Udo posted this quote from Mary Oliver‘s poem, The Summer Day. It is my favourite line from all of her wonderful poetry and challenges me to reflect on and act on the purpose and calling of my life’s vocation.
Mary Oliver reminds me life and its many callings are not filled with certainty and fixed paths. Instead, I wander and wonder as I take detours and hope I find my way.
I share this line teaching and presenting, as a reminder life is about unexpected and, sometimes, we have to permit ourselves to stop and experience what we often drive by and take-for-granted.
On trips to visit in British Columbia, Mt. Robson is a favourite stopping place. The mountain is a sentinal over the valley, with wilderness gems to experience and revel in as I live my one and wild life.
The waterfalls are located in the Crowsnest Pass. Like Mt. Robson, I gave myself permission to pause and experience being in nature and not just a visitor.
ivonprefontaine
Teacher as Transformer 
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Wonderful perspective you offer with Mary Oliver’s beautiful words. The pictures are simply breathtaking. Thank you for this respite.
You are welcome and thank you Carrie. Nature has phenomenal offerings for photos when I pause and take them in.
Fantastic.<3
Thank you Laleh.
My pleasure ❤️
Yes… these words of mary Oliver get me right in the gut. By the way Ivan. Fran and I just discovered Lundbreck falls this past November. We took our two granddaughters there from High River for a picnic lunch, and also visited the memorials to the frank slide and other local mining disasters. Thanks for sharing the quote and photos. Good reminders.
Lundbreck Falls is a hidden gem. A person has to find their way there. You are most welcome Bruce.
Absolutely! Pause and reflect. Be. With nature. Yes! Exquisite photos, Ivon. Glad you paused and shared them. Such beauty and majesty can only be absorbed and run through every vessel in our bodies, connecting us back to this precious earth. Aloha!
Bela thank you for a wonderful comment and deep insight.
🤗
We must wonder as we wander for only through doing both can we enjoy the world around us.
Wondering and wandering are only separated by one letter.
Beautiful 👏👏👏
Hi Ivon,
Thanks for sharing the line from Mary Oliver. I think I’ll print that out and stick it on our fridge. It’s a great one to revisit daily!
Here’s the message I left on Purple Rays:
That’s an incredibly powerful quote and thank you for sharing. Somebody has put me onto Mary Oliver before and I need to head back and read more of her work.
When I look at that quote at first glance, I’d say “get that book published at long last. More if possible.” However, when you look at what matters to me in everyday life, and that is helping people and love is hopefully what I’m sharing as my life’s mission. When all is said and done, everything else is secondary. As a PS to that, I’ll also add that each of us show love in different ways. My thing is cooking and more on the side of baking. My husband’s never-ending mission seems to be fixing things. Lately, stuff around the house has been more than willing to oblige too. Last night, the fuse box out the front of the house blew and we were left without power until the electrician could come. Hubby couldn’t fix that or the washing machine we finally replaced last weekend, but he certainly tried.
Secondly, thank you for sharing those stunning photos from British Columbia. About 20 years ago, I found out that one of my ancestor’s brother’s migrated from Islay, Scotland to Vancouver Island via South America. He was a real Indiana Jones type figure. I’m still in touch with some of his descendants and they sent me a calendar from Vancouver Island with photographs of seals and beautiful scenery. Would love to get there one day.
Best wishes,
Rowena
Rowena, thank you for a lovely response.
The essence of Mary Oliver’s poetry, for me, is the questions she asks, in this case excplicitly and other times implicitly.
About 15 years, after a trip to the US, I realized how I took-for-granted the beauty in my own backyardf. Since then, we have made a concerted effort to visit many spaces in Canada. We have a diverse country in people and geography. That is to be celebrated and shared.
Take care and enjoy.
refreshing
pause 🙂
The pause that refreshes.
Reblogged this on By the Mighty Mumford and commented:
THAT MARY OLIVER…KNEW HER STUFF! 😀
She did and her words live on as we read them anew.
💞💞💞💞💖💖💖❤️
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