A SUNSET PICNIC

October 30th was a warm and still evening for us in the city. After a day of singing in church choir and later singing with friends in song circle, I asked my husband if we could have a sunset picnic. We picked up our favorite order at Leann Chin and drove up to what we call "cemetery hill" with our food. After a little walk, we brought our chairs to the top of the hill for dinner and a show! And what a show it was! Keep in mind, this is a sunset in the middle of metropolitan area. I couldn't help myself and my camera agreed! It was too beautiful a show to miss! I'm not sure which tasted better, the fried rice and spicy chicken or the constant display of color and clouds dancing together before our eyes. If you ever get a chance, head up to cemetery hill and don't forget your camera. It's worth the price of admission and then some! Click on the video below to get a taste. Enjoy!

I am so grateful for the abudance of beauty this world provides. 

This is my first entry for Gratitude Month! 

A Summer Morning View

 

July 1, 2022
8:30 am

Breakfast on the patio.
The air has cooled overnight.
The sun just beginning to peek through the trees.
|Small omelets and fruit with goat yogurt.
Delicious Mauritius tea!
Quiet music in the background from my favorite customized Pandora station.
And my favorite person in the world sitting across the table from me reading today's news.

This is my summer morning view.
Beauty running deep in my heart.
A small moment filled with love and gratitude.
Causing deep cleansing breaths and smiles.
Nourishing hope and possibility in my heart.

May you also find a quiet moment filled with wonder.
And may it fertilize your soul for another day of life!

Love, Jules

Tassels in the Sun

 

in winter

golden tassels shine

like the sun

[photo from my front yard]

January 11, 2002

just jules

Catching the Winter Sun

Sunrise ~ February 16, 2021                                 Sunrise from my bedroom

Sunset ~ February 16, 2021                Sunset from our office

Sunrise and Sunset

Catching the winter sun on both ends

Of a cold Minnesota winter's day

Captured from my windows with the help of a lens

Giving me a good start and end to a full day at home

Then carrying the sun in my heart

To spite the cloud cover the next day

Then carrying hope to spite the gloom

Then a smile crosses my face

"You can't get me, I'm sunshine!"

Have a great day and stay warm!

~jules

____________________

coming soon: a health update

Grounding in Nature: Walking Views

Today's blog is a slide show: Walking Views

During this time of COVID-19 and #StayHome, we've been attempting to walk every day. This has helped so much with managing the stress and reminding me of God's grace and abundance. Even now, it is still a beautiful world.

please enjoy my slides here. You can watch it in full screen by clicking on the full screen [ ] icon at the bottom.

Grounding--day 19

Sunday, March 15, 2020

(COVID-19 (aka Corona Virus) global shutdown is in process)

In the last week, almost everything I participate in has been cancelled, shut-down, postponed..etc. Pete and I are regular Sunday church people. It's been part of our life since we met and still is. Today the churches are closed and you can watch some version of it online, without the people. In a couple days all the schools in the state will be closed and we might have an opportunity to help watch grandchildren while our children balance work and health and home. Three days ago, Pete and the Dragonfly Project Board had to make the difficult decision to cancel our 18th Annual Celebration and Remembrance event. After that, I confess, I did a spin around the panic park and got centered on the realization that this virus will affect every single person on this planet in some way, even if they don't get sick. It's a LOT to take in and a LOT to adjust to!

So what to do? How do I begin again?

Fortunately, I didn't have to wait too long for one idea. Yesterday, my spiritual director posted that she was going to take a "prayer walk" this morning with an open invitation for others to join. So this morning, that is just what Pete and I did. We went on a prayer walk at Silverwood Park with my spiritual director. It's about a mile loop around the park. 

As we walked in the cold sunshine, we talked about concerns and a long list of people and circumstances...each thing then became another prayer. We prayed for peace and hope, for people who will be grieving, for those who are isolated, for those who will experience losses small and large (things like lost wedding or graduation parties, no elective surgery so no new knee; things like lost hope). We prayed for those whose health is vulnerable already, for those who will suffer from the isolation, for those who are hungry and cold and homeless and now deal with this added threat. We wondered too how we might step up and help our neighbor. And while we prayed and talked, we breathed the fresh cold air and enjoyed the nurture of nature. 

