September 13, 2015

September 13, 2015

All images are mine unless otherwise noted.

To see a photo full screen click on any image.

   While in the ICU post surgery I received a God given experience where my chest was opened wide, and my inner vision became expansive in the manner I look at myself and at the world. In hindsight the only words I can give this Gift are that the doors of my heart were blown off their hinges and I am left open and awake in ways I did not have before. This openness has not left me since and is a new teaching by the Ever-Loving God that wants me to move in some new direction - yet to be revealed, and on its way according to God's time, not mine.

          The center I once glimpsed all around me,

             is a landscape I now live in, and I will not

             pretend any more.

          If those I love cannot recognize me

             with my soul out in the open,

             I will no longer retreat

             and show what is familiar.

                                                     Mark Nepo

                                           ----------------------------------------------------------

   On Tuesday mornings I go to meet with a group in Freedom Maine where taking a look at the spiritual life with many views is the at the core of our getting together. When the weather is warm enough (somewhere above freezing will do) we meet in the barn of this large farm which is no longer worked as such. This is the view I have from the seat I seem to have claimed. 

----------------------------------------------

   Lee and I took a short walk along a former right of way for some railroad who graciously removed the tracks leaving a pleasant wide trail next to the Stillwater river in Orono Maine. A few traces of the changing of seasons from Summer to Fall were evident in some leaves dying outright, and some berries  on a tree putting on Fall makeup in hopes of attracting birds who cannot digest their seeds which will find new fertile ground in the droppings of our winged friends. Perhaps this is one of nature's ways of getting others to do the work necessary for new growth.

   The following six photos are from that walk.

  

--------------------------------------------

   Here is a quiz, what is in the photo above? 

                                          ---------------------------------------------------

Some humor:

"That's not funny!"

   

  Peace until the next post,

              Bill Lagerstrom

September 5, 2015

September 5, 2015

    All images are mine unless otherwise noted.

   To see photos full screen click on any image.

    Today is two months since my heart surgery and I am happy to report that I am no longer fatigued most of the time, just somewhat tired. I am told that I ought to be back in good health in a few months or by the end of the year depending on who I talk to in the medical profession. Things are good today, I have no complaint.

    The photos for this post are of two very different weather days - which is for me a reminder of the changing weather within not unlike conditions in the world. I tolerate and even enjoy the sun and rain within as life under any sky is a joy - here in this second chance at life I have been given which I will not waste. 

   The first two photos were taken at a marsh near the Audubon grounds in Brewer, Maine. Lee and I stopped for lunch at a picnic table on a small hill overlooking the marsh and there were birds, mostly Goldfinch, and several Black Ducks. These ducks are usually called American Blacks and since they migrate to Canada and having no passports I am not sure why the designation. 
The grass is beginning to turn toward Autumn and everything seems to be going to seed in preparation for a long Winter. A most lovely time of the year. 

-----------------------------------------------------

    Last week we went to Acadia Park for the first time since the surgery and spent the day in fog that would not lift. Most of the late Summer tourists stayed away and those who stayed saw a different environment that most who travel here would want to have. For some vacation days must always be sun filled. 

   Mostly I think we place a conceptual overlay on foggy days, memories of cold damp Winter moments, a wetness that gets into everything, along with an emotional sadness that is hard to shake. Without these overlays fog gets the chance to be seen for the beauty and grace it brings in hopes of getting our attention. 

    The photo above was taken at the Blue Hill overlook on top on Cadillac mountain in Acadia where there can be a view that spans 40-50 miles on a clear day. A man rushing past me said that I must have some lens to capture any sort of a view. I replied that I was interested in the people. I felt him shaking his head at my answer

    This family  would not give up the chance to be on top of a mountain in any conditions instead of rushing back to the safety of their car. Please enlarge this photo as there are several stories to be seen and felt in the image. Let me know what you pick up on in your pondering. 

   I feel that this is one of the best photos I have taken in quite awhile.

                        --------------------------------------------------------------------

   

 

  

Dusk, fog and the sea

conspire to put on their best attire -

We only need to let our eyes adjust to the light.

--------------------------------------------

Some humor:

(Why I don't watch the business news on MPBN.)

    Peace until next post,

     Bill Lagerstrom