End of year reflections
A few words from Zen's post struck a chord with me "With the passing of Christmas this season , the sun begins to set on 2007. It was a challenging year. One in which we can be thankful to get through, and learn from our errors, celebrate our joys and sorrows, would be the Zen thought. For without those Yin moments of bitter tea, there would have been no chance to grow."
How right he is, and how wise. Thich Nhat Hanh (the Vietnamese Zen master) says that the most fragrant flowers grow from compost, and our suffering is the compost! But its hard to remember that when in the midst of sufferings - large or small.
One of the reasons why my blog exists is to keep a journal of my "trying to walk mindfully on the path, from one stepping stone to the next."
Cate's beautiful words on her post detail the small wonders of nature and pull me back to mindfulness of my path "Out of such small gifts, random blessings and wild graces, perhaps one can craft a mindful life." I do hope so.
Here are a few images of a walk through my village that show how small hopes and blossoms survive a grey winter.
And a walk by the sea with my Life Long Friend showed how a piece of seaweed survives being thrown on shore (complete with its tiny stone anchor) just as I survive the world with my friends as my anchor. You know who you are - online and in everyday life!
Finally, as suggested by LLF - a boot shot, with a shaft of weak winter sunlight beckoning!
Happy New Year!
posted by Val @ 11:47 pm
5 Comments:
Mother Earth always has encouragement for us if we look for it, already there are so many little signs of the spring that waits in the wings even though there may be some rough weather ahead before we finally see it's arrival. Happy New Year!
Lovely photos! I particularly like the seashore boots and the hanging blossoms (with water droplet).
I find it very hard to be as Zen as Cate---but her blog keeps me tethered as does yours. My every day work most recently has been very strange. Several of my colleagues worklife could make a good soap opera and it is hard not to be sucked in!
Tabor
I enlarged all your photos and loved the detail! That seaweed is so delicately pretty! How lovely to still see a few surviving blooms.
We're having a couple of warm days...55ºF/12.7ºC, here this morning. Warm enough yesterday to get outside and do a bit of mulching and clean-up in the garden. Such a change from the frigid temps of last week! A little taste of spring..but it's still a long way off.
Our character is certainly built as we learn to deal with the struggles. There's joy to be found in every day if we look for it, for sure. Thanks for the reminder and these lovely photos.
That beach looks so inviting :)
I love the seaweed photo, really captures a vibrancy, life, in it's manyfold forms. Fresh, crisp, ALIIIIVE!
Permission to print this out and stick it on my wall, please? :)
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