Afternoon on the Salt Pannes ~ c. Pamela J. Leavey
Each time I drive through the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge and cast my vision across the Salt Pannes, I see a new and different landscape that changes from day to day, week to week, month to month, as our lives do.
In truth, nothing should stay the same, for it did, we would be stuck in one place, one moment in time and we would never grow or learn or experience the wonders of life.
Nature is my grounding zone that subtlely reminds me of who I am and where I am going.
Life is a series of paths, trails and roads. A small path takes you to a larger trail… You follow along that trail in contemplation and then you meet the road. The road moves faster than the path or trail. On the road, you take action, you sometimes need to think quickly. Traveling on the road takes a different type of self participation. Sometimes you feel that you have traveled a road far enough and you need to get off that road. That is okay, because you can always start again at a new path. – Pamela J. Leavey
“The greatest gift we can give to a person in pain is to hold in our own minds the thought that there is a light beyond this darkness. What goes on externally is only the tip of the iceberg in any situation. The lessons, the real changes, the opportunities to grow-these are things the body’s eyes can’t see. They remain beneath the spiritual water line, but they are there. And they represent a much more vast picture of the soul’s journey than what we can see from the perspective of our physical senses. Growth is not always about getting what we think we want. Always, it’s about becoming the men and women we have the potential to be. Loving, pure, honest, clear.” ~ Marianne Williamson: A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles
Being in the now is a daily task. One can not simply decide to be in the now and then think that they will be in that space without working at it. It is a practice and like all practices, it takes commitment and work. Nature is always a grounding space for me to take myself out of my self and find the quiet within that is necessary to stay grounded and focused on the now.
Parker River National Wildlife Refuge ~ c. Pamela J. Leavey 2013
At times when I can’t get outside and spend time in the vast expanse of my favorite grounding place, the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, I find a favorite photo of my church, as I call the Refuge, and I open my heart space meditating on the photo.
I remind myself daily that happiness is a choice. Some days are easier than other days, on the path to being the now and that is okay. With daily practice, I have found great comfort in the knowledge that I am responsible for my feelings and actions. Practice makes perfect… While I am no enlightened master, I do know I grateful for the enlightenment I receive in the now.
Today, I re-mind myself to see each person with loving eyes. I cast off all negative thoughts and emotions that arise regarding those with whom I have strife, misunderstanding or conflicts. I understand that I am powerless to change others and that my power lies in changing my view of those with whom I may have issues. Today, I practice acceptance of things and people. In that acceptance I find peace.
Life is a journey. We never know where it will lead us, the destination is always unknown.
We can choose to see this journey as an adventure and rise and flow with the good and the bad, or we can stay stuck driving around the roundabout, spinning our wheels in instead of going with the flow of the journey.
When we grasp the life is an adventure mindset, we open our wings and begin to fly. It is in fact in this mindset that we soar to our greatest possibilities in life.
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Musing and Rambling
Sometimes I muse and I ramble because I can... I muse about life and things that matter to me...
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