What if you stepped into the shower each morning only to be baptized anew
and sent forth to serve the grocery bagger,
the bank teller, and the bus driver,
through simple kindness?
And what if the things that make your heart dizzy with delight
were no longer stuffed into the basement of your being
and allowed out to play
in the lush and green fields?
There are two ways to live in the world:
As if everything were enchanted
or nothing at all.
There is no in between, although you keep trying
to live this divided life knowing
deep down something is awry,
You have lived long enough with this tearing apart.
Come out into the wide world
and discover their companions and guides
at every turn, and even those who summon
curses from your heart
have a divine spark within them bright enough
to invite wonder.
—Christine Valters Paintner, To Invite Wonder
“To feel abandoned is to deny the intimacy of your surroundings.” David Whyte.
Opening reflections chosen and read by Amy W.
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How marvelous to awaken each day baptized anew – we have the opportunity to experience the wonder of this world like a child – seeing things for the first time – embracing the wonder that is this life itself!
Photos and reflection by Bonnie L.
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As the sandy backwoods path opened to a clearing, a barely-leafed tree called to me. Its trunk resembled a totem pole from this distance: bands of varying grey, and darker markings and knots that could double as faces. I was drawn, too, at the sharp contrast between tree and ground. A cover of moss radiated a green brilliance, soft and inviting. As I approached, I wondered what symbols I would choose as totems—hawk for vision, deer for gentleness, otter for playfulness, cat for mystery. When I got close to the tree, I smiled at how imagination gives way to tangible streaks, cracks, crevices, sap. I stood and took in the real of it, snapped a photo. Only when I later looked at the image in my lens did I see the ray of light linking tree and sun. A revelation: what I saw met what I was not seeing yet, also there, real. Surprised, I shook my head at the gift of it, and knelt down to stroke the moss.
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A mountain of insight from a mole hill…
I am fully enjoying all I see and feel on my walk: the sunlight on the branches and swamp, the crisp air on my cheeks, the uneven surface of path that calls for another level of alert. Looking closer I see the underground tunnels made visible as mounds above. Seeing them causes me to pause, consider it privilege to walk sighted. Mole discovers and makes his way through the world blind. Look at all he misses! Is it pity I feel? Is there an implied judgment that seeing the way I do is superior? I wonder if what he “sees,” what he knows to count on as real, could teach me. I will never know as he does the intricate world beneath my feet. I wonder what it would be like to live grounded in darkness, with only now and then a brief foray into light. But maybe we share this—those times we feel at risk coming out into the light of day. Photo and reflections by Amy W.
I am fully enjoying all I see and feel on my walk: the sunlight on the branches and swamp, the crisp air on my cheeks, the uneven surface of path that calls for another level of alert. Looking closer I see the underground tunnels made visible as mounds above. Seeing them causes me to pause, consider it privilege to walk sighted. Mole discovers and makes his way through the world blind. Look at all he misses! Is it pity I feel? Is there an implied judgment that seeing the way I do is superior? I wonder if what he “sees,” what he knows to count on as real, could teach me. I will never know as he does the intricate world beneath my feet. I wonder what it would be like to live grounded in darkness, with only now and then a brief foray into light. But maybe we share this—those times we feel at risk coming out into the light of day. Photo and reflections by Amy W.
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Japanese Apricot in Bloom
Spring is coming!!!
Photos by Mieke K.
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I had left my phone camera at home this morning by mistake, so I walked with no camera in hand. Although I love to receive and capture images on my phone, the walk seemed to open me to a different experience — I think I stopped more often to more fully and deeply see, smell and feel that which I encountered along the way. I began by seeing the Spanish moss dancing in the breeze… the same moss that had looked like tears of sadness two weeks ago. Everything was enchanted, even the sadness and tears of healing I felt toward the end of the walk.
Reflection by Nancy L.
walkinginwonderhcfm 
Just wonderful
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