Afterward, Pete and I took a little extra time to go out to the island where I got some close up pictures of the ice and leaves having their winter time together. For me, the joy of the art these two items create together gave me so much joy. Then we paused quietly to listen to the ice popping on the lake ...the ice creating a sort of Alleluia/Amen to our morning worship.

I think this might be our new Sunday practice, as weather and time permit. 

I pray you find a way to ground yourself back to love during this time of the virus crisis.

peace,

Jules

THE GIFT WITHIN

THE GIFT WITHIN

Close your eyes.
Imagine your favorite place
What does it look like?
What does it smell like?
What does it feel like?
What does it sound like?
Who else is there?
Stay there for awhile and hang out.
Feel the love and the beauty of that place sink into you.

did you know that you carried paradise around inside of you?
Did you know you could visit anytime you want without paying a dime?

Rocks, Trees, Water and a Camera Chick

July, 30, 2019

Yesterday my husband and I got back from a 5-day camping trip at Devil's Lake State Park in Wisconsin. We figured it was our ninth trip there. We got started the year before one of our sons got married to scope out the wedding venue. The next year they got married on South Shore with their toes in the sand. We've been returning to camp there with our daughter-in-law's family ever since. It's hard to improve on it for a great camping experience. A beautiful little clean lake with tons of swimming space, two incredible bluffs with huge Baraboo quartzite tumbling bolder fields below and enough hiking and climbing to keep everyone happy.

I am out of shape, somewhat overweight and have a cranky ankle and a recent flair-up of plantar fasciitis. So I wasn't sure this was going to go as well as previous trips. But the minute I started setting up camp, the forest started whispering my name. And the second I stepped foot on the trail, I knew I would follow those whispers wherever they lead me. I recently acquired an off-brand fit watch for counting steps. I figure I walked about an average of eight miles each of the five days, some of it up a substantial elevation on the cliffs. But with the wind and the trees singing to me and the rocks offering to carry my weight and the water offering a healing view, how could I resist. So off goes this camera chick with all the much healthier ones for hikes and adventures. I came home sore but with a camera full of treasures. Once again, I found myself falling in love with the original artist--the Creator. Every time I look through that lens I find more color, more design, more intricacy and detail, more life and abundance then I ever thought possible.  And a few times i even caught us humans interacting with that abundance.

My cell phone had no service at this state park but I didn't miss it, although I used it for a camera part of the time. How can you miss it when you are wrapped in the wonder of the art, almost as if stepping into a painting or a book and wandering around in the beauty.

During our stay, we wandered over to Mirror Lake State Park for a nice kayak paddle with our friends, Mike and Tim. And on our way home, we stopped at two more state parks, Rocky Arbor and Mill Bluff where we discovered even more of the Wisconsin jungle and its beauty.

Here is a sample to share with you. I pray that some day you go somewhere with no phone service and get the chance to wallow in such splendor. Enjoy!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW: Rocks, Trees, and Water Photo Album

WHAT IS ABOUT TREES?

What is about trees that grabs my attention so?

Branches reaching up and out
perfectly organized and tangled 
in a crochet knot
against the blue sky

Bark that thickens 
and hardens and breaks
as the heart bursts open 
as life fattens the tree's torso

Roots that grab on and hold
reaching deep and wide for stability
for nutrients and water

Leaves budding long before spring
unfold at just the right moment
color everything to a rich warm velvety green
and then fire up orange just before they fall away

Shadows of the wise 
and wonderful neighbors
cast intriguing reflections 
on snow and sand and water

Tempting me to look up to them
for inspiration for my perfectly organized and tangled mess
for courage to allow my heart to crack open as I grow
and a reminder to reach deep and wide.

WALKING DOWN MEMORY LANE

Walking down Memory Lane

I walked through my neighborhood to the grocery store yesterday. As I walked, I soaked in the activity of late afternoon--School buses dropping kids off, grandparents waiting for the kids, parents and younger siblings walking hand-in-hand, older kids riding bike, people returning from work and mowing lawns and pulling weeds; life gently buzzing around the flowers of the first week of school. 

And then I saw a boy a few blocks from my house and thought of my boys in all their school days. And suddenly this rush of memories came washing over me. So much my life, so many seasons of my life have been lived here in this neighborhood. After living in many different houses during the first 17 years of my life, I have lived here in this one for 33 years this September! Pete and I have raised four boys, added on to our home, cultivated a huge garden and friendships, said goodbye to many, grieved the loss of our third son at age 11, and both my parents and a best friend and Pete's dad. We've grown from young to middle to almost retirement age. We've grown from dreams, to letting go, to sinking deep into our authentic beings. There's been joy here and sorrow and frustration and mess and oh so much beauty. What a life it has been! 

