Tag: gratitude

Late afternoon light in Lakeland

~ windinmywheels ~ Leave a comment
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I love the thought that light calls to us at different times and places – beckoning us out into the world, promising before we’ve even set out that there will be something worth seeing, something to get the endorphins circulating, something to provide the shot of dopamine, something to encourage, restoring hope and promise. Today feels like Spring, softly softly, is definitely underway!

I love the thought, too, that the gradations of light are constantly changing – just as we are.

I love the thought that, as evening falls, darker shades of light play their part in the calling, too. The delighted skipping of vigorous little lambs slows down and they draw closer to mother. Little birds head home to nests and quieter night song. Geese flying in formation know exactly what time it is and how much further they need to go – and so their honking steadily quietens in the course of ten minutes or so. Nearly home.

And – also slowing down – my heart and mind turn to books, contemplation, connections, gratitude and rest. Tonight I recall the light of the morning, the brightness of noon, the going down into afternoon and evening, the darkening and the onset of night, each in their own way utterly unique and ‘for this moment only’, and each a fractal of life’s delight.

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Sunday evening mellowness

~ windinmywheels ~ 4 Comments
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Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared

calendar thought for the day supplied by the meditation app Aura

Reflection, by candlelight, in late evening, brings a procession of causes for gratefulness into my quietened mind. Conversation with a friend who enjoys both candlelight and quietness as much as I do. My first Feldenkrais class via Zoom. Books that draw out aha! or eureka moments on the one hand, and deep and glad recognition on the other. Creativity. Shared art. Shared imagination. Photographs made by two friends today, miles apart, but each depicting eerily beautiful morning mist in winter wonderland. Plans for comings and goings. Teamwork. Letters. Phone calls. Prayer. Celebration. Contemplation. Meditation. Daydreaming. Growing. Hoping. Learning. Longing. The illumination that relationship with others brings to life and love every day. Here in this candlelit, quiet Edinburgh night, the word ‘connection’ appears as though it were an illuminated sign before me. Connection. I am warmed and held as I think of all that can be brought to birth by a single candle contributing light to potentially thousands of others – lucky old me among them …

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Oh, such a sky!

~ windinmywheels ~ 2 Comments
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There are times when we stand before the majesty of earth, sea and sky and are filled with awe and wonder. Edinburgh never fails to inspire. From sunrise to sunset. Clear blue sky or eery presence of the haar. Hot or warm or cold. Rain, hail, sleet, snow, or warm, dry breeze. Time and again I am profoundly thankful that Edinburgh has such a place in my life, and that I have a place in Edinburgh’s …

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Spring scenes

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iPhone 14 Pro Max | Nikon D850 and 135mm f2 DC

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When you close your eyes and daydream about what makes you happy and glad to be alive, what do you see? Are you aware of a kaleidoscope of images? Are you aware of your responses to all that you see, hear, smell, touch and feel? Are there elements of life – activities, art, nature, people, places, things that have the effect of making you feel particularly happy?

Spring scenes in Edinburgh are among the sources of joy in my life just now, as so often before. I saw a bright poster the other day that featured a blossoming tree and the words ‘something’s stirring …’ and I’ve resolved to keep an eye out for the number of times I recognise ‘something stirring’ in my own life, and in all the life around me, in the coming days.

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A quiet contemplation

~ windinmywheels ~ 5 Comments
Photo by Adrien Olichon at Pexels

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Autumn is certainly in the air today – and I’ve been revisiting the rich greenness of a long and lovely summer. A greenness not entirely defeated even in unusual extremes of heat. Lovely in more ways than I can count. I’m thankful and – meditating – look to the days and weeks and months calling us all onwards …

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Close-up

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To get close-up to Springtime unfolding in nature is to encounter experience of awe and wonder. Every tiny hair and stem and vibrating atom invites me to deep contemplation: why such beauty? Why such variety? Why me, and this capacity that I have, and you have, to experience our environment in such deeply affecting ways? And my sense of gratitude, my awareness and observation, my being here, reaching out and reaching in – is something akin to love …

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Birthday diving boards

~ windinmywheels ~ 2 Comments

Happy birthday, Mum. We’ll remember today’s celebration for weeks and months to come – the wonderful meal, the family members gathered in spirit if not in person, the phone calls, the little gifts, the old letters and photographs, the being startled about exceptionally sharp memories of some things, and somewhat foggy ones of others – whilst the important fact of the matter remains our shared enjoyment in reminiscing.

Your birthday, like all birthdays, is special. And birthdays are special because they provide occasion for fond re-membering on the one hand, and also act as a kind of diving board into all the living that’s ahead of us all – saying, with Dag Hammarskjöld, ‘for all that has been, thanks: for all that will be, yes!’ We’re shaped by the passing of each and every year we remember, rooted in family and friendships.

And taking stock of how our years have made us who we are, we take especial note of our having been dearly loved in the course of our journeying. And as we think on being loved we realise that birthdays – and all our days – are still bringing new life to birth – yours and ours. Happy birthday, Mum. Thank you for all that you are. And may your everyday be a happy day.

🤗🎉xxx