Mirror of Life

If your heart is straight
with God, then every creature
will be to you a mirror of life
and a book of holy doctrine.

Thomas Kemps, 15th century

Of Note: Marie caught this little guy sunning himself. Looks somewhat like the Geico gecko, don't you think?

Today's Weather Report: Cloudy and in the fifties this morning. A very chilly fifty. However, now the the sun is peeking out from the clouds and the temps have zoomed to the seventies. This might even lure me outside for awhile.

Trembling With Joy

The sky and the strong wind
have moved the spirit inside me
till I am carried away
trembling with joy.


Uvavnuk, Inuit Shaman

Of Note: Marie certainly knows how to catch just the right shots with her photos. Sometimes I find it hard to believe the beauty found therein.

Today's Weather Report: Rainy day in the 50's. All the plants say "Thank You!"

Sky-like Vastness

The mind should be a vastness like the sky.
Mental events should be allowed to disperse like the clouds.

Longchenpa
Buddhist Teacher

Of Note: Marie just sent this picture this week. She said likes to take sky pictures because of a fondness for blue. I like to think about the planets, moon and stars still in the sky even though we cannot see them during the day.

Today's Weather Report: It's clouding up again after a cloudless morning. Still cool, but getting a bit warmer each day. The garden is starting to spring to life--hey, better late than never!

Buried Treasure

Words are symbols and as such
often embed information therein.
Look closely at some words,
and you will find buried treasure.


S. Schirott

Of Note: Thanks again to Marie for contributing the gorgeous part of this image. The pink card was part of a note she sent using one of her particularly colorful and well-composed photos.

Today's Weather Report: Chittering birds announce a sunshine-filled day, though chilly yet. Many green plant are emerging to meet the more frequent sun rays gracing the garden.

The Winds of Change

Once social change begins,
it cannot be reversed.
You cannot un-educate the person
who has learned to read.
You cannot humiliate the person
who feels pride.
You cannot oppress the people
who are not afraid anymore.

Cesar Chavez
1984


Of Note: Thanks, Marie, for this ethereal evening sky photo! Looks like a bird is taking off in flight.

Today's Weather Report: Cool and partly cloudy. By cool I mean 38 degrees when I awoke this morning. Burrr. This cool front is spawning tornadoes in Iowa and Minnesota when it meets the warmer, southern air. Parkersburg, Iowa was literally blown off the map by a twister 1.2 miles wide 43 miles long with winds in excess of 165 MPH.

Intelligence with the Earth

Shall I not have intelligence with the earth?
Am I not partly leaves and vegetable mold myself?

Henry David Thoreau

Of Note: Gardens in Texas are a lot further along than their Wisconsin counterparts. Marie took this verdant photo this month and shared it with me as a reminder of what is to come once summer arrives in the north woods.

Today's Weather Report: This morning opened with sunshine and upper sixties. By mid-afternoon, clouds had rolled in, a light rain fell and the temps had dropped to the mid-forties with a gusty wind.

The Path to Heart

Wholeheartedness is a precious gift,
but no one can actually give it to you.
You have to find the path that has heart
and then walk it impeccably.
It's like someone laughing in your ear,
challenging you to figure out what to do
when you don't know what to do.
It humbles you. It opens your heart.

Pema Chodron

Of Note: Marie contributes this peaceful but expressive photo. It reminds me that nature gives wholeheartedly every day without asking for anything back. This attribute is simply intrinsic in nature's beauty. Computer problems have kept me from this blog for a few weeks. Those are now more or less sorted out.

Today's Weather Report: Cloudy and cool with rain imminent. Last night we had a real thunder-boomer, but for only a short period. The dog almost crawled into bed with us. Long or short, she hates thunderstorms. The daffodils are blooming all over the yard. We will be rewarded with even more blooms after the rain.

Dream You Can

Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power, and magic to it.

Goethe

Of Note: Susanne's graduation picture can be added to the previous two posted on this blog before heading to Idaho. A new chapter in our lives has opened, and we are all moving bravely forward. The quote is from www.gratefulness.org, May 17th. Quite timely.

Today's Weather Report: Cool, sunny and quite windy. Must be in the upper 40's or lower 50's. It's not the kind of day one wants to stand outside for fear of getting blown away. The daffodils are just now starting to think it's spring and are popping out all over. We have hundreds.

Heart Shine

As the Sun shines upon my heart,

so may may heart shine upon others!

The Upanishads

Of Note: The sleeping kitty was taking in the rays at a garden center Marie visited. That we all could be so relaxed in the sunshine!

Today's Weather Report: Partly cloudy and cool. Yesterday thunderstorms dominated the day. Today we might see more of the same. Took my first plant out yesterday to take advantage of the cleansing rain, but had to bring it in last night since the temp hovered at 45 degrees.

Elemental Principle of Heart

The most elemental ethical principle,
when understood by the heart,
means that out of reverence for the
unfathomable, infinite,
and living Reality we call God,
we must never consider ourselves
strangers toward any human being.
Rather, we must bind ourselves
to the task of sharing His experiences
and try to be of help to Him.

Albert Schweitzer

Of Note: Marie took this intimate, colorful photo a few months back. Must have been spring in Texas. We're still looking for it!