I thought as I walked of how grateful I am to live in a place where I feel safe, where people tend their gardens and walk with their children and dogs in peace, where children play and school buses pass. And where I can see the flowers and the creativity of those who find time to tend to their houses and yards. I am grateful...so grateful to have life, to have a safe life and  a good life. It's not perfect and yet it is. The compost rots and fuels the garden. The mistakes and sorrows teach us the deep lessons and we blossom and grow more than we ever dreamed possible.

and I wondered: what if there was a way to make this simple, safe life available for all? What if every person on earth could feel free and safe walking down their street or even half them? what then? Would we be in heaven already? The only thing better than this would be sharing it with everyone.

May your life, your heart find its own garden path where compost rots and flowers bloom!

love, jules--8/30/18

The Sacredness of a Cup of Tea (or Coffee)

"A cup of tea becomes sacred time when shared with the heart of another." ~ Jules

There are some things one can't write in a public forum because there are people's privacy to protect. So many times, I have wanted to write a blog about an incredible person who has crossed my path but to share the magic of that I’d be sharing personal things about them that might not be helpful to share in public. And other times, I've been tempted to write something not so nice which I quickly realize won't help and is most likely coming from my own unmet expectations.

Perhaps that's why it is so important that we not just write and post and Twitter and Facebook but that we meet face to face, one on one or in trusted circles to share our deeper and messier and lovelier selves. When I find out who the real you is, with all the bumps and pimples and all the bravery and courage, I am even more inspired than I was when I first saw the twinkle and shine in your eyes. It has often been said that "misery loves company" and it is true. It really does help to vent our misery with others AND to discover that we are not alone in it. What we don't notice as often is that "joy loves company" too. Joy shared is gratitude that finds its way to your bones and lives. When we share our vulnerability, when we give voices to our gratitude, it becomes an abundance and that makes the world a better place.

Which brings me to why I haven't been writing more in my blog lately. I have plenty to say but right now I am focusing more energy on in-person, face-to-face meetings; spending more time with real people, with real messes and real victories to share. This is partly the gift of summer and more freedom to get out. (My work increases during the school year) And I Love it. I LOVE, love what happens to my heart, my soul when the real story is shared in real time. I love how the Holy Spirit begins to show up too. I know it takes time, but it is totally worth it. I hope I can keep making time for this.

So, this is an open invitation to you. Consider contacting someone you would like to talk to and setting up a real conversation, maybe add a cup of coffee or tea. Perhaps if we all spend more time sharing our SORROW AND our JOY, we'll stop pushing against each other and instead find ourselves inspired, encouraged and praying for one another.

And now I'm off to share the privilege of time with a friend.

~Jules, 8/28/18

GRATITUDE MONTH--#19: ORNAMENTAL GRASS

These ornamental grasses are in my yard. And each time I look at them, I am just grateful! It's not the same in a photo but perhaps as you look here, they will speak to your heart too. So beautiful!

The more I spend time with nature, the more I am stunned by the abundance of it all, the glory, the beauty, strength. It makes me feel like the world has much more to offer, like I am rich indeed. 

I am so grateful for these grasses in my yard that remind me of this abundant world.

GRATITUDE MONTH--#16: MY SISTER, VANGIE!

Today, I'm thankful for my sister Vangie! She was nearly 12 when I was born. She's short, looks like my dad's sisters. I'm tall, look my brothers I guess. She's got curly hair and bad eyesight. I've got straight hair and great eyesight but mom's bad hearing. Outside we look nothing alike but inside, there is so much connection! 

We also have 4 brothers but I have to say that without Vangie, our family would have lost track of each other long ago. Though we've never had much opportunity to live together or even near each other, I feel as close to her as I can imagine any sister being. She's the rock of this family. And what a beautiful rock she is! She's a mother, grandmother, artist, nurse, and a massage therapist. She makes laughing easy and the world light!

My sister has been my second mother, my adviser and when I grew up she became my playmate and friend. If it hadn't been for her unfailing effort to stay in touch over the long distances, and long periods without even seeing each other, I wouldn't know my family at all! 

