Looking back...

So here we are... June. The snow is finally gone :-) and the days are noticeably longer. And the world is green, so green you can almost taste it. Welcome June.

The month of May carried with it an anniversary: 3 years of blogging on jag e*space. I find it interesting to go back and read random posts from the past years. I noticed that I write in waves... waves that are sometimes shallow and other times surprisingly deep. Waves that are dark as the ocean floor... or infused with the Sun's light. And what ends up being washed ashore are moments of my life as I see & experience them. At times my life is one of doing - busy, busy, busy, gathering experiences and adventures. At other times, my life is one of being - times of healing & reflection, nourished by solitude and silence.

If there's one thing I've learned, is that I need them both. This spectrum is sacred to me and, no matter where I may be sitting at any given time, I experience fullness of Life. I experience the paradox of wanting to do everything... and wanting to do nothing. Like a Holy desire, I burn with the wanting to do God's will.

A friend recently told me I was "fully engaged with Life". I love this! I am thankful for his comment, for surely this is God's will for me. To be AWAKE in this world... to be fully engaged...

Thanks for letting me share these last three years with you... Thanks for listening to the waves as they come crashing in.

Pace e bene,

Snow Joke...

It's the talk of the town...
It's on the front page of every newspaper...
It's both loved, and by now, reviled...
And it's not finished with us yet!

Yesterday, I finally got the joke - there is nothing else to do but laugh. Thirty-one centimetres of snow in one day, with another storm forecast for this weekend. I decided that I could resist & grumble & begrudge... or I could welcome it with open arms & heart. Either way, it's coming down - and there's not a damn thing I can do about it. So yesterday, I started laughing.

I am a strong believer in seasonal amnesia. I know that May will startle me with her vibrant greens and her blood-red tulips. By August, all this snow will be but a memory, and I will be seeking relief from the scorching sun. September & October will regale me with their dramatic tales of colour. And when that first December snow blankets my world in white, I will rejoice at the beauty before me. This is why I laugh - I laugh at the brilliance of Mother Nature's sense of humour, of her ability to make us forget and re-discover every season as if for the first time.


Pace e bene,

Chickens of Autumn...

I know I've raved about Savage Chickens before, but this goes above & beyond anything Doug has done before: Savage Chickens in stop animation! Give yourself a 3-minute break and check this out.

In the meantime... All hail the arrival of regal Autumn! I really can't imagine living anywhere that doesn't offer the amazing spectacle of trees changing from greens to fiery oranges and reds. I love the Fall. This week may have lulled us into believing it is still Summer, but it's time for Fall. Bright cool days with cozy sweatshirts and corduroy pants... bring it on!

Fall is a great mentor. Supporting the theme from my retreat this past July, Fall is a living testament to the ever-present cycle of Losing & Finding, Finding & Losing. Fall teaches by example. The leaves float to the ground, knowing their life as fully lived and their purpose, served. The tree lets go willingly, knowing it will celebrate the finding of new growth in the spring.

THE RED LEAF OF AUTUMN

If I must compare myself
to an autumn leaf,
then I shall be a red one,
clinging tenaciously
to the tree of Life,
sporting my hue
in a golden ray of sun.

I will dance in crimsoned glory
upon a lively breeze,
beneath a sky of brilliant blue.
When winter fades my color,
I shall glide like a snowflake
to my place of final rest,
with a grin upon my face.

"She lived life to the hilt,"
they'll say,
"and never was she old."

~Copyright © 1995 Ruth Gillis

Pace e bene,