Golden light and shadows

When the days are short, the afternoon light is all the more precious and fleeting because the sun goes down so early these winter days. All the more reason to savor the late afternoon shadows and sunlight that backlights the trees and shrubs at the state park as well at the nature preserve. The warm light filtering through the trees cheers me and gives me a warm glow. I gathered together some of my favorite photos taken the last month or so which illustrate what I mean. We are fortunate to have such mild winters here. Last night coming in from downtown about 11 the air was so cool and brisk it was just perfect. When I am out walking at the nature preserve or park I embrace the brisk air, marvel at the shadows and seek out the light.

Golden light and shadows

(Best seen as a slideshow)

Always new beginnings

... Life is filled with suffering, but it is also filled with many wonders, like the blue sky, the sunshine, the eyes of a baby. To suffer is not enough. We must also be in touch with the wonders of life. They are within us and all around us, everywhere , any time.

If we are not happy, if we are not peaceful, we cannot share peace and happiness with others, even those we love, those who live under the same roof. If we are peaceful, if we are happy, we can smile and blossom like a flower, and everyone in our family, our entire society, will benefit from our peace. Do we need to make a special effort to enjoy the beauty of the blue sky? Do we have to practice to be able to enjoy it? No, we just enjoy it. Each second, each minute of our lives can be like this. Wherever we are, any time, we have the capacity to enjoy the sunshine, the presence of each other, even the sensation of our breathing...We can be in touch with these things right now. It would be a pity if we are only aware of suffering...

Thich Nhat Hanh
From Being Peace in the collection of his work entitled Essential Writings

I am drawn again and again to two places nearby where I can seek and discover, as if for the first time, the special wonder and joy of seeing woods, trees, flowers, and blue skies in familiar places, my sanctuaries, if you will.

I can look out my window and see the slight breeze rustling the leaves, which are still on the old oak tree changing color, but which will soon be falling, probably not long after the freeze we are expecting in a couple of days.

I can walk a few short blocks out my door and come to a tree-filled vacant lot in the middle of developed neighborhoods that has an ancient white oak in the midst of it, which calls out to me in its solitary splendor every time I walk by.

If I concentrate and cast off negative thoughts and images that seem to want to intrude so often on my consciousness, I can attain a purer form of being and oneness, thoughts and images focused on the good and the beautiful just by walking in the woods or looking up above the trees to the blue skies.

As Thich Nhat Hanh says, we have the capacity at any moment in our lives to enjoy those blue skies, even if it is cloudy and overcast. We know it is there just beyond the dark clouds. There is a brighter overcast light coming through the clouds right now as I look at the oak tree, and the scattering of yellow leaves on the tree stand out in a last show of autumn brilliance before winter's winds and cold at last leave its branches bare and outlined against the blue sky that is visible now in faint patches, a reminder of the wonder of those everyday experiences that can be so blissfully transformative.

Always new beginnings