Monday Morning Wake Up Call

If you look at zero you see nothing; but look through it and you will see the world.

- Robert Kaplan

Theme Thursday--Late

"There is an immeasurable distance between late and too late."



Og Mandino
 

Jump into that fountain and feel the sun on your face. Walk into the room fashionably late and meet someone who changes your world. Work hard for many years and take time to teach someone who will in turn teach you. It is all possible when one chooses to see the possibilities.

Ripples in the stream

The life I touch for good or ill will touch another life, and that in turn another, until who knows where the trembling stops or in what far place my touch will be felt. Author unknown
Courtesy Sylvia and June Saville

This quote and the blog it comes from crystallizes why I come back here to write, to read the thoughts and view the work of so many gifted and creative people.  It is an on-going conversation of what matters to each of us and a forum in which we can share and experience alternative perspectives and ideas. It is a haven, a sanctuary and a platform from which all of is possible. Pretty cool.

Walking the walk, talking the talk

The best way out is always through.


Robert Frost

Times are rough for everyone right now. I acknowledge this as I review my past year and start to work on my next two years' business plan.  I sigh, I shout and wonder which direction to go. I am certain that I am not alone all the while angry at this new environment. I am lucky in that I have work that engages and pays me well. Yet, I know something is different and if I do not recognize the difference and therefore, change my approach, success is not guaranteed. The range of emotions that go along with this understanding are not fun nor exhilarating but rather annoying and terrifying. It is not unlike hiking in those lovely wooden shoes--painful, I am certain.
 
So I focus on what brings me joy--Mr. Jackson, Max, my family as I lace up my hiking boots. I fill my pack with snacks,camera, water and start walking. I know as I begin the trail is unknown which is somehow energizing as I walk, the late autumn leaves clinging to the trees. As I take the first hill, I do not question my ability or curse the elevation, I just move forward--it isn't easy and at times, I feel like turning back, but I keep moving forward knowing the answer lies ahead.

Home Sweet Home

The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.



Maya Angelou

What can I say?

Been busy. The big red house is now 'saddle' and the crew that has been laboring to bring its 1910 bones to the next century, has left..new roof, new siding and fifty windows..it is quiet, but the fine layer of dust that comes with the battle remains...Field Supervisor Jackson aka Mr. Jackson made certain that every detail was addressed and as a result, we will be warm as well as styling this winter as we dress the front porch for the holidays.

That combined with a manic job and a diabetic dog, my focus has been on getting through the chaos to here...happy to be back

Theme Thursday-Traffic

Experience is by far the best teacher. You know, ever since I was a little girl I knew that if you look both ways when you cross the street, you'll see a lot more than traffic.” Mae West

Mae had it right. There's traffic where ever we look on this ever smaller globe of ours. It is how we choose to deal with it that makes the difference. I choose to imagine the images above when I am caught in midtown NY ---horns blaring and taxis moving ever so close to my bumper.

So much time is spent getting somewhere, what if we just took the time to be, to learn and look beyond the car in front of us---lead rather than follow, take the exit we pass every day just because, take a train so we can read another chapter of that book, ride a bike, motorcycle or a vespa. It is about living and experiencing. Mae had it right. I will try to do better.

Theme Thursday-Climate Change

To stand at the edge of the sea, to sense the ebb and flow of the tides, to feel the breath of a mist moving over a great salt marsh, to watch the flight of shore birds that have swept up and down the surf lines of the continents for untold thousands of year, to see the running of the old eels and the young shad to the sea, is to have knowledge of things that are as nearly eternal as any earthly life can be.” --Rachel Carson

Water has the power to give and take life. Global warming is changing weather patterns throughout the world so that dust storms in June Saville's Australia are becoming commonplace. My love of the southwest comes with an understanding that the quest for water has been going on for centuries. The dams, while insuring the availability of water, have changed the environment, destroyed tribal burial grounds and ruins and caused the extinction of many types of wildlife. The droughts of the last decade have allowed a beetle to take root in many of the trees located throughout Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado causing them to become even more susceptible to fire and certain death.

I treasure my walks. It keeps me focused and close to what is real. The more people are allowed to experience nature, the more they will stand up and fight for it. Therefore, I talk and write about my hikes to whoever will listen! I contribute to causes that protect our National Park System, keep green spaces green  and protect our wildlife. Conserving resources, like water and energy, do make a difference. I drive less, carry my water to work in a reusable Sigg bottle, unplug and turn-off as much as I can whenever I leave my home and office.

Margaret Mead said it best, "A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."