Home ~ is where the heart is

"There's no place like home." ~ Dorothy (Wizard of Oz)

Like most of us, I look forward with great anticipation to our annual vacation. This year was no exception and I was not disappointed. We spent 7 beautiful days in the Rockies north of Durango, Co. We hiked, canoed, waded in the splashing water of Cascade Falls, shopped, wined and dined. We walked through ancient Indian ruins. We mourned with the locals, the loss of a loved one and we met new friends. We sat and watched the rain, marveled at the myriad wildlife we were lucky enough to encounter, read and wrote poetry, sketched flowers, listened to oldies, luxuriated in a bubbling mineral salt bath and just thoroughly unwound.

I am blessed to have had the privilege to take that time; to get away from the ordinary days that are work and home, and yet...it is always good to come home. To come home to those you love and spend those ordinary days with. It was good to see my daughter again. It was good to have our puppies greet us so enthusiastically. It was good to take a walk in the rain and to snuggle up at the end of the evening. It was good to be reminded that....there's no place like home.

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‎"Reading poetry is an adventure in renewal, a creative act, a perpetual beginning, a rebirth of wonder." ~ Edward Hirsch

Poetry, like music, art and nature is another portal through which we can look at and live life more creatively, more intentionally, more richly. By reading it, we are given new eyes through which to view the world; by contemplating and writing, we break open our hearts and souls to revel in gratitude for the beauty that surrounds us; or to release old wounds that have bound us.

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"I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in tune once more." ~ John Burroughs

Ahhhh the mighty Aspen Tree. I stand in awe of this magnificent tree, known as the largest living organism. She puts down roots that nurture and produce new seedlings...soon you have an entire forest...physically inter-connected! To me, it is the most beautiful tree, with its snowy white bark and glossy heart shaped green leaves that turn to halo gold as autumn approaches. I can sit and watch its quaking leaves for hours. What in nature soothes your soul, awakens your creativity, opens your heart?

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"Come forth into the light of things; Let nature be your Teacher." ~ William Wordsworth

On our 'boot camp' hike yesterday, this woodpecker caught my eye. I wanted the perfect shot; the sho that would show its magnificent colors, his wings, his bright red cap. He had another idea. As though to teach me persistence, humor, ...and humility, he flitted from tree trunk to tree trunk just long enough for me to get the focus, but not long enough to get the shot. Then, just as I thought he'd never stay still long enough...there he was...and click. Then he flapped his wings and flew right by us. It was as if he was saying...That was fun...thanks for playing. Rick and I laughed all the way up the hill at the absurdity of me trying so diligently to capture his image. I am truly humbled in the face of nature.

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"It is the marriage of the soul with Nature that makes the intellect fruitful, and gives birth to imagination."~ Henry David Thoreau

I took this photo at the base of our condo up here in the mountains north of Durango. It reminded me of so many photographs I've seen taken by professionals and made me think of how they looked at the trees, the bark, the leaves, the context in which they stood so tall as they rose to the sky from the earth. It made me feel grateful to have this time to really notice the magnificence present in all of nature.

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"Spontaneity is the quality of being able to do something just because you feel like it at the moment, of trusting your instincts, of taking yourself by surprise and snatching from the clutches of your well-organized routine, a bit of unscheduled pleasure." ~ unknown

I need routine in my life...I crave order...I like to know what's happening next. But not all the time anymore. Years ago while planning a vacation, my husband threw a few chinks in my plan. We were newly together and so I thought I would compromise and see where it took us. To my complete surprise, it was the best, most relaxing vacation I had ever experienced. Now, when we 'plan' our vacations, we have a couple of things in mind, however, we just wing it the rest of the time. I am never disappointed. We always come home with the best stories. Some grand, some, just fun. Most, we would not experience if we had a locked in plan.

The same goes for ordinary days. I have what I'd like to do, but if a family member or friend calls for lunch or some other fun outing, I'm all over it. The work is always here when I get back.

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“It is always with excitement that I wake up in the morning wondering what my intuition will toss up to me, like gifts from the sea. I work with it and rely on it. It's my partner.” ~ Jonas Salk

When I woke up yesterday I had a feeling that the day would be different, would not go as 'planned.' The quote that came to me was about joy and smiling. I didn't realize just how appropriate that bit of insight would be for my day. Today's quote is about mystery and the gift of intuition. We never really expect it, and yet it washes over us like a precious seashell in ocean waves over the sand. Have you ever held a shell to ear and heard the ocean waves. You must listen closely to hear it :-). I imagine that intuition is much the same. You must be still to hear it.