Tuesday, May 28, 2013

HUNDREDS OF WAYS TO KNEEL AND KISS THE GROUND

 Nature photography by Mary Jo Hoffman. See website here

After a week spent absorbing 
the natural beauty of the Wild Coast
I mentioned to a friend 
that the whole holiday
felt like a prayer of gratitude 

Wild Coast by Robyn Gordon 

..... which got me thinking about a quotation by Meister Eckhart
"If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough."

.... which lead to a favourite quote by Rumi
"Let the beauty we love be what we do. 
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground."

Photography by Klaus Oppenheimer. See website here

There are indeed hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground

Photo from Lisa Haneberg's website here


Leslie Avon Miller observes nature through her camera lens.  See blog here

Observing the miracles of nature is at the top of my list


Nature Photography by Kevin Jones. See blog post about Photography as Meditation here.

Practicing mindful photography

Photo by Kevin Jones

Photo by Kevin Jones.

" If I really wanted to pray I'll tell you what I'd do. I'd go out into a great big field all alone or in the deep deep woods and I'd look up into the sky -- up -- up-- up -- into the lovely blue sky that looks as if there was no end to its blueness. And then I'd feel a prayer." -- L M Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

I love this photograph by Sarah Gillespie. See website here

As an artist I am aware of something greater than myself
every time I create art.
When I look at the work of many, many artists 
I can feel the sacred in their work. 
I'm certain their art is their meditation.

Sarah Gillespie at work. See Sarah's Blog here


Winter Birds (oil on canvas) by Sarah Gillespie. See website here

I remember the way we were taught to pray at school 
Prayers always seemed so elaborate 
A far cry from Mary Oliver's ideas of prayer

PRAYING by Mary Oliver

It doesn't have to be
the blue iris, it could be
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
small stones; just
pay attention, then patch

a few words together and don't try
to make them elaborate,
this isn't a contest but a doorway

into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak.

By Fiona Watson. See Flickr photo stream here

84 comments:

  1. Thank you for this beautiful post!

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  2. I'm glad that I opened your post first this morning. It will be helpful all day long.

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  3. Thank you so much for a great blog and awesome post! That is my favorite Rumi quote. I just spent four days on Cumberland Island, Georgia, and the whole immersion in nature is a constant thank you prayer. And I just got back from my walk this morning, with the most awesome clouds/blue sky/sunrise combination. with prayers for my neighbor who gets cancer results today, and my daughter who currently has 3 (hopefully benign) brain tumors, but with the scenery, all I could say is thank you for Margaret, and thank you for Katie. Again, thanks for your post!

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    1. Thanks so much Connie. Walking at sunrise is such a good way to start one's day. I hope all is well for your daughter and your neighbor.

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  4. I am also glad for this post. As I was reading I thought of Mary Oliver and then you ended with her. Blessings all around.

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    1. Thanks Christine. Mary Oliver's poetry is a joy isn't it?!

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  5. Wonderful post. My ultimate goal is to live a life that is one long prayer of thanksgiving.

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    1. Thanks Starr. I enjoyed browsing through your blog and seeing your beautiful surroundings.

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  6. what an uplifting post. thank you.
    my favorite is mary oliver's.
    i will these with me all day.

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    1. Thanks Rebeca. Mary Oliver always makes my day too.

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  7. Beautiful, beautiful post, images and words, and just what I needed this morning. xoxo

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  8. Yes. Thank you so much for this post...especially for including the Rumi and Mary Oliver portions. Last week was difficult for me and your post has helped to ease my soul. Thank you so very much.

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    1. Hi Jennifer, I hope your week is improving by degrees. A good poem or quote often takes me by surprise and makes me feel better.

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  9. golden
    sunshine
    kissing
    the crystaline rain
    into green
    green prayers

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    1. Beautiful words, thanks Eb. I'm picturing the sun shining through rain. We call it a monkeys wedding.

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  10. I have just come back from a sojourn in nature myself. I am kissing the ground for this post. Thank you Dear One.....you ALWAYS seem to succeed in touching our Soul.

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  11. simply beautiful, thank you.

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  12. " ... a doorway into thanks ..."
    Well, this is all MAGNIFICENT.
    Entirely.

