Wednesday, December 24, 2008

December 25 - The First Holy Night - The Need for Nature

On Christmas Night begin your Holy Nights contemplations with thoughts on your soul’s need for Nature. Whether you are a city dweller or a farmer, tonight celebrate your relationship to the natural world.

What do you think of when you contemplate Nature? Sky, sea, flowers, trees, animals, minerals, mountains, sunsets, breezes, bird songs. What activities come to your imagination? Erupting volcanoes, falling snow, germinating seeds, blossoming roses, soaring birds, crashing waves, leaping deer, dawning sun?

Nature is profoundly complex and utterly mystifying - just like your soul.

Nature soothes and terrifies - just like your soul.

Nature is of the Earth and declares the presence of the Divine - just like your soul.

Nature and your soul mirror each other. If you want to know your soul, study Nature. If you want to know Nature, study your soul.

Without Nature your soul suffers. Your soul hardens, dries up, crumbles.

Nature was created for your soul. Nature is the first source of art, science and religion. Every great soul has found inspiration, comfort and wisdom in the forces, gifts and nuances of Nature.

Now Nature looks to your soul to think deeply about her, to feel deeply for her and to act in protection of her. Does your soul realize this?

How much time do you devote to Nature? Enough time to meet the needs of your soul and the needs of Nature? What would be enough time? How could you give more time to the relationship between your soul and Nature?

As you reflect on your soul’s relationship to Nature, what comes to mind? Write down three memories of Nature from this year. Are these recollections of the vast expanses of Nature, or the tiny, breathtaking beauties she offers?

Imagine how you would like to engage with Nature this coming year? What new perspective or experience do you desire? Do you need to spend more time attending to Nature. Do you need to make scientific observations, fill a sketch pad with drawings of flowers, or create a nature altar?

Tonight wake up to your soul’s need for Nature.

53 comments:

  1. Hi,
    When I think of nature I think of the Caribbean sea. Deep blue ocean, the country of my birth and all the exotic foods that grow and are cooked there. I remember my pets (mostly dogs) and the freedom to be that animals have in this society. I remember my Dad's farm as the place to go when I needed to get away from the hustle of city life.
    Christmas in the Caribbean was a wonderful experience.
    Love,
    T

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  2. Dear Madame Jererico, my name is Suzanne Carreau, i live at Montreal in Quebec. So sorry for my english, i'm french. It's not perfert but i want to writting to you for these first message...at holy night. I want to say to you, tank you, this message give me a time to remember those images of nature, i did see in the last year. "souvenir" I think my soul feel more luminate...i will continue my meditation...Good time of Christmas...Suzanne Carreau from Canada

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  3. I'm blessed to live in a city with much nature and greenery, and doubly blessed to be able to walk to work every morning, so that I get a daily dose of Outside before staying in all day. When I think of nature, I think of how it's never the same way twice, how there's going to be a flower, or a tree, or a squirrel, or something that will catch my eye and remind me of mystery in its infinite permutations.

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  4. I am privileged to live on 40 acres of land in a beautiful house which gives me views daily of the surrounding nature. I walk on the land among the trees every day, stopping to feel their energy as I stand in a grove of pine. This year I helped to build shamanic energy centers to help restore health to the land. I got to ride up a mountain I consider sacred with my sister and up another one with a close friend I think of as my sister. Nature is important to me in my life and for renewing my spirit.
    Love and Light - SO

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  5. I think of green fields.. and laying in the grass... and playing with mud and climbing a tree...of taking a walk in the rain
    ahhhhhhhh

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  6. Bachelors buttons blooming in October,
    Honey bees gathering salt water from the pool,
    tilling, mulching, eating greens,
    coyotes howl,
    snow angels, ice and snow, fog
    and blessed sunlight on Christmas day

    the land upon which i walk the christ spilt his blood upon - whom is it upon i tread?

    peace, LS

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  7. Didn't get this until Christmas Day -- guess the cyberspace is slow here!

