In a small town or rural area like ours, when you meet another car on a low-traffic road, you make a gesture of acknowledgement to the other driver. When we walk on the road, we do the same thing with the drivers. It’s a kind of “Hello, I’m human and so are you…” Acknowledgement. I see you.

We have friends visiting; their kindness in taking the extra effort to maintain and feed our friendship is something I really value and appreciate.

I imagine that I am a “better” contributor to that more peaceful world…more consistently a positive presence.

By being aware of each step and not seeing the path as a way to “get somewhere” …. I enjoy giving, sharing, helping, listening — but too often I get exhausted by what goes out of me and need to pay better attention to what restores me. So the path requires that sometimes I need to sit down and rest. Oh, is that what that little bench over there is for?? 🙂

Calmness, dependability, grace.

Peace. Delight and amazement in being alive, being in a body and having senses – and cherishing what I notice and feel through those senses….

“The unknown” is, well, everything in the future, is it not? … everything apart from this very moment in which I am living. So often we assume we “know” what is going to happen this afternoon, but we don’t, not really. I am blithely stepping into the unknown with every breath I take. Now, the question for me is: Do I live each of these moments with a grateful heart, and without fear? Do I live in grateful trust as my foundation?

The life cycle of the monarch butterfly (see below!), the tenacity of red squirrels, watching a grandchild concentrate to figure something out, a hummingbird’s wings and the sound of them, almost everything… and as Christine said, “I cannot stop….”

Hearing & seeing a different opinion and perspective… and I’m fascinated by what different people notice (or don’t) and ponder the “why” of how they look at the world. And of course, the richness of different cultures, heritages, cuisines, literature…. and I’m grateful that people do all the different jobs they do and that they feel called to do. Thank God we’re different!

Like so many of you, in my morning coffee… in those quiet first moments of “home”… putting out the bird feeders, looking over the meadow and seeing the rabbits feed on clover… this morning, the slightly gloomy skies which foreshadow the rain on its way… Holding a 19 month old on his back in my lap and tickling him with kisses, as I did yesterday. Ah, the laughter!

I think that sometimes I’m just too tired to answer these questions. And it’s okay not to…. I read the question and it goes with me into the day – and I read the responses of others and those are often meaningful and helpful. So I guess the “new perspective” is about my relationship to these questions themselves. And what does it mean to be a (often peripheral) part of an online community?

I’m remembering it now in my heart, and offering thanks to God for the courage and love to make the decision I did.

We have my 92 year dad with us this week and on the morning of Day 3, it has been pleasant and I am grateful for this time with him…. We just have to steer him back to the right bedroom when he gets up at night! 🙂

I looked them up and they have the same yellow, black and white coloring as the monarch caterpillar but with a slightly different pattern. Fascinating and beautiful! Thanks for getting me started on a new butterfly!

I love that you concluded with the words, “I can not stop.” I feel that way, once I start listing what brings me to a sense of wonder. There is …. well, just everything. Thank you!

Thank you, Holly….

A lovely picture of a moment of love in a family…

I still remember an “old man” across the street when I was growing up: Mr. Brischke. He would sit on his porch and I would go over there and visit with him. He was my friend and told me stories and who knows what we shared. Whatever it was, it has always stayed with me. So — the gifts of friendship across the generations DO last. Thanks, Carla, for sharing your friendship with those children. (And there may be other children who need you in the future!)