Monday Morning Beauty

Woke up this morning. I had a billion things on my mind... health, state of the nation,  crises here and there through out the world, loving and being loved.  Then I looked out the window.

And for a wonderful few moments, I stopped thinking and I started living.

What A Day--A Mountain--A Man

Friday was just spilling over with surprises for me... I had found myself:
a. facing some of my greatest fears at work and surviving them
b. seeing doors open for a friend in ways that I can only say were wonderful and mysterious
c. going home and meeting a man who can best be described as a gifted teacher,
a wonderful story teller, and a lover of life
Here is a picture of that gifted man!












He caught my (already ready to just dance my way all the way to the moon)attention when he enthusiastically pointed out the beauty of our wonderful Mount Rainier. I stopped, listened to him, went out on to our balcony, and gratefully welcomed into my soul the beauty of all I saw there.














The story teller had made my day

EARLY MORNING REVERIE

I was waiting for my ride to Portland last weekend, and all of a sudden, the beauty around me stopped me and invited me to let go of my concerns and attend to the beauty of:

The plants
















Mount Rainier



The birds singing, Rainier splendidly decked out, and cars and trucks moving quickly along at the beginning of the day... All so very, very wonderful

ON A CLEAR DAY

Mount Rainier, Mount Rainier... I can recall one visit I made to our wonderful mountain-- I was overwhelmed by its height, how far one could see, and, despite the human hustle and bustle, I felt so very small and so very real... just part of our beautiful world...

And four years ago, on New Year's Eve, I recall standing on Mount Carmel in Israel--- looking past the busy city below, seeing the wonderful Mediterranean Sea, and watching, like the disciple of the ancient prophet, a small cloud rise out of the sea, slowly envelop the city and valleys below, then, come up the hill...

There was thunder, then heavy, heavy rain began to fall. And I thought of the moment in Scripture when, finally, as the prophet prayed, the long, long drought had ended.

Again, I felt overwhelmed... the beauty of the Mediterranean, the clouds gathering, the countryside below disappearing, and I just stood there in the drenching rain, so grateful to be part of such beauty, such power...
Here's a picture of Mount Carmel

So, last week, one sun shining bright morning, as Mount Rainier royally proclaimed
its presence, I just had to stop and catch that moment in a picture


There it was... the mountain, the city of Tacoma spread out below me, and on the busy streets, people were focusing in on the challenges--- demands, frustrations, hopefully laughter and joys of the day... and I offer this time for you, dear friends, to share with us moments of awe, delight, pain, or joy that you have found in this land where gracefully Mount Rainier presides over our ups and downs...

Enjoy my video taken that day sunshining morning