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  8. This year I decided to become a care-giver for a hive of honey bees. I had no idea the curiosity and facscination that caring for these mysterious creatures would bring....I was so drawn to just sit near their porch and watch the comings and goings, my camera close by. I purchased a macro lense and expanded my micro world. I met a whole new group of friends who share this new found passion. I find myself walking the yard and pondering what the bees would like-it's a whole new way of seeing...and to taste their honey and realize they have been in my sage or a neighbor's fruit trees or someone's mint! I have even had to look at my own fears about getting stung or trying to understand what the different whirring of their wings means and how they can exile those big eyed drones, nurture their fuzzy babies and teach them to fly at "recess"- such a lesson in nature and how to live...I have relished every gift of these wonderful sun creatures. The bees have been my biggest nature experience of the year so far....just loving it!

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  9. We experience nature on a small and diverse home farm, with beautiful mountains around us... nature is harmony, the interconnectedness of all things, and my own intimate connection with it. I, the chicken, the goat, the tree, the carrot, all with our own individual nature yet deeply connected and dependent on each other in a system that transcends the individual. What is more important, deeper or higher than this!

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  10. As within as without......I remember tears flowing when I was overwhelmed by the beauty of Bermuda many years ago. Spending 24 hours alone on a mountaintop is a precious memory.
    Walking in Nature's abundance here in Hawaii is so special and just sitting in my bamboo "cathedral" is so comforting and quiet aside from the whispering leaves and occasional knocking of the bamboo.
    Aloha,
    B.

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  11. Hi Lynn, I am taking your suggestion and will follow the Inner Christmas until I leave on retreat on 12/29.

    Interesting that you should bring up nature. My own preference is to be inside, on computer or reading on the couch, most of the time. It never occurs to me to go outside unless I have to. But I have really been enjoying the chilly and mostly overcast weather we are having in San Diego right now. This is our version of winter. Since I am in close contact with friends in MA, OH and OR, I have been thankful every day that I am not experiencing the snow, ice and winters that I moved here 20 years ago to escape.

    Just a few weeks ago I participated in a Day of Restoration and spent some cloudly and overcast time in an outdoor spa, overlooking the nearby mountains, which was glorious.

    In September a friend and I drove from the Bay Area north to Bend, OR. This was all new country to me and I enjoyed seeing the mountains there, following the Volcanic Legacy Byway and visiting Crater Lake. More amazement.

    Last night I attended a Candlelight Carol service at my nearby Presbyterian Church and we ended up outside in the courtyard with our candles, singing Silent Night and enjoying the stars and the night sky.

    So I have been in nature recently, and hope I can find a way to incorporate just a little bit of being outdoors into each of my days in the new year.

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  12. Minutes before reading this message I was observing two Redtailed Hawks outside my window.... Before long one got what it came for...a small squirrel...the sun is setting...the huge bird is feasting...another squirrel is pressed close between a branch and the trunk of a tall tulip tree....perfectly camouflaged...I understand...but still feel a little sad

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  13. Dear Lynn: Thanks for these wonderful moments of reflection and insight. My husband, daughter, black cat and I took a walk by the river at noon to read your entry and share thoughts. What is nature to us this Christmas day? Brisk wind, strong currents on the river, patches of ice and snow beneath our feet, Blue-jays calling, bright sun, bare-tree shadows, warmth in our hearts. Perhaps because we live in Manhattan, we don't take nature for granted but must instead make a special point of appreciating it's beauty every day -- walking to work rather than hopping on the bus, noticing the birds, and volunteering to work in the park help keep us connected to what mother earth has to offer, and thus can soothe our souls. Thank you for reminding us that our souls need nature because that is truly where we find beauty, strength and calm, not to mention answers.

    My most vivid memories of nature this year surround Native American ceremonies - sitting under the stars by a sacred fire during a vision quest, letting myself be swept downstream in the currents of an unpolluted river after a sweat lodge, and harvesting edible plants at a community gathering.