My sister is love itself! I'm so grateful for this incredible person, this stunning woman. Thanks Vangie! I am so grateful!

love, jules

GRATITUDE MONTH--#15: REFLECTIONS

I'm pausing today to give thanks for Reflections! There has always been something magical to me about visual reflections. The ones you most often notice are probably when you are at the lake at dawn. But you can find them in puddles, windows, mirrors, and even the shiny surface of your car. 

Each time I pause to look at a reflection it expands my understanding, it alters my view of the world. Puddle reflections expand the depth of the shallow waters. Sunset reflections magnify the color. And even when the surface is not flat or calm, the texture that the reflection creates makes me pause to wonder.


My inner reflections grow deeper as i engage more in the visual reflections. It just seems like a gift that keeps on giving and giving. Abundance indeed! I am sooo thankful for all of this beauty! 

Reflections! (18 slides in slideshow--Enjoy!)

Clouds as Art

Millions traveled on Monday to see the Total Lunar Eclipse for a whole 2 minutes! It turns out the sun and moon still can pull an audience together from time to time. And it was wonderful but that two minutes wasn't the end of the show for me. As we drove home the sky kept showing off and changing the colors and drama of the canvas. So here is a sample of the many pictures we took on our 8-hour drive home. At one point, driving through the Nebraska sandhills, it looked as if we would driving off the edge of the hill and diving into the storm clouds. So dramatic!

A special thank you to my husband Pete for indulging me by taking some of the photos while i was driving. I am also grateful to both Pete and Luke for their patience when I stopped the car on the side of the road to finish off the sunset photos.

Enjoy this little slide show and then consider giving the everyday sky a bit more attention. You never know when another painting will show up!

KINDNESS: Everyday people reaching out to everyday people

I was reading Dragonfly Project email just now...mostly "thank you" messages. Tears form as my heart swells with gratitude for this work and this gift. This project is just one of many where everyday people reach out to other everyday people to offer help, encouragement, comfort and love.
It is not obvious because our general tendency is to tell the bad news, but this kind of stuff happens all the time. People see someone in need or pain and do something, often just something small, to offer support.
Have you ever noticed that just an invitation, just a note from someone saying they are thinking of you or just a smile from a stranger can make all the difference in your day? Where would I be now if not been for the kindness of someone I barely knew reaching out to me to offer the comfort of the Dragonfly Story those many years ago? I drop something in the store and some stranger picks it up for me. That big rig on the freeway gave me a chance to get in the lane. I offered to sleep on the couch but my mother-in-law made a bed up for me. That was one of the best sleeps I've had lately. It doesn't always have to take that much for us to offer kindness.
So here I sit fifteen years after the founding of the Dragonfly Project with tears of gratitude in my eyes and deep joy in my heart. Ten years ago I also joined a hospice/comfort choir (sometimes called "Threshold choir"). Morning Star Singers is everyday people offering their voices to comfort those struggling with health and well being, life and death. Having been on both sides of kindness, I can say with certainty that the seeds of kindness that were planted by others have grown into quite a garden of color in my heart. And the seeds of kindness that I have planted have brought me even deeper joy with the wonder of the way love works, the way peace works, the way we were created.
My friend Barbara McAfee has written a song about this profound thing we call kindness. I am attaching the link here. I hope you will listen and be inspired. Let's give Kindness a chance.


Here is the sound cloud link to the "Kindness" song and the lyrics in the box to the left.
https://soundcloud.com/barbara-mcafee/kindness
Barbara McAfee's website
Morning Star Singers website

The Dragonfly Project website

A NEW YEAR'S INVITATION

(photo: dawn on my street on winter solstice)

A NEW YEAR'S INVITATION

A new year has come

and your are invited to the feast of

another 365 days of living

a buffet of flavors and seasons

Love, humor, color, and more

Come taste the life offered to you

Open your ears to the music

your eyes to the beauty

your heart to the possibilities

A new year has come and you are invited

to live life to its fullest

to be who you are

may 2017 be your best year yet!

~Jules

Happy Hans Day!

Hans Peter Bonde....(March 24, 1989--September 28, 2000)....Leaving us with Joy Forever

Bitter and Sweet

Life is bittersweet at its heart, perhaps at its best. For it is in those moments of deepest sorrow or pain that we also are suddenly keenly aware of the amazing gifts and beauty of our lives.

