Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Finding

Just living is not enough... one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.

~Hans Christian Anderson

I find it strange to have lived in a city for so many years now. Being from a small town in Northwest Arkansas, time passed slowly, nights were quiet and peaceful... you could hear your own hearbeat. Here, the city has the heartbeat. The Max swooshes by, TriMet pulls out in front of cars causing Portland drivers to scowl, cyclists weave in and out of side areas waving their hands occasionally to signal a random turn.

The city waits for no one and time passes quickly. Too quickly. The local news station blares news of another teenager missing in the city, parents and relatives paralyzed with fear and worry. In the city, another day of gray skies and rain.

I wait anxiously for the rain to stop. I am patient in waiting for the roses to begin their blooming season. I too wait, and worry about the young girl that is missing and a student of one of our partners in education.

Today, I am reminding myself to simplify my mind and actions. Finding a few moments of sun today, knowing that I can breath the air and am a free person, and looking for that one flower that has bloomed so that I may revel in its solitary beauty...these are the things I remind myself of today. I pray for the young girl to be found, safely, and soon.

What things do you find peace in?

Friday, March 25, 2011

PhotoHunt: "Caged"

I found an old photo I took at the Portland, Oregon zoo. This is the enclosed area for the rainforest. I remember the humid walk through and feeling the invisible mist that seemed to encase us. It was an amazing exhibit. From this view, you get a sense of "caged".

If you would like to join the PhotoHunt, just go to TNChick. Join the sharing each Saturday!

Look, Listen...Stand Still

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
~Albert Einstein
Immersing yourself into a daily dose of CNN can be damaging to your psyche. I have found that to take in all the sorrow and tragedy of global events, I have to provide a balance, as well. It is not about self, or even placing a blind eye to current events, but for me, it is about digging deeper not into conversations, or political straight talk, but making that dive into nature itself.
My blogging adventure began a few years ago when I met a handful of bloggers that shared my love of ocean, coastline, driftwood and sea glass. There is something about looking out towards vast water, listening to small waves swooshing their sea talk at leisure. I feel connected. I feel at peace. It brings me closer to God.
I used to always question God, for the bad things that happen to those I have loved and admired in my life. I have lost two close friends to cancer just in the past few years, and I wondered why? Why do bad things happen to good people? It can be all too easy to ask that same question for events of Katrina, Haiti, Chile, and now Japan. Why? What purpose? This is where I take my "empathy" to the sea.
The truth is that when you surround yourself in nature and connect, you get back to being. You gain that clarity to look at life's hard moments and situations and realize that God's agenda is love...only. God does not cause nor create these natural catastrophes, he does not take loved ones for plot or ploy. Life is always and forever about changes. Change occurs moment to moment. What defines us, what builds our character is the ability to roll with the punches, to wrap our arms around life and give it a big bear hug. Nature has taught me to look, listen...and stand still. The best news is....I'm still standing.
“Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

Not a destination, but the journey

Thursday, March 24, 2011

A Horse With No Name

I sit astride life like a bad rider on a horse.
~Ludwig Wittgenstein
If something unpleasant, annoying or just downright bad is going to happen, then it seems to happen to me. I admit that in my younger years I rode the trail of chaos much like a greenhorn. I was naive, highly sensitive and believed in life behind the white picket fence. I never ventured out beyond the idea of the white picket fence, and never pondered what happened to Cinderella after she married the prince.
Now, I am not so naive, live down the street and around the block from the picket fence, and no longer in my younger years, rather my "extraña" years. I have accepted that things happen in life...okay, rather...they "happen" to me. I may still ride the horse of adversity, and may still consider myself a bad rider, but the point is...I am still on the horse.
For instance--this week is Spring Break. So far this week I have had my brake system go out, my microwave blew up, I killed a chicken...okay it was actually already dead...rather I burned a chicken, and the funny thing is...much like the lyrics of the song, "I've been through the desert on a horse with no name...It felt good to be out of the rain"...I am thankful for our home and having that roof over our heads...especially since it rained, and rained....and rained. It is still raining tonight.
I'm good--life's good. I'm checking my no named horse's bridle, and will mosey along....no spurs necessary.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

First Post

Let me introduce myself. I am a strange tree. Seriously, I am. I am often strong, caring and animated, but at times I am a nerdy-nerd, a bit free-spirited, and an idiot. When I am in the idiot mode, I am much like an idiot of uncertainy rolled up in a tortilla of doubt. I know this about myself. I embrace this strangeness, it is what makes me human.

I have managed other blogs through the years, each leaning towards an interest or folly. I even tried to have a blog once to be my "authentic" self, and the funny thing is...that particular blog, I edited each post, and every thought more than all the other blogs put together.

So here it is. My blog about anything, everything, or nothing at all...or anything strange. My personal goal...to write....and write often.

Welcome. More to come.