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The Pause Under Everything

When I breathe in and out mindfully I notice that there is a pause at the end of the out breath. It feels like infinity to me, or perhaps The Pause Under Everything… mortal and immortal, real and unreal, known and unknown. During this pause I experience a letting go of effort. It is enough just to be present in this sliver of a moment between breaths. There is a pause under everything that, if entered, will unravel the knot in your heart. — Mark Nepo It is for moments like this pause that I practice meditation. There is an Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

Pause and Reflect

This is a good time of year to take time to Pause and Reflect before heading into new endeavors. Despite the fact that it’s been decades since I went back to school in September, I still have a feeling of possibility and opening when September arrives. It’s as if I might discover some new possibilities unfolding. I am tempted to jump into many new things just because I can. But instead I am stepping back and reflecting on what I want to create in the next months and how best to do that. Today, after a full week I am Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

Savoring Summertime

The Minnesota State Fair starts tomorrow. This event always signals the end of summer to me. It ends on Labor Day and typically school starts in many local schools the day after Labor Day. I always feel as if fall begins after Labor Day with all of the new activities that begin then. Our grandchildren are marking off another year in their rapid growing up, one will be a senior in high school, the other a sophomore. Tomorrow I’m heading over to their house to take senior photographs for my grandson.  It has been an amazingly beautiful summer here in Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

Beauty Everywhere

This morning on a short walk in my neighborhood I kept seeing Beauty Everywhere I looked. I hadn’t brought my camera with me but I did have my iPhone. So I paused every time some scene of beauty caught my eye and made a photo of it. This is a walk I’ve taken too many times to count. But still as I looked at the weeds and the trees and the wildflowers I found tiny scenes of beauty. In the words of the quote from Still Life in my last blog post, I “turned looking into loving.” I am consistently Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

The First Rule of Art

I wrote recently about a novel that I read this past week that I enjoyed immensely (Still Life by Sarah Winman). Near the end of the book there was a scene that resonated deeply with me. In it, an artist speaks about The First Rule of Art and though I like to think that the great thing about art is that there are no rules, I loved the rule revealed in the following conversation from the novel.. Miss Skinner? said Miss Everly. Do me the honor of telling me what you saw when you looked out your window for the Read more…

By Marilyn, ago