Noticing how the light changes during the day I’ve been thinking lately that
Every Moment Matters
no matter how mundane.
Yesterday as I entered the kitchen in mid-afternoon I noticed golden light illuminating my slightly messy tea-making spot in the kitchen. So I made a photograph of the scene. You can see the smudges on the metal of the electric water heating pot, a used teabag, small jar of tea leaves, a jar of honey, and an empty water bottle along with my basket of kitchen cleanup rags. It’s certainly not a perfectly staged photograph, but it’s real life in an extraordinary moment of light.
Noticing and savoring moments like that fills me with gratitude and joy.
Two truths: the first of these is that joy does not come from outside, for whatever happens to us it is within. The second truth is that light does not come to us from without. Light is in us, even if we have no eyes.
― Jacques Lusseyran, And There Was Light: The Extraordinary Memoir of a Blind Hero of the French Resistance in World War II
Experiencing Light
I went for a walk this morning at Big Willow Park in Minnetonka. I wanted to see if Minnehaha Creek was still flowing or completely iced over. After the mild weather of late last week the day felt so cold! The sunshine fooled me into thinking that it was warmer than it was and I shivered as I walked and was glad for my gloves, hat, and coat hood.
The clear blue skies and tree shadows that crossed the path in front of me brought a smile to my face. Though most of the trees are bare, some of the oak trees still hang on to deep russet colored leaves. It’s hard to believe that we are just 3 days from winter solstice. But I am not complaining about the lack of snow. I am savoring these bonus days and soaking up every bit of them that I can.
Yesterday I finished reading the book, A Future We Can Love: How We Can Reverse the Climate Crisis by the Power of Our Hearts and Minds by Susan Bauer-Wu. It’s a Buddhist take on climate change and I found it both heartening and honest about the magnitude of the issues we face. The last chapter of the book offers ideas on things we can do personally as well as collectively without minimizing the challenges that we face. Though many of my actions may be small I am convinced that every action no matter how small DOES make a difference.
who we are and how we show up — every day, each moment, here and now, to everything, matters.
…
systemic change and personal transformation are deeply interconnected.
…
climate action must include changes in consciousness, in the way we see and relate to ourselves and the world around us, other, nature, and future generations.
— Susan Bauer-Wu, A Future We Can Love
Wishing you a light-filled week.
May you walk in beauty.
Note: Recent photos, playing with abstraction and from my walk this morning.
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