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Day 64's reflection extoles us to let the ripples of our positive actions sweep out with impacts we may never be aware of, but must believe will follow. To take a step in restoring, reconciling or renewing a relationship in our life that needs it. It might be a note, a call, a chat, a post. Any step, however small, toward building or healing relationships can spread positive effects well beyond the relationship that is your focus at the time. Be the change you want to see

A gorgeous sunrise off N Maine coast April 2019. One stand-out cloud looking rather like a feather. Might not seem like it has much to do with the Day 63 reflection encouraging us to Resist With Moral Courage. But it is beautiful. And having some beautiful quiet moment to hold in my heart may be what I need to maintain the strength of character required to stand and resist the wrongs I see in the world around me. The depth and breadth of the evil can seem overwhelming -

Day 62: Chinese proverb: “It is not the size of the mountain that obstructs our way. It is the pebble in your shoe.” She's often having to stop and fish a pebble out of her hiking shoe. Maybe your pebble is less literal, but we all have things. Little things that hinder our progress. Maybe not always little - maybe a whole tree fell across the trail and you have to deal with that before you can continue on your path. Might be small enough to deal with on your own, might n

Day 60 & 61: Trust yourself; Do stuff & live life. I was going to post a photo of one of the many garter snakes I've encountered while hiking, for the sake of the pun point. Because life has plenty of people who are asps - I've certainly been bitten by a few! But the sweet trillium is the better focal point because the asps are certainly outnumbered by the many average to good people just living life the best they can. Timing is important - trillium are in full beauty f

The day 59 reflection: to embody the courage inspired by others. Today's photo was snipped from a news article, not taken by me. My photos of this couple are from way back when cameras still used film. No one else I know embodies courage like Steve & Oddney. Once upon a time I was out there, on the front lines of a Karen refugee camp with them. I only stayed a while; they stayed for many years. Expanded their vision to all war torn areas. Raised their family out on the

Courage takes many forms. It could be as simple as listening, heeding even, your heart. It could be walking near the edge of a cliff to look over and realize how far you've come. This photo was Aug 2013, the "Bubble Rock" in Acadia Nat'l Park. She was courageous this day. Today it would take courage for me to tell her how much I miss that courageous & happy person.

30 May 26... Day 57 of the 100 day challenge. I was a bit busy yesterday, what with finally getting (and accepting) a job offer. (jumps for joy) Yesterday's challenge was for using playful/joyful actions as a means for supporting something you care about. Today it is sharing joy and letting that joy send ripples across the waters. The joy I hope to share today is the joy that fills a Traditional Irish Session. Hopefully they will let me join in with my bodhran, but it s

Thu 28 May - Day 55 The ability to share in someone else’s joy. To notice the joy that someone else is having and let it lift you up also.. This can be away to bring joy into your day when you don’t feel like you have any of your own. I definitely felt Kat's joy at her new job and new rental that she’s looking forward to. I think today I will have plenty of my own joy, however. I am having an on-site interview at a place that feels, so far, like the place that I want to w

Day 54 - Let go of some of the old stories you tell yourself about yourself that aren't doing you any good. For example, "I can't try and sell my photos, I'm just not good enough yet." Baggage that will forever hold me back if I let it. Lighten up on yourself. Allow yourself room to try. To change. To become. To grow. To shape yourself and your future.

So much for my daily discipline. My morning reflection simply does not occur in from of the computer... so I guess a copy/paste will have to do. Day 51: Identify & savor thinking about a source of joy in your present life. Day 52: Take a few minutes and list as many things as you can that delight you. Day 53: (today) look back at your life and bring to mind a specific memory of joy... consider the following: What solace, guidance, or possibility does this memory offer you

So I've been doing the Grateful Living 100 Day Challenge. I've been using the journal function there, but I think I'd rather do it here if I am going to write anything as part of the daily reflection. So here we are. Day 50 - Today's reflection: 12th-century Sufi poet Rumi wrote, “Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder. Help someone’s soul heal." We are all on a personal pilgrimage. Whichever part of the path we are on has been trod by others before us leaving guideposts

Yesterday was gorgeous. I went to my most frequented paddle spot and had a lovely few hours kayaking. The water was very high... made me sad for the birds that might have laid their eggs when it was lower and had nests under water now. It was also weird paddling over ground I'm usually looking up at. Last time I saw it this high was after the MAJOR flood a couple years back. That was pretty devastating for the wildlife too. It recovers every time, but sad for the losses

This was fun. Made for a monthly photoshop contest. Daz render for the robot. My Milky Way photo in the background. Butterflies from Unsplash. Nice to have a creative project to focus on for a couple days. Whether it comes out in the top 3 or not I like it. I would ponder and write something more meaningful but I have a cat mewling pitifully like she is starving to death and making it hard to have an actual contemplative thought. She had recently developed diabetes -

The mystery it suggests, the potential it hides. How ephemeral it is. For just a little while truly anything could be just beyond what we see. Anything ever imagined or wished for or hoped for. It amplifies whatever mood you bring with you. Spooky, magical, sad.

So I start the 100 day challenge and forget entirely about my own personal challenge to try and put up a photo daily. Ah well. This is from a stroll along Wells beach a year ago. Spending time at that boundary between sea and land is always so ... soothing to me. I love to listen to the waves whether they are lapping gently, crashing like thinder, or anywhere inbetween. The sound speaks to the very core of me. Stills the whirlwind inside my head. Gives me a deep apprec

I'm starting a 100 day challenge tomorrow - a commitment to spending no less than 5 minutes each day meditatively focused on being grateful. I try to live each day aware of how blessed I am, and give thanks for it. Some days life gets busy or ugly or sad or mad. All of the feelings that come with that are legit - but it is possible to also be thankful for the good stuff. A cat purr, a pretty bird, a sunbeam. None of our emotions are mutually exclusive - we might feel al

My on-the-job stress of 2025 was astronomical. The new boss (one of the sources of the stress) decided it was easier to terminate my position than to help me. I am not sad to be out of THAT situation, but job hunting is a whole'nother kind of stress. Opportunities in my areas of expertise are not plentiful. This past week or so I've needed a diversion from the downward spiral in my head, so I've been building a little corner of a D&D flavored fictional world I've enjoyed

2017 seems both like it was just the other day and like it was a lifetime ago. I really want us to go back to Nova Scotia for another visit. We've been twice now and it was fantastic both times. First trip was Cape Breton, second was west of Halifax. Beautiful. Great food, nice people, good hiking. Is it weird that the ocean calls so strongly to one born and raised in a landlocked state? I could spend literal hours watching and listening to the waves.

Browsing a random folder in my library to find a photo for this is proving to be a helpful meditation. It forces me to remember that each was one of thousands of beautiful moments I have to cherish. And, because I had my camera with me, moments I can share. Moments to keep my heart from breaking when the 'now' feels desolate & bleak for so many reasons... when friends are dealing with pains I cannot help with... when disaster feels imminent... I will remember and be gratef

While I am glad that spring is on its way (equinox tomorrow!) I can still enjoy the beauty of winters past. Water is magical in its crystalline forms. Hoarfrost or glittering snowflakes, the way they molecules align themselves in gorgeous repeating patterns has always been a fascination. It can be delicate and fragile, or hard as rock and lethal. As a liquid it penetrates the tiniest cracks, then freezes and makes the cracks grow - over time splintering the largest boulde