    Taking time to admire the tiny, breathtaking beauties of nature is worth more than a truckload of wrapped packages.

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  14. I am home alone for the first time in almost sixty years on Christmas Day because of the flu. I live on an acre of land and walk the trails even when I am ill. In the midst of some loneliness and feeling lost, nature is my home of understanding. thanks for the inspiration.

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  15. My walking this year gave me time to feel the blessings of the trees, the beauty of the flowers, the many different sunrises and sunsets.
    Now that I am not walking I need to be intentional to be present to nature. It isn't daily anymore. I felt better when each day I was present to the miracle of nature.
    Kim

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  16. I live in Scotland where nature is all around. it's a fantastic place to live and we have incredibly wonderful scenery. I have been very lucky in the last 2 years to have spent alot of time walking in Scotland and I have realised what a fabulous country it is to live in. To be so close to nature is very nourishing to the soul.

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  17. when I think of Nature, I immediatly have to think of my walk throught the woods last week! thats what makes me to write this small comment. Walking there I 'enter' a piece with different kinds of trees. I noticed that and I was really inside talking to them how beautiful they were. I felt they made contact with me. they welcome me like I was walking a "walk of fame". I felt so much love from them! It made me really happy.

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  18. Hello all,

    I think of early mornings when the haze was still hanging above the fields and the waters; of naked trees; my own special friend Birch with his owl face; of my white swiss shepherd running so vividly through the wood.

    I also think of all the garbage people leave behind after a day in the fields... I pick up as much as I can and put it where it belongs...
    I see the resemblance with my inner proces; pickin up others garbage and get rid of it.

    For those who walk with an open eye there are so many signs/messages to see and hear in Nature. Nature is a truely Guide for my soul. I have to remember that more in the coming year.

    Here in Holland the first night will come in an hour or so. I'm curious what my dreams will show.

    peace and light,

    Inge Kiowa

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  19. My father somehow taught me to love the early morning, and the treasures nature reveals at this silent time when all beings, even rocks and trees are just about to wake. The mist still rising from the valleys, icicles decorating balsam firs, a bird, newly arisen, taking flight, still so close to the ground you can see the colors of its eyes, the sun peaking through clouds with the holy artist's conception of light beams really there, illuminating the ocean's early morning stillness. I breathe deeper when in the presence of this. magnificense.
    AL

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  20. Nature is so full of life and it is so beatufull to be spent some time in it. When the sun is shining and the birds are singing, then it is a beatifull day. One morning, I was going to work,it is still dark, the full moon is going down, on the radio the song "it is a perfect day". Now every morning I think of this beautifull moment and I try to make every day perfect in harmony with nature and myselfs.
    I hope my explanation I clear, my language is flamisch.
    Have a great Christmas Day

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  21. I feel the deep peace of being surrounded by majestic trees, the quiet bubbling of a brook and the warm nuzzle of a horses's breath on my face and I sigh....
    I am at one with the richness of life in all of its splendor and diversity...

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  22. My three nature memories of 2008 were mere glances: seeing a rabbit on my front lawn as I entered my home late one night; watching squirrels scampering around the yard during the day; and waking up to the very strong odor of a skunk who was digging for food near my front porch at 3:00 a.m. Ah nature!!

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  23. I remember at the funeral of my nephew his favorite color was orange our family and some of his closest friends released orange balloons and somone told me later that just before they broke up they formed a J his name was Jonathan. I also remember hummingbirds coming to feed at the back porch and of course what would nature be without dogs my three little ones Mimi, Zoe and Reggie their joyous behavior brings smiles and peace to my soul.

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  24. This morning I went for a walk in the woods with my German shepherd puppy. It was 7am, very quiet, the sun was about to come up. We went to a lake and as we came closer to it, my puppy spotted mallards on a water and charged at them. They took off noisily but then got back onto the water making a lot of splashes. The puppy didn't know what to make of it, she was running from me towards the ducks and back again. I stood there and watched laughing, my heart light with joy and appreciation.