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    1. a doorway into thanks, and a silence in which
      another voice may speak..... I love that part.

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  13. Such a beautiful post, Robyn, thanks.

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  14. I absolutely love your photos...Keep posting these!

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    1. It's great to see through the eyes of the photographer.

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  15. What a beautiful commemorative blog post of your time living a prayer of gratitude at the Wild Coast. Beautiful Robyn. Thank you.

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    1. Thanks Leslie. Wish you could have been there too.

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  16. What else can we do 'here'? We are so blessed to be artists :-)

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    1. We are indeed blessed and blogging makes it so easy to share our impressions of the world around us.

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  17. Thanks for another beautiful collection of quotes and images. Lots of links for us to browse later. It's like a big dose of wildness to drink in with my breakfast tea!

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  18. As always ... beautiful pictures and gorgeous quotes! Thank you Robyn!

    Gaby xo

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  19. R-a hundred ways to kiss the earth - what beautiful simplicity; and I can feel the sacred in their work - that is so true. Thank you for these words - treasures. B

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    1. Barry I'm looking at my little bowl of words (I chose gift today)and feeling the sacred in your work.

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  20. many people when coming to Israel used to kneel and kiss the ground. Thus i thought you might be showing pilgrims ,,,,,, i am gladly surprised to see another kind of kissing earth.
    mirjam

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    1. Mirjam, blogging opens the door to so many impressions and ways of thinking and connecting. Glad you left a comment to stir up my thoughts.

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  21. Such a lovely post; a treasure, really.

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  22. Oh Robyn, the Mary Oliver poem is so perfect and the photos support those words beautifully!

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  23. Thank you for the nature walk. I am refreshed.

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  24. I loved this so much Robyn. Ease, gentleness, peace and stillness - I breathed them in from afar, and felt them wash over me.

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    1. The beauty of words... they can be so powerful. So glad you enjoyed the post Fiona.

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  25. I hope when I get my new knee Iwill eventualy be able to kneel and kiss the ground. A lovely post.

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  26. Totally inspiring Robyn - and what a beautiful shot that first one is.

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    1. Mary Jo Hoffman's photographs are so exquisite. The simplest things look amazing.

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  27. "If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough."

    i was reading these very words this morning before the sun came up, and as I sit here my students are all in the quiet reflective creative space of art journaling, and I am so grateful for the creative spirit and the gift that art gives to pause and carefully consider the world around us. Your post resonates with my thoughts today. Thank you for so eloquently and visually encapsulating gratitude and grace.

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    1. Jenny, thank you for sharing the peacefulness of your morning. I can imagine a room full of students lost in the process of art journaling.

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  28. 100's of ways. Beyond counting or holding.

    Thank you.

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  29. Oh, Robyn, this is indeed the way to pray. thanks for this inspiring reminder- each photo a prayer.

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    1. So glad you enjoyed the post Sharmon. I have been reading Anne Lamott's trilogy about faith. Have you read them?

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  30. absolutely... prayer in action... appreciation.. grazie, grazie!

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  31. I was just observing and commenting on the beauty of nature. Your choice of images here captures that so well.

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  32. I just finished my "walk in the woods" only to find your great nature post. What a great start to the day!

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    1. Hey Don! Reading Mary Oliver is almost as good as a walk in the woods.

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  33. Did you write this post just for me??? Wow,your subjects and perfectly paired words spoke right to me.

    If the only prayer you said was thank you...love that qutoe!

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    1. Lisa, I often get that feeling too. The rights quotes seem to pop up when I need them.

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  34. such a beautiful beautiful post...a blog post as meditation!
    Thank you so much!

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  35. I have been offline for soooooo long and am glad to be back because, as ever, visiting your space is a walk into beauty and soulfulness, Robyn... thank you!

    I was with one of my lovely cousin's last week (he's also an artist with a deep love of nature and African aesthetics) and I suggested he'd like it here too. I hope he drops by.

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    1. Hi Kendalee, I've been thinking about you. It sounds like you are busy, which is so wonderful!

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  36. My knees and my lips are tired and my back hurts ;-) )))

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    1. I'm not surprised. You live in the most breathtaking place.

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  37. I love it when your attention is turned to nature. You bring me such welcoming sights. I always feel revived when I come here. Namaste.

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