This is good advice.
To keep the body in good health is a duty… otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear. ~Buddha
Good Health
Merry Christmas
I wrote this poem several years ago about the magic provided by the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) and Christmas. What message was in those celestial colours and sounds? As a child, I thought the sky talked to me and told me a creation story.
I grew up in Northern Alberta and Christmas was a special time. I recall cold winter nights. I mean they were cold–almost minus 40 at night. Our windows upstairs were almost completely frosted over. On moonlit nights, the light kept me awake or that is what I told others.
During Advent, my mom and older brothers walked across the street for evening Mass. The younger ones, including me, went to bed. I did not fall asleep right away and would watch out the window for them to come home. I thought no one saw me, but my Mom would come up and tell me to go to bed.
At that time of year, I recall is the Northern Lights and how you could hear them as well as see them light up the sky as they danced across the sky. We don’t see them very often in Edmonton with the urban light.
When we spend time at the farm at Christmas, we hear and see them again. On cold nights we hear the train (about a mile away) and it sounds like it is coming through the house.
Small children–
Breathlessly awaiting,
Peering through frosted window
Soaking it in.
Heavens rippling–
Lights undulating;
A celebratory fury
An indisputable guide.
This old house speaks;
Nature answers–
Heavens crackle
Sweet symphonic sounds shimmering.
Earth’s floor–
Blanketed in white
Celestial colours speaking
Capturing young senses.
A vivid winter scene,
A sensual, sensory palette,
Reminding us–
Christ’s Mass is here.
we all dance to a mysterious tune,
Einstein had a way with words that make them sound poetic.
“we all dance to a mysterious tune,
intoned in the distance by an invisible piper.”
~ Albert Einstein
Image credit: Earthschool Harmony https://web.facebook.com/SpiritualQuotesandSoulfood/
Wildness
via Wildness
Michele‘s post reminded me of poems by two of my favourite poets.
Environmentalists refer to Wendell Berry and Mary Oliver‘s poems. An educated guess is that Henry David Thoreau, who Michele quotes, informed their writing.
Wendell Berry wrote in moments of despair he “comes into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought.”
Mary Oliver ends Summer Day with the following question: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do/ with your one wild and precious life?” Paradoxically, the question is an answer to her eloquent questions about who created nature.
Nature has a way of being and providing us with lessons for life. It is in meditative moments, when we just are, we grow to understand what that can mean. We grow and value what is essential not to us, but to those who come after us.
“We do not inherit the world from our ancestors, but borrow it from our children.”
Sometimes I need…
Mary Oliver is one of my many favourite poets. Even lines from her poetry say so much. Sometimes, in a busy world, I have to remind myself to stand still and be mindful of what the world offers. Thich Nhat Hanh said we find the extraordinary in the ordinary. What do I overlook and take-for-granted?
Fairmont Hot Springs
When we visited Fairmont Hot Springs, I walked each morning and we went below the hot springs one evening for a short hike. On the walks and hikes, I took pictures.
On Sunday, we went to church. As we came out, this buck posed for pictures. He was in the shade so I cropped the picture and, as a result, it is a bit blurry.
I walked each morning and afternoon. This doe crossed the road about the time the sun was coming up each morning. She kept an eye on me, just to make sure.
Just outside Fairmont is Columbia Lake, which is the head waters of the Columbia River. The lake appears to have a mist over it most of the time.
When I walked in the morning, I took this picture as it was becoming daylight. The mist was much heavier at this time of the day than it was during the day.
Several evenings we went to the hot springs. On one of the evenings, we walked below the springs and found a path to a small creek. The moon was just rising from behind the mountains.
A small water fall flows into the creek. The volume increases when they release water from the swimming pool to clean it. I took the picture without any flash. I don’t know if it is the rocks, the time of day, or some other reason that allowed the picture to appear so well-lit.
A Book Lover’s Tag
Diana passed on a tag and posed 13 questions to her followers with this re-blog. The best part of the her post was the John O’Donohue blessing about how our words make the invisible visible through our personal artistry and creativity.
- Do you have a favourite place to read? No, I read everywhere but in vehicles.
- Do you use bookmarks or random pieces of paper? I use both and more. I turn corners, highlight, and use sticky notes with notes.
- Do you eat or drink while you read? I drink tea, but rarely ever eat while I read.
- Do you listen to music or watch TV? There always seems to be music playing, but I find the TV distracting. Music fades into the background.
- Do you read one book or several at a time? I do both. I find reading one book helps me focus, but I cannot help reading more books.
- Do you prefer reading at home or elsewhere? There is a small coffee shop a few minutes from the house. The baristas and owners welcome me almost each day.
- Do you read silently or out loud? I read silently most of the time, but, when I read something of particular interest, I read it to Kathy. I enjoy reading to our grandson when we visit with him.
- Do you read ahead or skip about? I skip about. I like to read the index in a book and see who references are if it is a book I use for my writing. I cheat and read ahead in non-fiction.
- Do you break the spine or treat it like new? I buy many of my books used, so they come well used. If I get a new book, I mark it up inside, but treat it like new.
- Do you write in books? I mark them up with a felt marker and make notes for future reference. The exception is when I read non-fiction and poetry.
- What books are you reading now? I am reading The Company of Strangers by Parker Palmer.
- What is your childhood favourite book? I don’t have one, but I remember reading Little Golden Books and having them read to me as a special part of my early reading.
- What is your favourite book of all time? That is like choosing who my favourite child is. I think it depends on mood and time. I enjoy great poetry i.e. Mary Oliver and Wendell Berry. I read books about spirituality i.e. Parker Palmer. I read about education i.e. William Pinar, John Dewey, and Madeline Grumet. I read about philosophy i.e. Aristotle, Hannah Arendt, and Paul Ricoeur. My favourite fiction writers are John D. MacDonald and Paulo Coehlo.
How Quotes Enoble Us
I love quotes. They make me reflect about meanings that are not clear. They raise eloquent questions that have no pat answers. They inspire me. Balroop provided three quotes that underscore these points.
Poetry is like quotes and I find many quotes from poems and poets. There are spaces between words, lines, and stanzas I can stand in and wonder.
I leave you with quotes that inspire me to think deeply and ask questions about the meaning of my life.
The first two are from Mary Oliver.
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
“Said the river: imagine everything you can imagine, then keep on going.”
The following is from Wendell Berry.
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound…
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
Mountains and Water
I was on the road today, driving through part of Alberta I do not spend much time. I drove to Fairmont Hot Springs, which is in British Columbia. To get there, we came via Banff National Park. The normal route west usually takes me through south of Banff and Jasper National Park.
It was a beautiful day and two mountains stood out against the sky with clouds in behind them. I am not sure of their names, because of a lack of knowledge of the area. It was in the Mount Norquay area, but I thought Norquay was further to the north.
This might be Mount Norquay. It seemed to be the mountain that stood out and was the focus of the pullouts, but I don’t know the area well enough to be certain.
These palisades are just off to the side of the mountain above.
This is just above Numa Falls in Kootenay National Park in British Columbia. The mountain parks on the British Columbia side are not as well-developed as the ones on the Alberta side. I use the word developed in a relative way, as none of the parks have significant commercial development. We were not able to get any closer to the falls as the bridge is out and the gorge has no direct access.
Below, is a video of the falls from YouTube. I don’t see a bridge in the video, but the gorge is inaccessible.
Teacher as Transformer 