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  25. Last year I was living temporarily on a 90-acre farm. I was outside in nature many times each day. My favorite time was in the evening, when all was still and the only light coming from the moon and stars. We had 5 large organic gardens and fruit trees. I would talk to the fruits and vegetables as they grew, and ask for them to give me messages about their purpose for humanity. It was so beautiful, what I "heard" from many of them . . . the number one, consistent message that NATURE THRIVES on our espressions of love to them, and then they selfislessly gives it back to us.

    This year, I'm living in a different place, and have not been out in nature much. I find I have gotten withdrawn, sometimes depressed, and it seems a real torture to force myself to get outdoors, to enjoy nature. I have gotten lazy this year, spending nearly all my time indoors.

    Thank you for the reminder of what I already knew . . . just not done.

    Because of this message, and reading comments from others, I have a renewed commitment to spending some time out in nature every day! I find, when I'm out in nature that I am free of anger, or any kind of hostility. I have a NEED to be gentle with myself, and being out in nature gives this gentle reassurance to me that All Is Well . . . if even for those few minutes I am outside.

    If I feel depressed or not in touch with my inner heart, if I can get out in nature, my connection to All That Is . . . Source . . . comes alive again!

    To enJOY Nature . . . is To Nurture . . . Nurture the Inner Heart and Soul!
    MMM

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  26. Mother (Nature) is truly my solice and outside is my place to connect with what is true and good. If I am distressed or have issues I can't resolve, I go for a walk or run and the answers usually lay in the softening of my soul in the arms of Nature. The animals I may encounter seem to be friends and remind me that there is so much more than my little problems to think about in this world. Nature is reconnection.

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  27. This year on the winter solistic eve, I saw amazing sliver thin glassy snow discs that sparkled up from the highway driving home, diamonds in the field...and they also fluttered into the windshield, and shimmered along the snowbanks -- beckoning me -- convincing me of the thousand million fragments of light "hidden" everywhere!

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  28. Happy Holy Day All,

    I am inextricably intertwined with Nature – my very survival in this human body depends upon its generous sharing, its healthy survival. The question is not what can it do for me, but what can I do for it. How can I better serve this planet which sustains all of us.

    Trees. Simply being what they are, wanting no more, no less. Knowing exactly what they are, their purpose. Knowing nothing else but being here now.

    Phosphorescent spring green! The rebirth, everything exclaiming its joy loudly, boldly, “Look at me! I am beautiful!”

    The stunning intricacies of each stem, leaf, bud, flower and seed pod. Ever changing, totally trusting in its metamorphosis.

    Nature teaches me human baggage is not needed. I can be who I was always meant to be without the rules, conditions and barriers I and others have established to keep me ‘safe’. Nature coaxes my heart open and wide. It encourages me to sing. It offers me solace and deep peace.

    From eternal gratefulness,
    O.H.

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  29. I am of nature and nature is the Divine... Nature is perfect...
    It is Whole... Nature is Love... Let God's Dream for you be fulfilled
    Blessings

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  30. I live on the second floor of a building in a metropolitan neighborhood. I work from home and my desk is situated so that I can observe the outside world. I am surrounded by windows that look out on trees that have shaded the lawn and provided protection for nearly one hundred years. Those trees are barren now, but closer to the building are fruit trees that provide beauty from spring until fall and in the winter serve as a picnic spot for the squirrels and birds. I now observe the same squirrels that ran around the oak tree in summer eating the crab apples and the berries that still remain on the fruit trees. The squirels are my neighbors, along with the many birds that will lite upon the berry trees at once and fly away noisily when a signal is communicated. Having this sanctuary for my daily enjoyment provides me the inspiration and the connection with nature that feeds my soul. SCS

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  31. I love how this was planed out.I also like how it says ''with out nature your soul suffers,dries up,and crumbles'' those were the exact words. Also it describes what is happening in the sentence.It is so true with out nature your soul,body would be this shrived up thing just lying there.

