Officially Walktober

Little hand, small flowers from the meadow.

[Walking] is the perfect way of moving if you want to see into the life of things.  It is the one way of freedom.  If you go to a place on anything but your own feet you are taken there too fast, and miss a thousand delicate joys that were waiting for you by the wayside.

~ Elizabeth von Arnim, The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rugen

Earth is so thick with divine possibility that it is a wonder we can walk anywhere without cracking our shins on altars.

~ Barbara Brown Taylor

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A Monday Meander: The equinox

Last Thursday’s sunset.

To walk quietly until the miracle in everything speaks is poetry, whether we write it down or not.

~ Mark Nepo

Semi-hibernation

A not-yet-winter sky.

Tides and storms, the patterns of seasons and migrations, the quality of the soil and the air – all of these continue to influence and are influenced by us; they remind us of the intricate web from which we cannot disentangle ourselves, try as we might. Also, some of us are still lucky enough to live in places where we are awakened by birdsong in the morning, where at night we can see the Milky Way spilled across the sky. These things are part of our daily human experiences. As such, these phenomena – like anything else – can take on particular meaning, both original and universal.

Such meaning depends on authenticity, which often depends on engagement. This is the case whether we are talking about authenticity between people and people or between people and nature. We must be attentive; we must give our senses over to the other.

~ Hannah Fries, In Defense of Wonder

Shadows

Shadow and light, light and shadow.

I believe in the resistance as I believe there can be no light without shadow; or rather no shadow unless there is also light.

~ Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale

Biggest surprise

Little Peanut playing in the living room.

Each day holds a surprise.  But only if we expect it can we see, hear, or feel it when it comes to us.  Let’s not be afraid to receive each day’s surprise, whether it comes to us as sorrow or as joy.  It will open a new place in our hearts, a place where we can welcome new friends and celebrate more fully our shared humanity.

~ Henri Nouwen

Home

Looking at my home from the garden this morning.

And the world cannot be discovered by a journey of miles, no matter how long, but only by a spiritual journey, a journey of one inch, very arduous and humbling and joyful, by which we arrive at the ground at our own feet, and learn to be at home.

~ Wendell Berry, The Unforeseen Wilderness

Best book of 2018

Covered.

Books are a uniquely portable magic.

~ Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

Books are the perfect entertainment: no commercials, no batteries, hours of enjoyment for each dollar spent. What I wonder is why everybody doesn’t carry a book around for those inevitable dead spots in life.*

~ Stephen King

*I do.  I carry a book with me almost everywhere (except on walks and hikes).