The Scent of Joy

This time of year I drift from flower to flower, scent to scent, as the blossoms of late spring and early summer spread their luscious fragrances through the air. And through my wandering and drifting I discover The Scent of Joy in the air all around me. I love it when I go outside and catch the scent of whatever is in bloom nearby. One of my favorite flower scents will soon be here — the scent of basswood blossoms from the trees in our backyard. The first time I noticed their sweet scent was when I was hiking in Read more…

A Sacred Mess

The more life that I live and experience the more I realize how much I don’t know and how little I control. Sometimes life feels like a big sloppy mess; sometimes life is hard. But I am learning that life is A Sacred Mess full of as much possibility and grace as it is full of messiness. Looking back at choices I made and things that happened in my life, I now realize how I was guided and led to this life I now live. And there is absoultely nothing I would change or undo. I am so blessed. Like Read more…

The Gift of Another Day

We’ve had a string of beautiful days this spring and today is another beauty of a day. As I contemplate the beauty all around me and the lovely day this is I can’t help but give thanks for The Gift of Another Day. The peony plants next to our driveway are in bloom. Three beautiful peony plants were here when we moved in, a beautiful surprise our first spring living here. Every spring I fall in love all over again with their luscious pink blooms. Each peony bush has slightly different flowers but they are all pink, and I can’t Read more…

Small Things

This week I was reminded once again that Small Things can bring great joy. Earlier this week I noticed what looked like a bit of lavender swaying in the breeze near the edge of the pond behind our house. I picked up my binoculars and looked closer. And I discovered an iris in bloom. I did not plant that iris in the pond and I have no idea how it arrived there. But it has been growing there for a couple of years at least, sending up leaves, storing energy in its roots, getting ready to bloom. And now, here Read more…

Here Now

This morning I was considering what a blessing it is to be alive Here, Now in this beautiful place. The greens of summer are delighting me with their vibrant lushness. Everywhere I look, it seems, I see green.  Over the course of the summer the greens will change. Colors may fade or deepen. Leaves will become tattered and torn. But now everything still looks fresh and new. It occurs to me that watching the seasons closely is a way to learn about the seasons of our own lives. Nature teaches us about birth and death and all the stages in Read more…