    kharma age 9

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  32. my earliest memories are of nature: the dapple of sunlight, the tiny flowering weeds growing in the cracks of the new york city sidewalks, the pain of witnessing the cutting down a tree i could see from my window.

    my soul soars with clouds and birds and sunsets, horizons, ridges, fields, oceans.
    the scent of flowers transports me.

    i suffer thinking of nature, often cry, knowing the daily extinction of species, endangerment of the others, the vast degradation of air, water and earth and all the life which lives in and on our planet.
    despite all the work we've done to this point - all the demos, letters, calls, tree-sits and emails, meetings, benefits, newsletters, court cases, initiatives, endless activist things-to-do. sad. depressing. the newly nominated secretary of agriculture is in favor of genetic engineering. there goes nature, as it had been made. welcome to to new improved nightmare. oh, watch for codex, here as it is already enacted in other countries, making it illegal to buy herbs and other natural healing products without doctors scripts. i fear for humanity and all of nature, all living beings. i sorrow and rail at the greed and craziness which continues this madness.

    i long for return to nature. get out hiking occasionally. i'm happiest in gardens on summer afternoons. being amongst flowers is as close to haven as i seem to feel.

    may calmed and beautified humans inner worlds allow the restoration of full creation on our earth.

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  33. Dear Lynn,

    This is my second year of Inner Christmas.
    Thank you for your care-full promptings of observance, reflection and participation.
    I carried the images and information throughout the past year, adding-musing-growing...and prepare the way again to consciously participate.

    Blessings to all, with bright mind and light heart.

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  34. This morning as I was driving, thinking about cycles of things, anniversary dates, taxes and began to wonder what it would be like to not have the same experiences around the same date each year. They would only happen once and we move on. I began to see the earth whole and healthy. Beautiful and green. No starvation, no poverty and a complete connection to the universe, all of it. THe expanded possibilities were unending. It reached far and beyond any imagination I had ever had about us, the human race and our planet. It had become ours and we were nurturing it. True peace, true love. TJM

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  35. Simply participating in the Inner Christmas is an act of Nature that pertains to hibernation, to the powerful inner dynamics of Dormancy at work in all the depths of Winter, inner and outer.

    It wouldn't be possible for me to do this during the summer, during the expansive out-breath of the growing season. As a gardener, I'd be utterly immersed in the unfolding floration of everything. Pen and journal receive little attention during the season Wendell Berry has called "the wintering of the mind". While here in the wintering of the earth, the mind blossoms, the reflective energies tend their gardens of vision, cultivate their patch of dreams in our souls.

    For me, connecting with Nature is hardly ever measured in quantities of time because I'm lucky enough to be outside all the time, intimate with the weather, continually conscious of day-length, tending to the immediate needs of plants in season.

    So the focus isn't "enough" or "not enough" time with Nature, but about the quality of the time itself: where is the moon in its wax or wane? When shall I sow the carrots? How can I become more attentive to the subtle flavors of each moment, to look up from digging as the wind changes direction, and not as the first drops of rain hit my face?

    Tonight, I simply revel in hibernation, in lighting the candle, in flowing ink onto the page, in the sip of brandy, in the glow of within while looking out the window at the snow gently falling.

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  36. I love to watch the seasons go by in my garden here in central IA. This year we truly experienced Mother Nature and devastating floods. It is good to be reminded that our footprints on this land can be erased. Thank you for the reminder to stay in touch with the outside world--even when it is 0 dgrees outside.

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  37. For me, this has been a year of sharing nature with my children, especially. I find it deeply satisfying, though not at all surprising, that they have such an abiding interest in the natural world. I still experience such a thrill myself in seeing the trillium blossom in our backyard, observing the changes in our garden, looking up at a full harvest moon, or noticing the quiet beauty of the snow-covered branches are on a still morning. I can help but share my excitement with my children, and I'm so grateful that they have grown to share my appreciation for the natural world.

