Photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash

Life on earth exists in a delicate balance.
Conditions align to make this life possible.
Too much of any piece throws everything off.

Balance in all things includes me.
My internal landscape.
And the web of all creatures on Earth.
It includes the mix of different personalities.

How does this appear in your life?

Photo by Ross Sneddon on Unsplash

Step back.  What do you see?
Sometimes in the middle of working on a problem,
I get lost in the small details.
In those moments, I find it helps to step back.
View the whole thing within the context of the greater world.

Stepping back helps me see how the small piece fits.
It offers me perspective.

By seeing the whole picture, I can remember how important or not
The little piece I am working is.
I can find ways forward sometimes by seeing the piece I am working
Next to all the other pieces.

Maybe I am working on a piece of the puzzle that no longer matters...
I will never know if I don't step back.

Have you ever received a compliment that you just had to share?
The appreciation of others helps us know we are on the right track.
After all the hard work, someone sees us and acknowledges the effort and contribution.
Like a stamp of approval of our work.

Why do we need a stamp of approval?
It causes me to deeply reflect on my life and my people-pleasing ways.
My comparing myself with others, a natural tendency, but toxic to my happiness.
Pleasing or helping the people I hope to help is important.
And letting them help me by sharing their compliments with others.

I hiked up one of the lower foothills of Mt. Hood yesterday with my family. It was an all-day affair. A commitment of time and energy.

Even though we planned to enjoy the journey, we still found ourselves striving to get to the top. The climb up was long and we talked of turning around, but decided to keep going.  Six humans and three dogs.

The challenge, the love of the outdoors.  It was a beautiful sunny day for once in Oregon.  We couldn't get over our good fortune.  And in the end we broke above the trees and had a breathtaking view.  A reward for all of our effort.

I am a mountain top person.  I love the view from the top.  And I like the journey and challenge of climbing.

How is it for you?

Here is the video I made at the top: https://youtu.be/UrKWOs9b_ws

Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on Unsplash

Magical birdsong greets my ears upon waking.
Gentle nudges to pull me from sleep.
Rooster crows in the distance
Announcing the dawn.

Healing sounds, peaceful.
Simple comforting.
Rooted in symbiosis of our species.
Bird and man.

Do they sing to welcome the sun?
Or is it just more noticeable because of the quiet?

Photo by Chris Neufeld-Erdman on Unsplash

Nothing is certain these days, except that things will continue to be unclear.
No clear guidance for how to get through a pandemic.
We all must forge a path ourselves.
The experts cannot help.  This is new.  There are no experts.

Where do you step when there is no path?
Doing your best with the information available to you.
Using your heart and the “part of you that knows” to find your way.
Try something to see if it works.  Then try something else.

We crave certainty, a correct path.
But there is no correct path.
There isn’t even a path.
And yet we must step anyway.
Sitting still will not work in the long term.

Check out this video I made for you of the gorgeous gardens of www.brookswine.com/ I called it "Vineyard Inspired". youtu.be/bDTBwCAu8VI

No matter where we are and how things are going, we can still create something beautiful from what is there.

Yesterday I went to see the handiwork of my son, the farmer.  He recently liquidated his farm in upstate New York to move to Oregon to create a family farm. He has been lucky enough to stumble into a job as a master gardener for a local vineyard in Oregon.  Not only did he have the chance to earn some money as he searched for farm land, he is now tapped into local growing culture here.

He could have just used this opportunity to get by and do average work. Instead he created beds of fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers of stunning beauty.  His is a palette of plants. Each brushstroke is masterful.  He could have stopped with something less masterful.  But he created an inspiring work of art.  Living art.  All with what was available to him.

How many times do I let my circumstances stop me from creating something extraordinary?  A gift to those around me and the world?  Something that people will talk about?  Something that inspires them to reach into themselves to find their voice?

Who can you share with today?  Who can you inspire?

Photo by Christoffer Engström on Unsplash

Sometimes I get stuck, feel alone or lost.

But there are people all around me. 
How can I be lost?
I can see where I am now.
No reason to stress.

Yet stress I do.
So many voices. So many choices.

If I can remember in those moments
Quiet lives within me.  I just need to reach for it.
Once found, the voices fade and a path emerges.
I can take a step or wait to soak in the quiet.

Photo by Aliasghar Fotovat on Unsplash

Sometimes it is hard to have new ideas.
For me it usually happens when things have stayed the same too long,
I get stuck in a rut.

The thing about ruts, is they channel a wheel to stay on one course.
The sides of the rut reinforce the direction of travel.
They provide resistance to changing course.
They keep things the same.

But when I hit an open field, I can go any direction I want.
The field is unconstraining, ready to be explored.
I find adventure and new capabilities in my exploration.
It may feel uncomfortable to have my rut guides on either side of my wheel,
But something new opens up for me and I start to see things differently.

Have you been stuck in a rut?  How did you get out?