I’m not sure I’ll post this.  I’m not sure why I am writing it.

My ex husband died today…the father of my only son.

I wondered if I should feel something more than what I do?

I suppose what I feel … is what I feel.  And I hate the word “should!”

We were so young when we married and had a baby.

We were babies ourselves…what did we know of the world?

I knew very quickly that being with him was not the life I wanted for myself or for my son.

Someone had to protect him.

I find it one of the saddest things about my life…a recurring theme.

That a child should have to be protected from the people who are supposed to protect him!

It doesn’t make sense.

I ended it quickly, but not before real pain was delivered.

To both of us.

And some people…

[photo courtesy of facebook.com/CHEY106] Thanks to my very good friend Michelle for providing today’s post material! What a great list, Michelle; thank you!

Several weeks ago as I sauntered on State Street, that great street (ah, an old quote from the song, “Chicago”,  best known by Frank Sinatra’s version in 1957), it lightly started to rain.  Umbrella(less) as I found myself to be at that moment, I remarked to a woman passerby, “Oh, no, it’s spitting out.”  She seemed to increase her already hurried pace and flew right past me.  I summarized it must be because, well, it was spitting out.  Upon arriving home that evening, I asked my husband if it was spitting out when he was on his way home from work.  The ‘deer in headlights’ moment, and the phantom sound of crickets in the background.  Silence.

“Don’t you say, “It’s spitting out” when it begins to lightly…

[photo courtesy of facebook.com/CHEY106] Thanks to my very good friend Michelle for providing today’s post material! What a great list, Michelle; thank you!

Several weeks ago as I sauntered on State Street, that great street (ah, an old quote from the song, “Chicago”,  best known by Frank Sinatra’s version in 1957), it lightly started to rain.  Umbrella(less) as I found myself to be at that moment, I remarked to a woman passerby, “Oh, no, it’s spitting out.”  She seemed to increase her already hurried pace and flew right past me.  I summarized it must be because, well, it was spitting out.  Upon arriving home that evening, I asked my husband if it was spitting out when he was on his way home from work.  The ‘deer in headlights’ moment, and the phantom sound of crickets in the background.  Silence.

“Don’t you say, “It’s spitting out” when it begins to lightly…

“When people do no follow Tao,
Their horses are harnessed for war,
Their energies are used for destruction,
And many go hungry.
Great troubles come
From not knowing what is enough.
Great conflict arises from wanting too much.
When we know when enough is enough,
There will always be enough.”
(From Diane Dreher, 1990, The Tao of inner peace: A guide to inner and outer peace, p. 126)

Photo Credit, Ava Hand Johnson – 2013, Photographer – Jnana Hand

“Oftentimes have I heard you speak of the one who commits a wrong as though he were not one of you, but a stranger unto you and an intruder upon your world.
But I say that even as the holy and the righteous cannot rise beyond the highest which is in each of you,
So the wicked and the weak cannot fall lower that the lowest which in you also.

My brush strokes not for fights
but for colors of peace…
When the power of love
overcomes the love of power
A world of compassion
A world where leaders care…
A world where there are no wars
rise and so does human lives.

peace has stood the test of time
non violence for freedom
got what years of war did not.
For the want is universal :
A life to live without fear.
Want for Liberty shall will never parish.

An epoch when prosperity masks –
underlying stains of the past,
Peace is accepted wisdom –
mirrored in compassion.

Shrug off inequality
and live fearless
Look in the eyes of fellow patrons,
Regardless Of Race Or Creed
there is a satisfaction of a life well lived.
Together In Harmony , free of prejudice

Serene and tranquil is heaven.
Lets make this world no less.

They sustain us

They take in poisonous carbon dioxide,

and emit pure oxygen.

These massive Canyon Oaks grow on western coastal mountain ridges.

Rare giant canyon oaks like these can reach up to 90 feet in height.

These giants are growing in Mt. Palomar State Park which lies about 35 miles east of The Holler as a crow flies at 5-6000 feet elevation.

The acorns created by these Canyon Oaks provided critical sustenance to ancient peoples.

The Luiseno people’s metates, or ancient acorn grinding holes, are unmarked, but visible throughout the park.

Cheers to you from Mt. Palomar’s gentle, life-sustaining, giants~