Awakening

The sky was a little bit blue early this morning. But as the day progressed the sky soon turned gray, covered by clouds. Now the sky seems to be a mix of white clouds and blue sky peeking through the clouds overhead. When I first awoke and saw the greens of the backyard glistening in the early morning sun and the pale blue sky above, the first thing I did was grab my camera and make some photographs of the beauty that I saw. These photos are not great travel landscapes or sunrise photo shoots, they are simply a chronicle of my

this morning. Perhaps making them is a bit like a pianist practicing scales on the piano, or a writer journaling every morning. I like to chronicle the beauty that I notice during ordinary moments of ordinary days. The greens right now astonish me and fill me with wonder and gratitude. After the seemingly endless winter days and then long slow spring with bare trees everywhere, I now celebrate the emergence of the leaves.

The moment your eyes are open, seize the day.
Would you hold back when the Beloved beckons?
Would you deliver your litany of sins like a child’s collection of sea shells, prized and labeled?
“No, I can’t step across the threshold,” you say, eyes downcast.
“I’m not worthy, I’m afraid, and my motives aren’t pure.
I’m not perfect, and surely I haven’t practised nearly enough.
My meditation isn’t deep, and my prayers are sometimes insincere.
I still chew my fingernails, and the refrigerator isn’t clean.”
Do you value your reasons for staying small more than the light shining through the open door?
Forgive yourself.
Now is the only time you have to be whole.
Now is the sole moment that exists to live in the light of your true Self.
Perfection is not a prerequisite for anything but pain.
Please, oh please, don’t continue to believe in your disbelief.
This is the day of your awakening.

— Danna Faulds

Have you noticed that it seems that the leaves of trees pop out and open in a single day or two? But if you watch closely you can see them slowly growing and forming until suddenly, there they are.

Fading Beauty

Our neighbor’s crab apple tree still has some remaining blossoms but the ground underneath it is covered with bright pink petals, and the flowers on the tree are a paler pink than they were when they first emerged. Each moment is a moment of change and in this season I think we notice that change more than in any other season. The landscape rapidly changes from a monochrome scene to a technicolor masterpiece.

This simple practice of looking for beauty, noticing the subtle changes of the landscape, and giving thanks for the wonder of life fills my senses to the brim with the essence of life. It also fills me with gratitude and joy even as other events in our world threaten to spiral me into despair. We need beauty, bright awakenings, wonder and awe, like our bodies need breath. Why not take some time today to notice the wondrous beauty of the world?

May you walk in beauty.