STRANGERS IN OUR OWN LAND

I wonder if we're aren't all strangers

in our own land

Throughout our lives wondering,

How anyone could be as strange as we are?

It seems like it takes a lifetime to accept the embrace of enough--

that being ourselves is enough

When I look at you,

I never think you should be more.

I just think, "What exquisite beauty! what luck that I have met you!"

Perhaps it is time to offer ourselves the same kindness;

to open our arms up to our own strangeness.

just a thought....from jules

April 3, 2014

WHAT IS IT ABOUT TREES?

TREES

What is about trees 

that grabs my attention so?

BRANCHES reaching up and out

perfectly organized 

or 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

coloring 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.

2/19/2014

 

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.

GRATITUDE MONTH: DAY #1: TREES

Today is the start of Gratitude Month for me.

I am grateful for trees. I am fortunate to have so many trees outside my window, waving at me, offering their loyalty year after year, showing me how growth and change happen, how one season does not define another, how you can be affected by the wind and still not be knocked over. Trees!

Wandering Off

I am one of the messy ones
wandering off the smooth road,
to smell flowers or greet a toad,
keeping the pace is daunting to me
left, right, left, right,
instead, I, distracted by the dance
the extra beat of the drum,
the heart murmur that longs for the song,
skip a step

there are others
who keep the march going
left, right, left, right
tending to the daily tasks as if
the chore is as pleasing
as painting a masterpiece

meantime,
not quite in line,
not really out of line,
I reach off the edge
grabbing hands and hearts,
celebrating high fives with the trees,
whistling tunes with the birds,
occasionally coming back for a few steps
on the straight and narrow
left, right, left, right,

and then wandering off again
studying the language of flowers,
learning the wisdom of thunderstorms,
planting seeds of hope,
where trees of love will someday grow,
to shade the travelers yet to come

grateful for the others
whose steady devotion
gives me a plumb line
to guide my wandering way

I love this blessed messy life!

jules, 8/9/2014