Photo-Heart Connection: December

Does a branch ask itself how long it will be covered in snow?

Do the buds get impatient to open in the warming rays of the sun?

How is it that we sometimes put human emotions and limiting questions

onto things we observe around us?

Does nature plan the year ahead?`

Does it have goals?

Does it want to achieve something to obtain accolades?

Do the spring flowers plan on poking their way out of the earth

at such and such a date? Or else?

Does the sky expect applause for being blue?

Who are we without our plans?

Without our set dates,

without our firm and intrepid decisions about this or that?

Who am I

without all of that?

It is easy to cling to ideas that we have closed ourselves into

like a prison of thought forms

swirling around and creating little stories in our heads.

Who am I without these stories?

When I observe nature around me, whatever the season,

I see and feel a sense of beingness

I see an openness and creativity

I see freedom

I see me, just as I want to be.

Feeling a heart-connection with this snow-laden branch as it leads me

towards an attitude of creativity and endless possibilities

to be who I really am.

Thanking Kat Sloma of

kateyestudio.com

for organizing a second year of

Photo-Heart Connection.

Golden Bells and Snowflakes

Gold and silver for the season

Take a jar of golden bells

Tip them out and hear them tinkle

Find a bowl for your delight

Look how they all catch the light!

Take some snowflakes soft and fluffy

Add some bells and see the magic

Attach some thread to hang them up

against the light and watch them glow

or on the window like real snow!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ONE AND ALL!

Grounding ourselves with red

Red

The colour of the base or root chakra.

What better time to feel grounded than during this time of the year

when all can seem frenzied and stressful.

Pause

just a moment

and contemplate the colour we call red.

This is the colour of  warmth and energy and enthusiasm.

Red

encourages action and confidence

and provides a sense of protection from fears and anxiety.

Looking at the way things flow

and letting ourselves

go with this natural movement

and enjoying the peaceful state of effortlessness.

Red Jasper

is a strong securing gemstone

that gives stability

and is said to promote physical energy

and balance the emotional energy in the body.

Take a pause

and take in some red!

The Earth's Slumber

Winter,

dressed in muted tones 

prepares for the earth's slumber

Harmoniously hanging seed-pods

gather together like a flock of birds to keep warm.

Twittering secretly 

to harmonize their twirling flight.

Autumn leaves have surrendered

to the snow and ice

creating beauty in the process.

Icy sculptures form along the branches

and the wind creates little plant people

rushing to an unknown destination.

The birds  will soon be happy

 with these red beauties

as the earth is gradually covered in a blanket of  falling snow.

Photo-Heart Connection: November

The sun was already low in the sky

which was taking on that beautiful blue that happens at this time of day.

The fresh outdoors was waiting for me

and on the path I had chosen

grows a beautiful cedar tree.

A fluttering sound of beating wings and cooing

pulled my eyes upwards to dozens of pigeons

seeking their place on the outstretched boughs.

I stopped and observed their behaviour and saw that each 

had found a place on the chosen branch.

I watched them for a long time

as they fluttered and landed and then settled in.

Some were preening their feathers,

some hunched up a little as if preparing for the night

and others sat perkily looking around them.

Why do I feel connected to this scene?

Because it gives me peace

It gives me a feeling of contentment

A feeling that all is in its proper place.

I love the unquestioning simplicity

of birds settling down for the night

in this lovely cedar tree.

May I also go through life

with unquestioning simplicity knowing that 

 where I am

is where I am meant to be.

Unquestionably simple!