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  38. Nature is all around us and changes just as we do. It is my goal to begin training in Shamanism this next year - how fitting this is! My "church" has been an mp3 with Lakota music and long walks outside amongst the trees and beauty that surrounds me. Nature has been my saving grace this year.

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  39. I read this comment a couple of years ago, and wrote it down in the front of my gratitude journal.

    We need to be grateful for 3 things in life:
    1 - Love of Family and Friends.
    2 - Connection with Nature
    3 - Silence and Solitude

    I live near a forest preserve on an acre of land with lots of trees, hostas, and a large sun garden. When one lives in this kind of environment, you can't help but bring the outside in and the inside out.

    For the past 7 years I have been celebrating Summer Solstice with a group of ladies that keeps getting larger every year. Our celebrations have themes, and one year it was TREES! Humans and trees have very similar properties. We can learn so much from the nature that surrounds us.

    This year I started a Winter Solstice celebration. Our program incorporated the properties of the four seasons. Just like you really get to know a person when you see them in good and bad times, you really appreciate nature when you go through the four seasons. Even though all of my siblings have moved to a warmer climate, I enjoy the Solitude of Winter and the lessons it teaches me.


    PB
    Chicago, IL area

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  40. There is no greater connection to the 'Source of All That Is' than being and working in the Summer gardens with all the wonderful earthy smells, little crawly creatures, and ending the day with dirty fingernails. Being surrounded with singing birds, grazing deer and eternal stars at night is such an amazing awareness. Winter whiteness lends itself to allowing us to rest and observe. It's a great reminder of just Being. It is with a grateful heart that I've been given the gift of being on this earth for a little while to enjoy all it's treasures.

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  41. Everyday, nature calls to me to come and play. When I am there, I am most in joy and awe.
    Such Beauty, such Force.

    I feel the most at Peace in nature, even with all senses in over-drive.
    My favorite music is the wind in the trees and the sound of a rushing water, rain falling, snow swirling.

    Nature is perfect; it is my book of truth and whispers such wisdom to me if I will listen.
    Nature is my sanctuary and my library.
    Nature is my playground and my television. Nature is my inspiration and my illumination. Nature is the breath of life and fruit for life, our bodies come from it and will go back to it.
    Nature is my ultimate responsibility, it is my Child and my Mother all encompassing.
    Love thy "nature" as "thyself". Please.
    Peace.

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  42. Dear Lynn,
    Thank you sooo much for your guidance throughout the holy nights!
    It is such a rich time for reflection and I am deeply grateful for the structure that you provide. My partner and I are making an effort to keep the holiness of these days within our consciousness.
    Three memories of Nature for me are:
    1. The clouds and the light mixing in the early summer morning in Iceland.
    2. My direct experiences of Nature (water, hummingbirds, ducks) when I open my doors and windows of my cottage in Alameda, Calfornia.
    3. Angel Island burning, several months back now, watching it, in the darkness from afar.
    My intention for the upcoming year is to be out in Nature at least 3x/wk. honoring and nuturing her/myself.
    Namaste

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  43. I find the smell of evergreens on the mountainside on the way up the poma lift to the top of the world in Lake Louise to be unbelievably intoxicating ...each ride up I breath deeply that smell right into the center of my being and I feel intensly happy to be alive...the bright green mosses hanging from those trees are beautiful.

    At the end of Christmas night I ask my children for their highlights and my four year old says "When you opened the car window and let the cold air in the car on the way home from Grama's house....it was so refreshing Mom"
    How perfectly lovely!!!

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  44. Christmas Eve morn waking up in FL on the St. Johns River: "Mama", she said. "I love waking up looking out at water". "Me too". Triggerd memories anchored firmly in a childhood home surrounded by water, sand dunes, the call of red-winged blackbirds, and a hidden castle in the pines; landing site of a jillion monarch butterflies as they migrated.
    Present time: Citified in St. Louis, MO standing at my alter, the Kitchen Sink, looking out at the birdfeeder. A cardinal. Female. Where is that bright red spot, the male?? Never are they far from the presence of one another. Why is that? Why is this pair in nature so devoutly devoted? The nature of Caridnals, their adoration and devotion, speaks to my soul.

