone in the whole house? Each one is different, you know, and all very beautiful if you listen carefully.” – Norman Juster
Daily gratitudes:
Geese in flight
Soft pajamas that you can’t wait to get into
Not having to wear a coat on a Colorado January day
My chicken purse
Space cowboy boots
I have been sick for what seems like forever. At first it was a horrible cough, which I worked through until yesterday, when I was so sick I couldn’t work. I was still too sick to work today. My darling MKL came to visit tonight and brought me two perfect early Christmas presents to make me feel better – even though just seeing him was enough. At any rate, this picture, or any picture of Anegada, is a tonic for my sick and tired spirit. Sorry for the slightly crooked horizon, and I promise I’ll be back to my merry Santa-hat-wearing, holiday-loving self before Christmas.
Pomato Point, Anegada, British Virgin Islands.
Quote of the day: “Blessed are the cracked, for they shall let in the light.” – Groucho Marx
Daily gratitudes:
My chicken purse
Soft pillows
Naps when you’re sick
26 acts of kindness
Moments of silence
This was a week of nightmares, destroyed dreams, and lives forever changed. The damage done this week to children, parents, families, and communities is irreparable.
Many of us who are not intimate with this tragedy will go on with our lives, the holidays, and return to joy. A small piece of my heart has left me now, and is with those parents who are going through unthinkable. Yes, their little sons and daughters experienced unimaginable fear in their last moments, and the thought of that is impossible, especially for those parents.
Those little people are little souls looking out for their parents now. But those parents, agonizing over what their child must have been feeling, and devastated by all the reminders of future and promise, now nothing but dust – for them, there is no peace. Christmas presents never to be opened. No more bedtime hugs from a small warm body made from the love of two people. No more laughter. No more hope. No more….anything. Just pain and tears and loss.
I am grateful every day that my daughter is still here, and that I have the privilege of having her in my life and in this world. Not every parent is as fortunate, and for them, my heart bleeds. I wish I could make it better, but I can’t.
Nothing will.
For those of you still under the bad influence of Sandy, this is just a reminder of better days to come.
Cow Wreck Beach, Anegada, British Virgin Islands.
Quote of the day: “There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm.” – Willa Cather
Daily gratitudes:
The dance of dewdrops in the back of my truck this morning
A lovely day
The man downtown with the silver cowboy hat and the snake around his neck
Writing
Sharing anxiety
I will soon be accompanying the raindrops in a very similar hammock.
Jost van Dyke, British Virgin Islands.
Quote of the day: “Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Daily gratitudes:
Red-winged blackbirds
The hot air balloons that were so close this morning
Lunch with MKL
My new giraffe scarf from Nepal – tres chic!
The warmth of the sun this morning
While it has been several years since I was in Wales, I stil love the memory and the vision of this place at Worm’s Head. The lone white house, surrounded by sea and green, is a home of my dreams, full of peace.
Today, and the past few weeks, peace has been incredibly elusive, and my options feel discouragingly few and futile. It is so hard to maintain hope sometimes. But it helps to remember the beautiful in this world.
Rhossili, Gower, Wales.
Quote of the day: “I need the sea because it teaches me.” – Pablo Neruda
Daily gratitudes:
Flowing skirts
My heavy punching bag in the garage
Milk
Dragonflies
My heart
Photo title: Place of Peace
Duke Gardens, Durham, North Carolina.
Quote of the day: “The human spirit is stronger than anything that can happen to it.” – C.C. Scott
Daily gratitudes:
Morning light
Loving concern
Ice cold drinks first thing in the morning
Bow ties
Spinach
Photo title: Peace
Jost van Dyke, British Virgin Islands.
Quote of the day: “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” – Mother Teresa
Daily gratitudes:
Not getting T-boned this morning
Gumbo
Lemon juice
Opals
Laughter
Consciously trying to do better work
On my run this morning, there was a giant seagull wrestling with a dead foot-and-a-half long shark by the pier. It made me wonder if there is an angry mother shark skulking somewhere in the vicinity. Not an impossibility, considering we’ve had two shark attacks here in recent weeks.
You can tell when a day here is going to be a scorcher. It’s somehow more evident than it is in Colorado. It’s something about the quality of the cloudless sky and the passivity of the air, even with its welcome breeze.
Dragonflies are chasing each other outside the front window.
When I see something roundish at the edge of the surf, I automatically assume it is a coconut, not a football. I suspect that means that I am really meant to be in the Caribbean.
The inside of my knees are sunburned. Not the backs, the insides. Go figure.
I don’t have the TV on here. I do at home to sort of ease the silence. Here, I don’t need it. I have the constant cadence of the ocean.
Today is another do-nothing day (even though I have to work tonight).
All so lovely.
The look of a hot day in the baking.
