Category Archives: Out and About
True Grit
For those who appreciate black and white documentary photographs here are images of some who survived the Dust Bowl disaster taken around the time of the great depression in Oklahoma and surrounding states. Most of the photographs were never published by Life Magazine. One can only imagine the determination and privations of those who stayed on their land rather than head out to the West Coast as many did, looking for a better life.
I was writing to somebody this morning, seems like three days ago now, mentioning his parents who are getting up there in age. One already 90 and the other close behind. In my mind’s eye I picture their faces and their hands, testament to time. We could do with more pictures of faces that map years of life and hands that have lifted and carried.There is something about the photographs of the families caught in the devastated conditions of rural life in the mid west in the 1930/40’s which prompts a response of awe, almost. I see grit, true grit, in the faces and hands of many sangha friends I know. They are to be admired and hopefully appreciated. There is a depth of wisdom born of years.
Many thanks to Michael in Canada for sending me the link to the photographs more than a month ago now.
Walks by Rivers
A slow flowing river runs through the grounds of the (very) stately home in Derbyshire called Chatsworth House. We just went for a walk with Kipling the spaniel beside and in the river Derwent!
Ahhh, baby ducklings and so many of them in this family.
Wildflowers are in abundance this year. Or perhaps it is that I’ve been more aware of them because of walking with people who know their names. Not sure why it adds to a walk to be able to spot and name however it does for me at least. This Sunday a group of us walked along the Tees between Low and High Force in Teesdale. These yellow flowers, the Globe Flower growing close to the river were spectacular. Another name to remember, forget, look up and remember…. Muddy Tracks blog (where I found the name for those yellow beauties) is fantastic. Beautiful photography, humour, dogs, chicken and horses. And a record of a walk in Teesdale.
But it has been a struggle this evening to do this post. Having heard news of a death this morning I’ve found myself feeling and being oddly insubstantial. Hard to put into words, I just know I need to take care while driving and not be overly worried about being a tad clumsy, tripping and bumping into furniture.
A thought for the chap who died and for his wife too.
A Story from Milarepa – Merit Post
How do we let life, with all of its disappointments and sorrows soften our heart? In the Tibetan tradition there is a story about the great cave-dwelling yogi Milarepa that illuminates the often bumpy road we travel in the process of releasing resistance and making peace with ourselves.
From an article in Tricycle Spring 2012
This is a transfer of merit post for a woman murdered in Cambodia and for her infant daughter now struggling for her life. The whole situation needs our most compassionate heart.
Holy Days Of Obligation
It being a VERY Holy Day and this being Germany we can hardly draw a breath. Certainly not lift a finger. So what else to do but sit still and then sit still some more. And it is raining after all.
Having a day/time scheduled into ones days/year for ‘religious observance’ is not half a bad thing. That’s considering how the bustle of life tends to fill every nook and cranny to the point when one can actually believe there is no time left to do anything other than….fill every nook and cranny with activity. You could describe formal meditation as ‘deliberately deciding not to do anything’.
Arriving at a full and complete STOP is easier said than done. May body and mind find suitable relaxation – every day.