I'll never ever forget the 16 months we had with our son Hans after he was diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer (glioblastoma multiforme) the summer between his 4th and 5th grade years. I can't remember the excruciating pain without also remembering it as one of the best times of our lives. Being faced with the total and complete vulnerability of life for each of us (no matter how healthy) made all those unimportant squabbles and desires melt away. Money and success and being right ceased to matter. All that mattered was love and the moments.

Hans following one of his surgeries.

In some ways it seemed like time stopped. We suddenly had time to enjoy each other and be with each other in ways we hadn't before. We celebrated every day we had together. We went camping, biking, played games, laughed, hung out with extended family. We talked, we sang, we prayed. We hugged and cuddled. We fell in complete love with each other. Honestly, it was an amazing time for us. We lived with joy. Each day was so precious that we closed with a ritual of good night with blessing and goodbye.

Of course, one day we did say goodbye forever as Hans moved on to the next life. (September 28, 2000) And of course there was some pretty wrenching and dark days of mourning to follow. But even those gave birth to a deeper sense of gratitude and honor for this sweet person we were privileged to have among us, even for a short time. And eventually that expanded to a deeper gratitude for all of life, however flawed it is.

What I'm trying to say, is that the bitter and the sweet are so closely tied, that I can't separate them. I'm not arguing for cause and effect, just for the constant companionship of them both in my life. Bitter whispers in one ear with how tragic life is and Sweet sings in the other how fantastic and amazing it is. And peace grows in me, I am transformed, as I learn to dance with both these partners.

Peace!
Jules, 9/2/2016

Winning the Lottery!

July 21, 2016

In 1959 I was born into a beautiful and loving family. I am just so grateful that I landed there. My parents were in their forties, about 10 to 15 years older than my friends and peers. My siblings, (all 5 of them) were off at boarding school, 700 miles away. [my parents were Lutheran missionaries on the island of Madagascar from 1948 to 1976 and boarding school was part of that experience] My mom and I flew down to introduce me to them when I was 6 weeks old, the first of many attempts at family reunions--with intention to be family together. But as it turned out, we never really did live together except for a few vacations here and there. There weren't as many gatherings as we wanted. Like the others, I went to boarding school too, when i was in first grade and on from there. And then after college, each of us in turn spread our wings and flew far and wide and now live in 5 different states and coast to coast.

As I look back over the last 57 years, there have been a lot of tear-filled nights and days, longing for my family, wishing I could live with them and praying that one day, I would have a family to really belong to. This being apart has influenced both my mistakes and my wholehearted decisions. It's been my deepest pain and most exquisite gift.

Three weeks ago was our most recent family reunion. We all (all 6 of us siblings) came together (plus a few spouses and children) to spend a week together. It was amazing! It was loving and it was, for a few days, that feeling of family. We did more story-telling than ever before. We spent more time together. I found myself returning to that deep gratitude, for landing there, in that place 57 years ago. We've all grown up a lot, we're all in our wisdom years and now in addition to loving each other, we have the grace to just be together and enjoy the moments when we can. I am filled with love and gratitude for that week.

I can't stop  there though. I have to include another reunion that happened the week before when I spent a week with 7 women that I have known since birth as all of us grew at boarding school together, all of us close to the same age. We had a reunion at one of their homes and spent a week, laughing, talking, crying and just wallowing in this space of friendship and this feeling of family; adopted family. I can't believe the kindness and support and generosity I felt that week. I can only begin to express my gratitude for that.

And there's more! because after both of these reunions I went to practice with my hospice/comfort choir [Morning Star Singers]. And in those first few notes of harmony, I felt so at home, more myself perhaps than I feel anywhere else in the world. This is my tribe too, these gorgeous hearts that live so lovingly, that blend so beautifully, that fight to keep kindness and peace int he world with their presence.

And there's even more! In a few days, I will celebrate 35 years of wonderful, joyful, amazing marriage and friendship with my husband Pete. I can't believe I got so lucky! he is truly one of earth's most treasured gifts. And with him came another entire clan who took me in and cared for me. And with him came our beautiful children and grandchildren. In addition I have great friends who have stood by me through thick and thin.

I feel today as if I've won some secret lottery. And like any winner I am crying with tears of joy. I've won it all! --Family, partnership, marriage, friends and time to enjoy them!

How many ways is there to say thank you? and grateful? I thought perhaps this old picture of me would do the trick. In honor of all those who have touched my heart and my life, I raise my hands to the heavens!

Thank you!