Today's Weather Report: A typical sunny, spring day is upon us even though it's currently only 40 degrees. Daffodils are finally peeking out of the ground all over, and the first may bloom today. The color will be welcome against an otherwise gray backdrop.

Tactica Adversa

Tactica Adversa is the tactical exhausting of the adverse. Precisely, when the Light Forces wish to fulfill some plan on Earth, They make allowances for all possibilities, envisioning even the worst circumstances, so that success can be guaranteed even under the worst conditions. Then every betterment of the condition is already an unexpected plus. Thus, from the worst is derived a benefit. When such tactics are applied, the enemies often contribute to the success.

Helena Roerich

Of Note: Marie took this somewhat unearthly picture at Old City Park in Dallas. Thanks!

Today's Weather Report: Gorgeous sunny day--going to be in the 60's. The first daffodils are THINKING about blooming. The rain yesterday should help persuade them to get moving. Everyone in northern Wisconsin is anxious for spring to start, and hopefully it will before summer gets here.

Common Sense

Without relying on religion,
we look to common sense,
common experience,
and the findings of
science for understanding.


Dalai Lama

Of Note: Does it surprise you that the Dalai Lama said these sage words? As one of the world's 100 most influential people, he was recently quoted in Time Magazine in an article written by Deepak Chopra. I read that magazine on the way out to Idaho for Susanne's graduation. This photo of Glacier National Park was taken from the car on a cold, blustery day. Within the hour, as we ascended the mountain road, it began to snow.


Today's Weather Report: It's in the upper 50's supposedly, but it's chilly, cloudy and rainy. Just like the weather we left out west. Must have followed us here.

No Obstructions

My storehouse having been burnt down,
nothing obstructs my view of the bright moon.

Masahide, Zen poet

Of Note: We are home now safe and sound. Susanne has successfully graduated from Law School, and everyone is smiling.

Sermons in Stones

And this, our life, exempt from public haunt,
Finds tongues in trees, books in running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in everything.

William Shakespeare

Of Note: This is the Rio Grande River through Big Bend in Texas. Thanks to Marie's excellent eye, we can see it too!

Today's Weather Report: Bright and sunny. It will probably get up into the sixties today. Hooray!

Eternity's Sunrise

He who binds himself to joy
Does the winged life destroy;
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in Eternity's sunrise.

Wm. Blake

Of Note: Marie has so many inspiring pictures. Thanks again for sharing!

Today's Weather Report: Partly cloudy and in the forties. Can't really tell what today will bring.

Simply Put

Simply, simply, simply,
applying love, courage and readiness.
this is no time for inflated bubbles,
out of place is conceit,
especially when compared with
Christ's washing of the fishermen's feet.
In simplicity of life,
in realization of the dignity of service,
love for the worthy opens the Gates.

M. Morya, Leaves of Morya's Garden


Of Note: Thank you, Marie, for this simply elegant photo of a dew-laden bleeding heart!

Today's Weather Report: We awoke this morning to small patches of snow on the ground! The small daffodil leaves making their way through the mulch did not seem to notice. The resilient chives paid no attention at all. It poured rain starting yesterday, but the sun is peeking out right now.

Raising Our Vibrations

What is the individual's role in human spiritual evolution?

The greatest benefit that we can contribute consists
in the broadening of consciousness,and the improvement
and enrichment of our thinking, which, together with
purification of the heart, strengthens our emanations.
And thus, raising our vibrations, we restore
the health of all that surrounds us.

Helena Roerich

Of Note: Marie emailed this tranquil picture just yesterday. Looks to me as if it was taken at the arboretum where she went on a field trip recently.

Today's Weather Report: It was just under 40 degrees this morning when I arose. Burr. Now it is pouring rain. Bring it on. The lake needs water badly.

Measured By Its Own Fullness

An act of love that fails
is just as much a part of the divine life
as an act of love that succeeds,
for love is measured by its own fullness,
not by its reception.

Harold Loukes


Anyone that has kids can relate to this quote. I know I did. Tough love throughout the formative years may look like "failed love" in the eyes of our children, but is in reality the self-sacrificing of a good parent. I remember a couple of times being on the receiving end of tirades about bitterness and unhappiness when the reception of my love was not well received by a teenage daughter hell-bent on what looked to me like potential personal destruction.

Well, the daughter is thankfully still with us and next week will be graduating from law school. We'll be adding the third graduation picture to the two shown here. Sitting over tea recently in front of the fireplace, I told her that we raised each other during those years when I was a single Mom and she was the teenage daughter. She laughed and said if I only knew. I decided to leave that one alone.

Yes, we've been through a lot together. What I know now is that she was loving me to the fullest during those years as well, through the veil of adolescent hormones and a developing brain. Now as adults we can meet on the same plane of reciprocal love. Bet it's the same with your adult kids. What a nice reward for those years when tough love looked like the only kind available.

Of Note: The top photo shows Susanne and I the day she graduated from college in 2003, the bottom from high school in 1999. Because of the coming graduation festivities, I will be taking two weeks off from this blog and will return mid-May. Hopefully by then, spring will have arrived in the northwoods!