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  45. Thanks for sharing your gifts and those of others. I think of cold, winter sky lighting up seed tassels of weeds and grass, the light illuminating from the back side...and dark, husky seed pods on gangly stalks. The light sneaks through and wakes my soul to distant rebirth and eternity.

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  46. I appreciate your statement: "Nature and your soul mirror each other. If you want to know your soul, study Nature. If you want to know Nature, study your soul."

    As I reflect on the glory of Nature, I remember the peaceful times walking our dog, Padme, on the Highline Canal. The beautiful transformation of the tree lined canal from one season to another is a sight to behold. And, when I'm open to being reacquainted with Nature, my Soul also opens up to the world. I become more accepting of myself and of others. What a gift!

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  47. Nature is my soul! Nature is my life! Brilliant hues of red and orange; crisp breezes and falling leaves in Fall. Clear, silent nights of whisper soft snowflakes; diamond shaped icles reflecting the magic of winter. Baby animals, baby sprouts, warm sunshine; smells of renewal and rebirth in Spring. Ah! The earth is alive! Blossom-filled meadows; endless song bird orchestra, shadow covered streams; cricket and bullfrog harmony fill our souls up as the summer sun warms our faces.

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  48. Thanks for the reminder the cardinals and chickadees and the titmouse are grousing that I havn't left any food in all the snow will put some out right now , ,magnificient nature , fills my heart with awe, must take more time to be still and notice all our friends and nature spirits

    live to all in 09 Teri in the Catskills

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  49. A forest lays deep in my heart.
    Its secret paths I have walked,
    Under sun, rain, wind or snow,
    Letting the weather dictate how
    To be I should, to enjoy the wood.
    Only thousands of mousquitos
    Acted as repellent on my soul.
    The alive stillness I there meet,
    Stroke, bless, heal all my needs.

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  50. AH holy night silent night ...let heaven and earth be one ....illuminate darkness...truth prevails ...in the great mystery of all things in their naked true nature .....heaven surrounds us inner and outter....ahhhh

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  51. I remember the peace this year in being in the caravan in a quiet orchard. Of stepping out of the door into the quiet and yet 'busyness' of the orchard life.Birds were looking for food and singing, insects were living among the branches and were also the prey of the birds. To experience the peace of living more closely among nature was so enlivening.
    The second example of being aware of nature was going to the early morning service. Walking there in the dark before many of the occupants in the nearby houses had stirred, and sitting in the church experiencing the lightening of the dawning day, and the different activities in life on the walk home.
    The third example was to experience the rapidly deteriorating health of a very young puppy, to become aware of its complete vulnerability and dependence on me to solve the problem. The animal gave itself willingly into my care to try to find the best solution for it.
    So each example clearly gives a different picture of the interaction and wonder we have for nature and our involvement with and responsibility for it.

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  52. Dearest Lynn,

    wanted to post my comment but was refuse because the characters were illigal ( I didn't understand) but now I could paste it as it follows:

    Hello, dear ones and dearest Lynn,
    thank you for this opportunity to be here down in a big city - Sao Paulo, Brasil - and at the same time together with all these beautiful comments because these are beautiful people - these are Nature - we read, feel,listen and enjoy being together,
    Love,
    Alda

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  53. Dearest Lynn,

    wanted to post my comment but was refuse because the characters were illigal ( I didn't understand) but now I could paste it as it follows:

    Hello, dear ones and dearest Lynn,
    thank you for this opportunity to be here down in a big city - Sao Paulo, Brasil - and at the same time together with all these beautiful comments because these are beautiful people - these are Nature - we read, feel,listen and enjoy being together,
    Love,
    Alda

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